Chromebox's

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Chromebox Layout

The Chromebox is a type of Desktop computer that has a similar comparison to a Chromebook being a type of Laptop. Both of these devices are limited but secure everyday computers for surfing the net, doing e-mail and using office applications. Although they are primarily designed to be used on the internet there are now offline applications for watching movies, viewing pictures, playing music and editing documents that have been downloaded to the local drive. This makes the unit useful for most users. The operating system is called ChromeOS and is designed by Google. Lenovo, Acer and Samsung are presently manufacturing them and they are a big hit for schools as they are easy to use with low administration costs. Amazon have Chromebooks listed for sale and are regularly the biggest seller in the Laptop category.

Using a tablet as a Desktop computer

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 After purchasing a $150 Tablet from the Warehouse I decided to see how it would perform as a desktop computer. Plugging a standard keyboard and mouse via a USB adapter proved to work perfectly. A remote Logitech mouse also worked. The HDMI output was connected to a conventional TV as shown in the picture. This setup enabled me to surf the Internet, check e-mail, view pictures, play music, watch AVI movies and edit documents. It was noted that the Tablet display went to sleep when playing movies, presumably to save power. The external power pack could be plugged in to stop draining the battery. The Tablet used Android 4.0 and wirelessly connected to the Internet. Skype also worked using the Internal Camera.