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69 Articles

Do You Need a Chromebook?

We know what you’re thinking. ‘Why on Earth would I need a Chromebook when I already have a MacBook?’ But would you take your MacBook, which could well cost up to £2000, on a hiking holiday when you might be trekking through the wilderness in the rain? Would you work on it in a coffee shop or down the pub? Would you take it camping for watching movies in the evening, knowing it would spend most of your vacation in your tent? Or maybe you only have a desktop Mac; would you buy a Mac notebook just to use on the occasional trip? If the answer to any of these questions is ‘No, it’s too expensive and/or valuable to risk,’ you might want to consider a much cheaper alternative; a…

Do You Need a Chromebook?

Our First Day with a Chromebook

It’s time to take the plunge and get started with our Chromebook. For our experiment, we chose an Acer Chromebook 314, featuring an Intel Celeron N4000 processor with Intel UHD graphics, a 14-inch Acer ComfyView LCD screen, 4GB of memory and 32GB of storage. It has Wi-Fi ‘ac’ and Bluetooth 5.0 for communication, and for connectivity, two USB 3.0 ports and two USB-C ports. There’s also a microSD reader, and a 3.5mm jack port for headphones or external speakers. Charging its 12.5-hour battery is through USB-C, and the bundled transformer is fairly small and light, so it won’t take up much room in your bag. The Acer Chromebook 314 costs just £220/$196/240 € on Amazon, which gives a good balance between price and performance. It’s possible to buy Chromebooks for…

Our First Day with a Chromebook

Working on a Chromebook

Picture the scene. You’re at a factory or building site, and need to incorporate some new figures into a spreadsheet and email it back to the office. You left your MacBook at home as you didn’t want to risk damaging it, so how will your Chromebook cope? Should you be worried, and if so, what about? One thing you definitely don’t need to be concerned about is battery life. A combination of a low-powered processor and a minimalistic operating system combine to give Chromebooks an amazing power efficiency. The model we’re using, the Acer Chromebook 314, runs for over 12 hours on a single charge, beating the 16-inch MacBook Pro and being not too far behind the 13-inch MBP and the MacBook Air. It charges through a USB-C cable, so…

Working on a Chromebook

Tethering Your Chromebook to Your Smartphone

To tether with an Android phone, open Settings and click Connected Devices. Next to Android Phone, select Set Up and follow the on-screen instructions. To use tethering in this way, you need to be running Chrome OS 71 or later; open Settings and click on About Chrome OS to find out which you’re running. If you’re on an iPhone it’s a little more complicated, but not too difficult. On your phone, open Settings, tap Personal Hotspot and switch on Allow Others to Join. Note the Wi-Fi Password underneath. On your Chromebook, open Settings, click Network and then click the triangle to the right of your current wireless access point. Choose your iPhone from the list of local SSIDs, then enter the Wi-Fi Password from the Personal Hotspot page on your…

Tethering Your Chromebook to Your Smartphone

Chrome Remote Desktop

You can access your computer remotely from your Chromebook (macOS 10.10+, Windows 7+, Linux). First you need to open a Chrome or Firefox browser. If you only have Safari, download Chrome from the App Store; it’s free. Now go to: https://remotedesktop.google.com/access and follow the on-screen instructions. It’s a simple setup process. You first need to follow a link to download an extension for Chrome on your Mac, give it permissions (you’re guided through this step by step), and choose a six-figure passcode. Then, on your Chromebook, you need to open Chrome and go to the remote access web page you opened on your computer earlier. Click on your computer’s name, enter the passcode you’ve just set up and you can access your files and apps remotely. Obviously, the computer has…

Chrome Remote Desktop

A Chromebook for Entertainment

If you’re going on a camping or caravanning trip, or going away from home on business, you might want to use your notebook for entertainment in the evenings. And if you don’t want to risk an expensive Apple device, a Chromebook is perfect for the job. Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. The Chromebook can handle streaming video services just as well as any other computer with a web browser. If you want to watch Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, YouTube, live TV and catchup services such as the BBC iPlayer, UKTV Play and ITV Hub and more, you’re OK using your Chromebook. Naturally you need an Internet connection, which is fine if you’re in a hotel or B&B with Wi-Fi, but for camping in the…

A Chromebook for Entertainment

Making Shortcuts

First of all, open the website you want to save as a Shortcut. Click the vertical three-dots icon in the top-right corner, and in the menu that appears, select More Tools > Create Shortcut Choose what to call your new Shortcut. There’s already a title in there, but you can delete it and type something different if you wish. Choose whether the shortcut opens in a new window too. Your Shortcut appears on the Shelf. Drag it onto another shortcut to make a folder, or drag it into an existing folder to move it there, just like on the Mac’s App Launcher and iOS Home Page…

Making Shortcuts

Make sure your Chromebook and the NAS drive are on the same network. In the Files app, click the three-dots icon and go to Services > SMB file share. You’re shown a list of servers that are connected to your network. Scroll up and down and find the one you want to add, and then click on it. Enter a username and password if necessary, and the drive appears in the sidebar. It stays until you remove it – you don’t need to repeat these steps.…

