How to Migrate from Windows to a Chrome OS

If you have already looked into buying a Chromebook, you probably noticed how limited the internal storage is on most of them. Seriously, who can get by with 16GB of internal storage?! The answer--most people.

One fantastic aspect of Chrome OS is that it pushes you to be device independent by expecting you to utilize Google services for cloud storage. Device independence means that you aren't reliant or locked into a single device. Did you just smash your Chromebook? No problem, just access your data from almost any other device with an internet connection until you replace it.

Because Google pushes Chromebook users to become device independent, most individuals barely use the limited internal storage on their Chromebook. Instead, they upload their data to the appropriate could-based Google service.

Most individuals can divide their data into five categories; Music, Photos, Videos, Books, and Documents. Google gives you free storage for each of these categories, which makes migrating from a Windows computer a breeze.

Music: Google Play Music

Google allows you to upload 20,000 songs for free! If you have more than 20,000 songs, it is probably time to clean unwanted music out of your library anyways. If you are worried about exceeding the 20,000 songs, remember that any music purchased through Google Play Music does not count towards your 20,000 song upload limit.

To upload your music, go to Google Play Music and press the "Add Music" button. Drag your entire "Music" folder from Windows Explorer into the Add Music window. For those of you who don't always get your music legitimately, you know who you are, look for more music in your Downloads folder.

Uploading music can take a long time, especially if your internet connection is slow. Get ready to sit back and wait.

Pictures and Videos: Google+ Photos

If your photos are less than 2048x2048 pixels, Google allows unlimited photo uploads to Google+ Photos. If your photos are larger than 2048x2048 pixels, Google+ Photos will automatically offer to scale the photos to qualify for unlimited photo uploads. 

Additionally, Google+ Photos allows unlimited video uploads for videos less than 15 minutes long. 

Understandably, you may want to keep some higher quality photos above 2048x2048 pixels or videos longer than 15 minutes. In this case, any the photos larger than 2048x2048 pixels or videos longer than 15 minutes count towards your "Drive Storage."

Every Google account automatically gets 15GB of Drive Storage. However, if you need more space, additional storage is fairly inexpensive. Drive Storage consists of Photos larger than 2048x2048 pixels and videos longer than 15 minutes inside of Google+ Photos. Additionally, all email in your Gmail account and all files uploaded to Google Drive count towards your Drive Storage.

Videos (again): YouTube

YouTube, we have all heard of it. However, most people just consume content and never upload their own. If you have videos over (or under) 15 minutes long that need to be stored online, look at storing them on YouTube. 

Google places strict guidelines on what can be uploaded, so YouTube is not the place to upload the latest season of Game of Thrones or any kinky bedroom videos. However, if you have some home videos, go ahead and upload them. Who knows, you may be sitting on the next viral cat video.
If you are concerned about privacy, you can set the privacy setting to private so only select individuals can view your video.

eBooks: Google Play Books

Google Play Books allows you to upload up to 1000 PDF or EBUP documents smaller than 100MBs each. If you're a person that likes to read eBooks on your phone, tablet, or computer, you can upload your eBooks to Google Play Books to read your book from any device. Additionally, you can switch between devices and pick up right where you left off.

Furthermore, all books, magazines, and comics purchased through Google Play Books are accessible from your library and do not count towards your 1000 document upload limit.

Everything Else: Google Drive

Google Drive is essentially where all your documents and miscellaneous files get stored. However, you have to be conscious of this space because files uploaded to Google Drive count towards your Drive Storage limit. However, files made with Google apps like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, etc. do not count towards your storage limit. You can have as many of them as you want.

If you are migrating from Windows, utilize the other Google services mentioned in this post first. Remaining files should be uploaded to Google Drive if you want to keep them.

You could not utilize any other Google services and just upload all your files to Google Drive. However, because individuals only get 15GBs of Drive Storage, this is not a viable free option for most people. You could just pay for expanded Drive Storage so you could upload all your files, but then you will not be able to utilize the features of other Google services.

That is all there is to it. After everything is uploaded to Google services, you can log into your Chromebook and have instance access to all your files.

Have any questions about the Chrome OS environment? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Use a USB-to-Serial Adapter on a Chromebook with Beagle Term

I love my Acer C720 Chromebook. However, as a Network Administrator I was constantly having to switch over to my Windows laptop to use a USB-to-Serial adapter to configure networking equipment. At least until I discovered an application called Beagle Term for Chrome.

