WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.320 Hey, guys! I'm Bill from GCFLearnFree.org and 00:00:03.320 --> 00:00:06.980 today we're going to be taking a look at Chromebooks. Now, you might have heard of a 00:00:06.980 --> 00:00:09.320 Chromebook before, you might not, but 00:00:09.320 --> 00:00:12.620 either way if you're thinking about buying a new computer 00:00:12.620 --> 00:00:16.359 a Chromebook might be a really good low-cost alternative to a traditional 00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:21.739 laptop. Now, unlike normal computers which use the Windows or Mac operating systems. 00:00:21.740 --> 00:00:26.520 a Chromebook uses Chrome OS, which is based on the Google Chrome web browser. 00:00:26.529 --> 00:00:29.929 That means you can use a Chromebook to do just about everything you do in a 00:00:29.929 --> 00:00:31.140 normal web browser, 00:00:31.140 --> 00:00:34.719 like checking your email, Facebook watching videos, 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:38.690 creating simple documents and a whole lot more. This is actually a Chromebook 00:00:38.690 --> 00:00:42.280 right behind me. It has a screen, keyboard and touchpad just like a 00:00:42.280 --> 00:00:43.360 regular laptop. 00:00:43.360 --> 00:00:47.370 It's pretty thin, pretty light. It's got most of your basic ports like 00:00:47.370 --> 00:00:51.800 headphones, HDMI, USB, USB again over here. 00:00:51.800 --> 00:00:55.020 That might vary based on what Chromebook you buy but 00:00:55.020 --> 00:00:59.320 more about that later. Let's take a look at the basics and use in the Chromebook interface. 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:02.770 This is the Chromebook desktop and it might look pretty familiar to the desktop 00:01:02.770 --> 00:01:06.330 of a regular Windows or Mac computer if you've ever used one before. 00:01:06.330 --> 00:01:09.810 If you click this button in the lower-left corner you can open 00:01:09.810 --> 00:01:14.080 any app on your Chromebook. For example, if wanted to create a new document 00:01:14.080 --> 00:01:18.500 you can just click here. Whenever you open an application on a Chromebook 00:01:18.500 --> 00:01:22.490 it will appear in a new browser tab. For example we wanted to look at 00:01:22.490 --> 00:01:26.060 Google Maps you'll see that it's opened in new tab here. 00:01:26.060 --> 00:01:29.939 so we have two tabs: one for maps and one for our docs. 00:01:29.939 --> 00:01:34.150 You can also use a Chromebook just like a regular web browser. 00:01:34.150 --> 00:01:37.810 Create a new tab and use it to get it any webpage you want. 00:01:37.810 --> 00:01:42.590 If you want to install new software on your Chromebook, just go to the Chrome Web Store. 00:01:42.619 --> 00:01:46.290 Now it's important to note that you won't find traditional PC software here 00:01:46.290 --> 00:01:49.119 such as Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop. 00:01:49.119 --> 00:01:53.799 Because the Chromebook uses Chrome OS, you can't install traditional software 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:57.329 that you might already own. Still there are a lot of great applications here and many of them 00:01:57.329 --> 00:01:58.000 are free. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:01.880 OK, so those are just the absolute basics of using a Chromebook but 00:02:01.880 --> 00:02:06.020 I hope this video has been helpful in showing you what a Chromebook can and can't do. 00:02:06.020 --> 00:02:09.600 if you're thinking about buying a Chromebook, I'd invite you just to take some time 00:02:09.670 --> 00:02:13.459 and think about your needs as a computer user. A five or six hundred dollar 00:02:13.459 --> 00:02:16.170 laptop may actually do much more than you need and 00:02:16.170 --> 00:02:19.560 I think for a lot of people, a Chromebook would make a really great alternative. 00:02:19.560 --> 00:02:23.920 On the other hand if you need access to very specific Windows or Mac software, 00:02:23.920 --> 00:02:28.700 a Chromebook just might not cut it for you. Anyway I hope this video has been helpful for you. 00:02:28.850 --> 00:02:31.239 Check out our Chromebooks lesson for even more information.