External Storage

You can store documents, data and media on an external hard drive or thumb drive and plug it into your Chromebook. It has to be formatted in a way your Chromebook can handle. FAT and NTFS are usually used, but it can recognise a few others. If it’s not formatted correctly, the first time you plug it in, you’re offered the chance to format it. You can navigate to a connected drive using the Files app; click on it in the sidebar to see what’s stored on it. You can then enjoy any music, movies and photos using the Chromebook’s Gallery feature. In our experience this worked well, but one or two AVIs that played correctly on our Macs stuttered on the Chromebook, presumably due to its lesser processing power.…

External Storage

Communicating on a Chromebook

Did you know you can now FaceTime on a Chromebook? You can’t initiate a FaceTime call, but an Apple user running macOS Monterey or iOS/iPadOS 15 or later, can do so by creating and sending a FaceTime link to everyone they wish to invite to the video chat. Click on that link on your Chromebook and it opens as a FaceTime web portal in the Chrome web browser (make sure it’s up to date). Enter your name and tap ‘Continue’, and wait for the host to let you in. You can then enjoy an end-to-end encrypted FaceTime chat despite using a non-Apple device. Google Duo is a free person-to-person video chat app for up to 32 people; very much like FaceTime, then. You can download a Google Duo app on…

Communicating on a Chromebook

Using the Shelf

You can access apps, or websites you’ve saved as Shortcuts, through the Chrome OS Shelf. This works like macOS’ Dock and App Launcher combined. Move your trackpad pointer to the bottom of the screen, to see apps and Shortcuts you’ve pinned to the Chromebook’s Shelf. Click an icon to open its app or website. Also on the Shelf is the clock; click it for system controls. Click the circle in the left-hand side of the Shelf to expand it, showing recently used apps and a search field, which you can use to search your Chromebook for apps, websites, settings, documents and just about anything else. Click the chevron at the top – or just swipe up with two fingers – to expand it further, showing the Chrome OS answer to…

Using the Shelf

Working Offline on a Chromebook

The Chromebook is an online machine that makes heavy use of cloud computing, but this doesn’t mean it can’t be used when you’ve no Wi-Fi connection. As we’ve already covered, you can tether your Chromebook to your smartphone and use the phone’s data connection to get online, but even if you’ve no way of getting onto the Internet at all, there’s still plenty you can do with Chrome OS. Google Drive has an offline mode built in. If you’re working in Google Docs, for example, it saves a copy to your local storage and syncs with the cloud when you’re back online. Obviously, this doesn’t apply if you’re using Apple’s apps in the iCloud web portal. If Internet access is likely to be intermittent, it’s best to copy out what…

Working Offline on a Chromebook

What a Chromebook Can’t Do

A Chromebook is capable and versatile, but there are plenty of things it can’t do. As mentioned earlier, it can’t run specialist software that’s only available on Macs or PCs. If you’re an engineer that needs to run AutoCAD, a novelist or playwright who works in Scrivener or a graphic designer who can’t do without Photoshop and InDesign, a Chromebook is not for you. Serious photo and video editing is beyond a low-cost Chromebook too; it simply doesn’t have the processing power needed for the job. But could you work away from home taking your shots and footage, review them on site using your Chrome OS notebook and bring them back home for processing? It might be an option. As discussed earlier, the Chromebook is not a great gaming platform.…

What a Chromebook Can’t Do

Step 1 ❱ Say ‘Hey Google, open settings’. Providing you’ve got the Chromebook plugged into a power source, the Google Assistant will open the Settings Page. Step 2 ❱ Click on the power, Wifi and time icon in the bottom-right of the desktop. When the information menu opens, look to the cog icon in the top row, and click it. The Settings page will open. Step 3 ❱ Either method will take you to the Settings page. In here are all manner of tweaks, adjustments and alterations you can do the core of Chrome OS and your experience when using it. Use it with caution, though. While nothing too bad can come from most of these settings, some could cause you problems, and others will wipe your account off the…

Change Device Account Image

Step 1 ❱ The first step is to click the top option within the Personalisation page: Change Device Account Image. This will change the display of the main panel. Step 2 ❱ As you’ll see from the new display, there’s a lot you can opt for in terms of having a new account image. You can choose anything from a cartoon graphic of an animal, through to your own unique image. Step 3 ❱ You can click any of the default images, which will change the main, large image that’s displayed next to them. However, if you want something more personal, click the Camera icon. This activates the Chromebook webcam, and you can take a picture of yourself. Step 4 ❱ Alternatively, you can click the Folder icon (next to…

Change Device Account Image

Step 1 ❱ The next option beneath the Change Device Account Image is Wallpaper. As you would expect, click this to proceed. Step 2 ❱ This option opens slightly differently to many of the other Personalisation and indeed the Settings pages. It’s a separate app, so the main Settings page will drop into the background, and the new Wallpaper app will launch. Step 3 ❱ There are possibly hundreds of pre-installed desktop backgrounds to choose from by looking through the list of categories on the left of the pane. The first image of each category has a Daily Refresh, which will cycle through the available image within that category. Step 4 ❱ If you want to add your own image, such as a wallpaper downloaded from the internet, then ensure…