Beagle Term

Platform: Google Chrome

Price: Free

Download Page

What is it?

Beagle Team a serial terminal emulator, written entirely in JavaScript and can be added to any device that supports Google Chrome Apps--For instance, Chrome OS. Additionally, it is lightweight, easy to use, open-source, and free!

Bottom Line

Beagle Term is a necessity for anyone that has to use USB-to-Serial adapters--especially with a Chromebook. In my experience, not only is it super easy to install (you press one button), but it is much easier than connecting to a serial interface with PuTTY on a Windows device.

Have any great Chrome apps that you don't know how others can live without? Or have anything to add about Beagle Term? Tell us about it in the comments below.

A College Student's Chromebook Review (Acer C720)

As a college student, I saw almost every student spend hundreds to thousands of dollars on laptops they thought they needed, only to use it for surfing the internet and writing papers. This made me wonder how much computer the average college student needed. During my last semester of college, I purchased a Chromebook for less than $200 just to see how well it would handle in an academic environment.

What is a Chromebook:

First of all, what is a Chromebook? If you have been searching around for a new computer, you have probably come across the name. In short, a Chromebook is a small, lightweight computer,  with Chrome OS (not Windows or OSX). However, instead of reading me drone on about what Chromebooks are, check out this great video explanation released by Google:

Great! Now that you are up to speed on what a Chromebook is, let's look at the advantages, disadvantages, and misconceptions I have discovered while I used my Chromebook as a college student.

Advantages:

Price: Chromebooks are cheap! Probably the cheapest laptops you will be able to find. My favorite model, the Acer C720, is only $199.00 at the time of this article. I know many students that took out student loans 4 times this amount just for a low end MacBook Air.

Speed: When my Acer C720 is turned completely off, it takes me about 5-6 seconds to turn it on and be on the internet. As a side note, there is no annoying noise that plays when I boot up the computer in the middle of class. When using Chrome, I have had 30+ tabs open while doing research and never once did it feel like there was a delay when switching between tabs or creating new ones.

Safety: Many students get their computers infected. It just happens. However, that is not something to necessarily worry about with a Chromebook. Of course, there is still things out there like phishing scams that everyone is vulnerable too, but a full on infection is very unlikely.

Automatic Saving: I worked for my school's IT department and had countless students come to me in tears because they lost their research paper or thesis when their computer crashed. If you use Google's products like Google Docs, your files are automatically saved to the Google's servers every time you make a change.

Portability: My Acer C720 weighs in at 2.8 pounds and easily fits into almost any bag. I thought the 11.6 inch screen would bother me when doing research or writing a paper, but it never did. 

Battery Life: I can easily get 8 hours of use out of my Chromebook before having to recharge it. If I turn my Chromebook off when I'm not using it, it could easily go almost a week without a recharge.

Disadvantages:

Third-Party Applications: The only disadvantage I  found is if you have specific applications that you need to use like Adobe Creative Cloud applications or AutoCAD, a Chromebook may not be for you. However, most schools have this software available on public computers for student use. Additionally, I can usually find an alternative solution either in the Chrome Web Store or when searching for other web apps.

Misconceptions:

Microsoft Office: Many people believe that they will not have access to Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or Excel on a Chromebook. Google does have it's own versions of these applications, but if you want Microsoft's products, they are available FREE in the Chrome Web Store:

• Microsoft Word Online
• Microsoft Excel Online
• Microsoft PowerPoint Online
• Microsoft Outlook Online

Storage Space: Additionally, lot of people get driven away when they see that Chomebooks usually only come with 16-32GB of hard drive space. However, Google offers quite a bit of free online storage, so not only are you keeping all your files from filling up your hard drive, but you have access to your files from almost any device with an internet connection.

Offline Access: Lastly, it is commonly believed that if you don't have internet access, you cannot work on anything. Google allows you to download files so you can work on your documents and such while you are offline. When you reconnect to the internet, your documents automatically sync to your online Google Drive storage.

Conclusion:

In my experience, my Acer C720 was perfect for what I needed. and for less than $200, I was more than happy. I could boot up in an instant to take notes in class, write papers and create PowerPoint presentations without an issue, listen to music, video chat with friends, and watch movies. For most students, a $200 Chromebook is all you will ever need.

Have you ever used a Chromebook for school? if so, how was your experience? Have any questions before you get a Chromebook? Tell us about it in the comments below.