Step 1 ❱ You’ll find the Screensaver option under Wallpaper, the last of the first batch of three options within the Personalisation page. Step 2 ❱ The screensaver in Chrome OS is disabled by default, so to enable it you’ll need to click the slider that’s currently labelled ‘Off’ to the ‘On’ position. Step 3 ❱ To change the images displayed while the screensaver is on, click on one of the two options: Google Photos, or, Art Gallery. If you’re new to a Google account, then you’re not likely to have many, if any at all, Google Photos. For now, click the Art Gallery option. Step 4 ❱ Tick which of the image sets you want displayed on the screensaver, then click the left-pointing arrow above to return to the…

Search and Assistant

Step 1 ❱ There are only two options in the Search and Assistant category within the Personalisation page. The first details changing the default search engine from Google to either Bing, or Yahoo! Click on the Configure button to make the choice. Step 2 ❱ Clicking the Google Assistant option will open up a varied set of new options. You opt to use the Google Assistant, provide related info on the screen when dealing with your query, and whether ‘OK Google’ is active only when the Chromebook is plugged in to save on power. Step 3 ❱ The Retrain option is always worth exploring if you find that the Google Assistant is beginning to ignore you, or picking up someone else instead of you. Simply click the Retrain button, then…

Search and Assistant

Security and Privacy

Step 1 ❱ The first option here is configuring the Chrome OS Lock Screen and Sign-In. Click the link, and you’ll be asked to enter your Google Account password to continue. When you have, you’ll be able to activate the Lock Screen when waking from Sleep Mode, and choose whether to unlock the Chromebook with the password, or a combination password and PIN. Step 2 ❱ Manage Other People is an option that allows you to enable or disable the Guest account, display Chrome OS usernames and Account Images at the sign-in screen, and the ability to restrict sign-in to Chrome OS to certain users. Step 3 ❱ The next two options in the Security and Privacy category detail the use of Chrome OS to send diagnostic and usage data…

Security and Privacy

Step 1 ❱ There are only two options available within the Apps category of the Personalisation section: Manage Your Apps, and, Google Play Store. Start by clicking on the first option – Manage Your Apps. Step 2 ❱ The Manage Your Apps section will list all the currently installed Chrome OS apps on the system. You can click each of the apps in turn to delve deeper into how they interact with the system, or to Pin them to the Shelf. Options within here include whether to enable permissions to access the webcam, microphone and geo location. Step 3 ❱ One of the best advances in Chrome OS is the ability to install and use Google Play Store apps. Although some are designed specifically for tablets or phones, most will…

Advanced Settings

Some of the features within the Advanced section are still only in their Beta stages. This example applies to the Linux feature. Linux, as we’ve discussed previously, is what Chrome OS is built on top of; the Linux Kernel to be exact. With this feature enabled, you can access the core Linux components, as well as a Linux command line, and install Integrated Developer Environments. The Linux environment is really designed for developers, and those who want to write code for the Linux Kernel. It is possible to install more Linux tools on top of the Chrome OS Linux developer environment, but this is something that we won’t be looking at in this instance. In short, there’s a lot you can do and customise, expand and include when you dive…

Advanced Settings

Date, Time, Languages and Inputs

Step 1 ❱ Time Zone is the first option here, and clicking it will enable you to specify how the Chromebook will get the correct time and date. By default, the IP address of the Chromebook will determine its location, and therefore current time and date, but you can specify your own. The second option is whether you want to use the 24-hour clock format, or not. Step 2 ❱ Languages and Inputs enable you to change the device’s language, or change the available Web Content Languages. This means any websites that support multiple languages will always default to the first supported language in the available list. You can add more languages, and have Translations. Step 3 ❱ Inputs allows you to specify different language and keyboard inputs, for example,…

Date, Time, Languages and Inputs

Files, Print and Scan

Step 1 ❱ Printers! Yes, despite the best efforts of everyone trying to become more paperless, we still use a considerable amount of paper. Printing is essential, though, so Chrome OS wouldn’t be much use without the ability to connect to a printer. Click the Printers option to start connecting to your local network printer. Step 2 ❱ Print Jobs opens a new window that details the current prints in the printer queue. You can delete jobs, clear the printer job history and push one or other jobs above the others in priority. The Scan option, locates any available scanners, as well as scan documents and images directly to the Chromebook. Step 3 ❱ The Files section is an interesting addition. There are two options available here: Disconnect Google Drive…

Files, Print and Scan

Step 1 ❱ Access to Linux is turned off by default, so you’ll need to click on the Turn On button. More information can be found, prior to turning on Linux Developer Mode, by clicking the Learn More hyperlink. Step 2 ❱ The Linux Developer environment is currently (at the time of writing) still in its Beta stage, so you may come across some issues when using it. If you’re ready to start experimenting with Linux on Chrome OS, click the Next button to continue. Step 3 ❱ The next step asks you to setup the Linux Developer environment, using your Chrome OS username. This you can change, as well as the amount of disk space the environment will be using. However, if you’re not sure what to opt for,…

Step 1 ❱ Two options are available in the Accessibility category: Always show accessibility options in the system menu, and Manage accessibility features. The first permanently displays the accessibility options available, and should be enabled if you, or someone else who uses the Chromebook requires these features. Step 2 ❱ The second option, Manage accessibility features, delves into more depth. Click it, and you can enable the Text-to-Speech, ChromeVox assistant, and configure its setup and use. Step 3 ❱ Further down the list, you can personalise the display settings with High Contrast mode, a full-screen magnifier, and to adjust the text size. Step 4 ❱ There’s a lot to configure in here, and it caters for every possible accessibility need there is. You can adjust the keyboard captions, use a…

Step 1 ❱ The Powerwash feature isn’t to be taken lightly. As we’ve already mentioned, it can completely wipe all content from the Chromebook and reset it back to the basic, default setup. Only use this if something has gone wrong, and the Chromebook is near unusable. Step 2 ❱ To start, click on the Reset button in the Powerwash option. You’ll be asked to restart the Chromebook prior to accepting the Powerwash. Step 3 ❱ After clicking the Restart button, the Chromebook will reboot itself, but as the sign-in page appears, another window will pop up asking you for confirmation to proceed with the Powerwash. Click the Powerwash button to continue. Step 4 ❱ It’s worth reiterating that going ahead with a Powerwash will destroy all the files on…

Improving Your Google Security

Online Passwords If you are anything like us, the number of passwords that you need to remember grows on an almost daily basis and because of this, it can be tempting to use the same or similar passwords for several different websites. This is a bad idea, particularly if your chosen password is something easy to guess such as your name or date of birth. Here are a few tips to consider when creating passwords. Keep them Unique ❱ Having a unique password for each website you are required to log in to is a very good idea, particularly for things like email and online banking. Although security on a banking website is likely to be very good, if you use the same password on a website with less stringent…

Improving Your Google Security

Protecting Your Privacy on Google

Step 1 ❱ Start by opening your main Google Accounts page, this can be accessed by entering https://myaccount.google.com into a browser. From the main account home page, you’re able to check on the current levels of privacy, your information and security. Step 2 ❱ The Take the Privacy Check-Up box, located in the lower right of the four available boxes, is a good place to start. Simply click on the Get Started link, at the bottom of the box, to initiate a step-by-step guide on helping you choose the right privacy settings. Step 3 ❱ The Privacy Check-Up section is broken down into several sub-categories, offering you the chance to review the key settings that determine how Google controls its activity toward you, what ads are displayed, how others will…

Protecting Your Privacy on Google

Improving Your Google Searches

Google Search Searching with Google is easy! You simply enter your search term, e.g. “cupcake recipes”, on the Google page for your country and click the search button. Google will then display the results of the search in order of relevance. There are, however, several ways to refine and target your search for even better results. Understanding Google Search Results When you perform a search on Google the results are split into two categories: Paid and Organic results. Paid results can be thought of more like adverts, with their position on the results page determined by how much the advertiser has paid. The organic results are those which are most relevant, respected or popular for your search term. 1 Search Options 2 Paid Results 3 Organic Results The Knowledge Graph…

Improving Your Google Searches

Using Specialised Google Search

Shopping Search This feature allows you to search only shopping results for any term you enter into the search box on Google. Step 1 ❱ You can open the Shopping search screen by typing www.google.co.uk/shopping into your browser address field. Your browser should automatically detect your location and filter any results to your own currency. Step 2 ❱ You will see that the shopping search screen is very different from a standard Google search screen, with products shown in sections such as electronics, clothing and even as specific as Nexus 6. What is shown depends on your search history in Google. Step 3 ❱ Clicking on one of the product sections will display a list of results for that type of product. Alternatively, you can type a search term into…

Using Specialised Google Search

How to Create Google Alerts

Setting Up Alerts Step 1 ❱ To get started setting up an alert, navigate to www.google.co.uk/alerts. Enter your query just as if you were doing a normal Google search. You can use the various Google search options, including quotes, minus sign, to exclude words and the site prefix to find specific types of website. Step 2 ❱ Using the Show options menu, you can choose to tell Google to only provide content of a specific type (videos, for example) or you can request that every type of result is sent to you. Everything alerts include results from Google Web Search, Google Blog Search and Google News. Step 3 ❱ The next step is to choose a delivery rate. The default is once a day: Google Alerts checks for new results…

How to Create Google Alerts

How to Personalise Google Trends

Step 1 ❱ Navigate to the Google trends website trends.google.com to be presented with this home page. This is a far complex application so be advised to take a few moments to get used to the layout and the control options you will find here. Step 2 ❱ Scrolling down through the home page you will find the various options including latest stories, insights and updates, historical data and recently trending search results. We will look at all of these but to start let’s focus on the main search bar. Step 3 ❱ In the search bar, enter your term and click on the magnifying glass to activate your search. Some will bring a variety of different searches or similar terms, if this is the case a drop down menu…

How to Personalise Google Trends

Getting Started with Chrome

1 Tabs ❱ Just like almost all other browsers, Chrome lets you open multiple web pages at once and display them in tabs. Simply click on any tab to display the page. To add a new tab, click on the small tab to the right of the last one. To remove a tab, click the small X on the right of the tab you want to close. You can also manage tabs from the Chrome options menu. 2 Navigation Controls ❱ From left to right, the main buttons you use when navigating web pages using Chrome are: Back, Forward, Refresh and Home. Click and hold on both the Back and Forward buttons to see your recent navigation history. The Home button may not be displayed here on a brand new install of…

Getting Started with Chrome

Installing Chrome

Step 1 ❱ Visit www.google.co.uk/chrome/browser/desktop/index.html and click on the Download Now button to get the Chrome installer. You can choose to make Chrome your default browser at this point or you can change that setting later. Step 2 ❱ Once the download is complete, Chrome will install automatically. When the installation is complete, a Chrome browser window will open, giving you the opportunity to take a tour of Chrome’s main features; and that’s it, simple eh?…

Installing Chrome

Customising the Chrome Browser

Changing the Theme Step 1 ❱ Open Chrome on your computer and click on the Chrome Menu button in the top right corner. Look for the Chrome options link, click this and select Settings and this window will open. Step 2 ❱ From the Settings screen click on Themes from the Appearance options. This will take you to the Chrome Web Store, which shows web apps and extensions. To view the available themes, scroll down to the left-hand menu and click the Themes link. A selection of themes will now be displayed on screen. Step 3 ❱ To select and activate a theme, simply roll over the thumbnail and click the Add to Chrome button. Your chosen theme is automatically downloaded, installed and activated in a few seconds (depending on…

Customising the Chrome Browser

How to Save and Sync Chrome

Signing in to Chrome Before you can sync your Chrome settings, you will need to sign in using a common Google account. Step 1 ❱ Open Chrome on your computer and click on the Chrome User button in the top right corner. Now follow the on-screen instructions and sign into your account. Click this and a new window will open. Step 2 ❱ You will now need to sign in using the Google account that you use on your other devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.). You probably only have one account but if you have more than one, make sure you check this. Step 3 ❱ A Sync Settings windows should now open but if not, go to Chrome Menu > Settings > Advanced Sync Settings. Here you can select what…

How to Save and Sync Chrome

Using the Chrome Web Store

Chrome Themes Chrome Extensions are web-based programmes that are designed to be used entirely within the browser. Using apps, you can do things like create documents, edit photos and listen to music, without having to install complicated third-party software on your computer. Themes on the other hand are purely aesthetic as they change the look of the Chrome browser and do not add any further functionality. Think of Themes as a way of injecting a little extra bit of your personality into your web browser. Step 1 ❱ You can access the Web Store easily by clicking on the Apps Icon in the top left area of the page when you start Chrome. The Apps page will slide into view, displaying any apps you currently have installed (Gmail and YouTube…

Using the Chrome Web Store

How to Use Chrome Plug-ins

Installing Plug-ins Step 1 ❱ Assuming that you allow websites to use plug-ins, if Google Chrome detects that you’re missing a particular plug-in for a page you are trying to view, you will see a prompt to install the plug-in at the top of the web page. Step 2 ❱ Click Install plug-in in the message dialog. Some plug-ins begin the installation process by downloading a setup file to your computer. For those plug-ins, make sure that you confirm the download by clicking Save in the downloads bar that appears. Step 3 ❱ Once the download has finished, restart Google Chrome by closing all open windows to complete the installation process. This is an important step as Chrome needs to be restarted or it will continue to look for the…

How to Use Chrome Plug-ins

Setting Up Chrome Autofill

Step 1 ❱ The first time you fill out a form, Google Chrome automatically saves the contact information that you enter, like your name, address, phone number or email address, as an Autofill entry. You can store multiple addresses as separate entries. Step 2 ❱ Chrome can also save your credit card information, with your permission. When you do this on a form, Chrome asks you at the top of the page whether you’d like to save the information. Step 3 ❱ If your Chrome Autofill information is correct, you don’t need to do anything more. If you have changed address recently, or some of the other information has changed, it can be frustrating for Chrome to keep suggesting the wrong info. Step 4 ❱ To manage your Autofill entries,…

Setting Up Chrome Autofill

Chrome Tips and Tricks

Chrome-Casting Your Screen ❱ Have you ever been browsing online and stumbled upon a video, or photograph, that you want to share with those around you on the big screen of your family TV? With the additional purchase of a Google Chromecast you will be able to do just that, by casting content from your Chrome browser, on your desktop or mobile devices, to your TV. The quickest way to do this, on your desktop device, is by right-clicking on the Chrome window and then clicking on “Cast”. On a mobile, tap the Three dot icon, top right of the Chrome app, and tap “Cast”. Incognito Window ❱ There are several ways to open a new incognito window for Chrome. If you have a Chrome shortcut pinned to the task…

Chrome Tips and Tricks

Installing Apps

Step 1 ❱ The only problem with install apps on a Chromebook is that you’re spoiled for choice. Unless you specially know what app you want to install, you can find yourself dredging through the millions available. Start by locating the Google Play Store app on the Shelf. Step 2 ❱ Let’s install a game for our first example. In the Search bar in the Google Play Store open window, enter: Infinitode 2. Infinitode 2 is a great, new tower defence game from developer Prineside. Click on the first result in the search. Step 3 ❱ When you click on a result, such as we’ve done in Step 2, information regarding the app will be displayed, including screenshots, reviews, and details on the title itself. For now, though, we just…

Installing Apps

Step 1 ❱ One of the easiest ways to remove an existing app that’s currently located on the Shelf, is to simply two-finger tap and hold, then from the context menu that pops up select Uninstall. This is unobtrusively remove the app from your Chromebook. Step 2 ❱ If, however, the app you want to remove isn’t located on the Shelf. Click on the Launcher in the bottom-left of the desktop, followed by the up-pointing arrow to bring up the full-screen list of all the available apps installed on the Chromebook. Step 3 ❱ From the list of apps, locate the one you want to remove. Then, as with Step 1, two-finger tap and hold to bring up the context menu, and from the list select Uninstall. This will, as…

Step 1 ❱ The quickest way to create a new Desk is to simply locate, and press the Show Windows key on your Chromebook (the one that looks like:). This will display all the currently open desktops and windows. Step 2 ❱ Look to the top of the screen, you’ll see a button labelled ‘Desk 1’ and a plus icon to the right of it. Click on the plus icon, and this will create a brand-new Desk. You’ll be given the option to name the new Desk, so call it whatever you want; we’ve called ours ‘Coding’ for this example. Step 3 ❱ When you want to switch to an already created Desk, hit the Show Windows key, and click on the Desk you want. You can rename Desks by…

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Create a new desk: Press Search + Shift + =. • Switch to a different desk: Press Search + [ or ] (left or right square bracket). • Move a window to a different desk: Press Shift + Search + [ or ]. • View all windows in your desk: Press Alt + Tab. • View a different window in your desk: Hold Alt and press Tab. • View a different window in your current desk: Select Current desk. • View windows across all desks: Select All desk…

Working with a Chromebook

Versatility vs Power ❱ A Chromebook’s advantage lies in its versatility. There’s something for everyone here, from the standard Word and Microsoft Office user, through to the digital editor, avid gamer, and even developers. The disadvantage is the Chromebook’s lack of raw processing power. Take a Windows laptop, for example, even one of the mid-range varieties, and they will wipe the floor with a Chromebook when it comes to the speed of the process, capabilities of graphics, size and speed of memory and the amount of storage available. This level of processing power is what will drive most power users to stay with their tried and tested, traditional laptops – be they Windows 10 or MacBook. However, what the Chromebook may lack in oomph, it certainly makes up for with…

Working with a Chromebook

Anything you can do, I can do better…

Well, in terms of a Chromebook, maybe not better, but perhaps just as well. It’s worth breaking down some of the more popular aspects of modern computing, and seeing how a Chromebook would fare next to something like a Windows 10/11 laptop. Your uses may differ, but there’s always some basic crossover involved. For example, someone who spends all day writing documents for work may not want to do any gaming on their computer in their free time, but they may like watching the latest movies on one. Likewise, an avid gamer may not have any need to do any coding or development work, but a recently released game could enable modifications through some low-level code, which may mean they’ll dip their toes into the world of programming. Either way, here’s…

Conclusion: Should You Buy a Chromebook?

So should you buy a Chromebook? As discussed, a Chrome OS notebook might be just the thing for taking away from home in circumstances where you don’t want to risk your Mac notebook, but we wouldn’t recommend it as a full-time alternative to your Apple gear. Ask yourself this question. What am I likely to do with a notebook while away from home, and can a Chromebook achieve these goals? As we’ve discovered, it’s great for entertainment, useful for work and OK for casual (but not serious), gaming. There are tasks you can do on a Chromebook before transferring it back onto your Mac, you can keep in touch with video calls, email and most messengers (Apple Messenger is the exception), and you can work offline to an extent too.…

Conclusion: Should You Buy a Chromebook?

Device Guide While most of our reviews cover most devices, we have added these icons to give you a quick reference to what device is best suited for the product or software. Scores// Our ratings explained: 5 - excellent 4 - good 3 - average 2 - poor 1 - avoid…

STM ChargeTree Swing Charging Station

This second-generation STM ChargeTree makes a few minor, but welcome, changes from the original model. Like the original ChargeTree it’s available in black or white, and it once more charges a Qi-compatible iPhone, AirPods (with a wireless charging case), and an Apple Watch - all at the same time, using only one power socket. You just need a USB-C mains adapter of at least 20W. It’s not supplied, but they’re not hard to come by. As before, you charge your iPhone by resting it on the backward-leaning mat at the front of the ChargeTree Swing. It’s comfortably cushioned, and there’s an optional rubber raiser to fit over the foot if you have a smaller iPhone that needs the extra height. Also as before, your earbuds sit on a charging pad…

STM ChargeTree Swing Charging Station

Joby GripTight GorillaPod for MagSafe

The GorillaPod range of camera and mobile phone tripods is among the most versatile and comprehensive mounts around, and now there’s one for the latest, MagSafe iPhones (that’s the 12-series and later). The lower half of the device is business as usual; a regular GorillaPod tripod which you can bend and mould into almost any shape. Need a shorter leg to compensate for an uneven platform? You’ve got it. Want to mount your phone at a lower height without sacrificing stability? Not a problem. You can even hold the legs together and use it as a (short) selfie stick, or bend them around a tree branch or metal pole to hold your phone in positions that just wouldn’t be possible with a traditional tripod. Click and stick The upper part…

Joby GripTight GorillaPod for MagSafe

Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 Whole Home Wi-Fi Kit

Here at Essential AppleUser Magazine, we’ve long been fans of devolo’s excellent homeplug devices. Plug one into the mains near your router and connect it with a supplied Ethernet cable, then set up the other bundled homeplugs anywhere in the house, and they use your home’s electrical cabling to carry your network data. Individual plugs offer Wi-Fi hotspots and/or Ethernet ports, so you can make cabled and wireless connections to the homeplug instead of directly to your router. At last, you can have Wi-Fi throughout the house, even a long way from the router, and cabled Internet access without having to drill holes in the walls and trail cables under the carpets. These latest devolo homeplugs conform to the newx Wi-Fi 6 protocols, which give up to 50% faster wireless…

Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 Whole Home Wi-Fi Kit

SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe 256GB

You can use this double-ended flash drive to transfer files between devices, and back up your photos and videos from your iPad or iPhone. Available in 64GB, 128GB or 256GB capacities, it has a USB-C 3.1 plug on one end, and a Lightning connector at the other. You can only copy media and contacts from an iPhone or iPad, using the iXpand app, but plug it into a Mac and you can copy any file. Transferring files to the flash drive is super speedy; it’s certainly faster than its predecessor, the iXpand Flash Drive Go. The iXpand app is easy to use too. It’s a great way of getting more from your mobile device’s internal storage, without clogging it up with things that could be stored elsewhere. Info// SanDisk www.westerndigital.com…

SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe 256GB

Kensington StudioDock Charging Stand

This handy, mains-powered device is more than just an iPad stand. Sure, it can hold your iPad Pro (2018 or later, either size), or iPad Air (2020), in Landscape or portrait mode, so you can watch media, draw with your Apple Pencil or type comfortably by connecting a keyboard and mouse. But it’s also a wireless charger for your iPhone and/or AirPods. Just place them on the pad at the foot of the stand. You can also buy an optional Apple Watch charger that fits on the side of the device. The stand connects to your iPad’s USB-C socket, and you can plug in peripherals using the ports at the back. There’s three USB 3 ports, a HDMI port and an Ethernet port. There’s an SD Card reader and headphone…

Kensington StudioDock Charging Stand

MINIX NEO P1 3-Port GaN Charger

Earlier in the year we saw the release of the NEO P2 4-Port GaN Charger. This is a remarkable and extremely useful multi-port charger that’s bristling with features and comes in at a fantastic price. However, MINX has since upped its game yet again and released the P2’s smaller but just as capable brother, the NEO P1. The MINIX NEO P1 is a three-port charging station, with a pair of USB-C Power Delivery 3.0 ports offering 65W, 5~15V/3A, 20V/3.25A and a single USB-A1 36W Quick Charge 3.0 port at 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A and 20V/1.8A. While it may lack an extra port over its sibling, it certainly makes up for that in portability. The NEO P2 wasn’t a huge charging station by any stretch of the imagination but the P1 is…

MINIX NEO P1 3-Port GaN Charger

Twelve South PowerPic Charging Stand

What a delightfully clever idea. At a glance, PowerPic looks like an attractive but unremarkable photo frame, but it’s also a powerful wireless charger that’s perfect for your Qi-compatible iPhone or AirPods. PowerPic is a solid, clear photo holder, with a black or white charging unit on the back. It houses a six-inch by four-inch photograph in landscape or portrait mode; which is held in place by a plastic cover, held on by a magnet in each corner. The whole thing slots into a black or white base. It looks excellent with a decent photo in place; right at home in any room. You connect it to the mains using a USB-C cable (supplied) and a 20w USB-C power adapter (not supplied). On a charge Of course, the PowerPic really…

Twelve South PowerPic Charging Stand

FRITZ!Repeater 6000 WiFi Extender

A wireless extender is designed to compliment your wireless router by extending the reach of your Wi-Fi network. Set it up in a location that’s within the range of your current network, and it provides an access point of its own, which in turn transfers data to and from your router. The FRITZ!Repeater 6000 wireless repeater is an update of AVM’s popular FRITZ!Repeater 3000 model, and it makes several advances on the older product. Most importantly, the FRITZ!Repeater 6000 is Wi-Fi 6 compatible. This new Wi-Fi standard is designed for the modern network, where far more connected devices are present than was the case just a few years ago. These days, as well as computers, mobile devices and smart TVs, you’re likely to have Internet radios, connected smart devices such…

FRITZ!Repeater 6000 WiFi Extender

Airpulse P100X Stereo Speaker

Airpulse’s latest offering, the P100X stereo Bluetooth speaker, should appeal to those who like their tech to be beautiful as well as practical. Inspired by traditional FM radios of old, it has a gorgeous mesh finish at the front and back, and an elegant cherry wood speaker casing at the top and sides. Sound-wise, it features a pair of custom-designed 10w tweeters and a 4.5-inch 40w mid-woofer, for 60w in total. The tweeters use an oval-shaped diaphragm to deliver a better high frequency response, accurately reproducing even the highest audio frequencies. The mid woofer is a 4.5-inch unit, featuring a hard anodised aluminium alloy cone suspended in a heavy, rigid cast magnesium alloy frame. The device connects to your audio source via Bluetooth v5.1, supporting the aptX HD codec, or…

Airpulse P100X Stereo Speaker

Procreate Pocket

The iPad is a near-perfect platform on which to express your artistic tendencies. Its large display and professional-quality surface and capabilities make for an excellent drawing pad. The iPhone, on the other hand, is a little more difficult. But with the release of Procreate Pocket, artists can now unleash their talents on the smaller screen. Don’t be fooled into thinking the iPhone version of Procreate is a cut-down release; it’s not. In fact, it’s matched with the iPad in terms of features, technicalities and abilities. There are hundreds of handmade brushes available, alongside a suite of tools and the new Valkyrie Graphics Engine – the latest, and fastest, 64-bit painting engine. Highlights include UHD canvases, up to 16k x 4k, a Dark Mode interface, a QuickShape feature for creating perfect…

Procreate Pocket

Splice – Video Editor & Maker

This is the perfect editor for anyone wanting to put together videos quickly and easily. It takes literally just a few minutes to get the hang of using it, and you’ll be putting together your own videos in next to no time. Ease of use is everything in an app like this, and Splice manages to be flexible enough to create good, professional-looking videos while keeping everything so simple you can’t go wrong. You can add videos and static pictures as well as title pages. Choose from a variety of fades to move from one to the next. You can add music tracks from iTunes, record a voiceover or use the sound from the videos themselves. Adding and removing sections is easily accomplished with a couple of button presses. Click…

Splice – Video Editor & Maker

It’s always nice to come across an app that does something a little bit differently, or takes an existing idea and puts its own unique spin on it. Especially considering that everyone is talking about Netflix’s new undead action romp, Army of the Dead. Zombies, Run! does exactly that, and it helps you to get fit as well. It’s part adventure game, part fitness app and part interactive story. The concept might sound a little strange at first but it makes perfect sense when you start using it, so you just have to trust us that it works. Zombies, Run! is an app designed to help people who want to run, but lack the motivation to actually get out there and do it. The incentive in this case is to…

Sites that collate Internet radio stations aren’t exactly thin on the ground, but Radio Garden does it differently. Instead of listing broadcasters by genre or country, it locates them on a globe which you can rotate on the screen, and zoom in and out of for a better view. Every shining dot on the map is a radio station (or for pedants, an Internet streaming broadcast). Click on a dot, or drag the globe until it’s in the centre of the circle in the middle of the screen, and that station plays. Using the controls at the foot of an iPhone screen and in the bottom-left on an iPad or Mac, you can play and pause the stream, or move to the next or previous local station. Tap the heart…

iMazing is a device management tool for all iOS and iPadOS devices. Open iMazing on your Mac and connect an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV or even a classic iPod, and you can explore and organise its contents with a far greater degree of control than macOS natively allows. Various price points are available, depending on how many mobile devices you wish to use with it. The app can back up your device to your computer, without deleting previous backups. These backups are encrypted, and unlike regular backups, they can be stored on any connected hard drive or NAS drive – it doesn’t have to be your boot drive. Backups can be scheduled and carried out automatically, and you can review and restore their contents just like you can…

Impressive iOS Photography Apps

Camera+ 2 Developer: LateNiteSoft S.L, http://latenitesoft.com Price: £2.99, $2.99, 3,49 € System Requirements: iOS 11.0 or later Camera+ 2 is a complete overhaul of the popular photography app Camera +. It’s compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and gives far more control over your shots than the iOS Camera app. You can capture photos in RAW mode, set shutter speed, ISO and white balance, and in dual camera iPhones, use the impressive depth capture mode. You can also set it to only trigger the shutter when the device is stable, or when it detects a smile. Halide Camera Developer: Chroma Noir LLC, https://halide.cam Price: £5.99, $5.99, 6,99 € System Requirements: iOS 11.0 or later Another replacement for the iOS Camera app, Halide intelligently optimises ISO and shutter speeds for…

Impressive iOS Photography Apps

Alien: Isolation

Ridley Scott’s original Aliens from 1979 was a ground-breaking piece of cinema. Set within the claustrophobic confines of a spaceship, the crew are hunted by an alien creature of immense death-dealing impressiveness. It was tense, scary as hell and the feeling of absolute terror seeped through the screen as the protagonist, Ripley, tries to flush the beast into the depths of space. Sadly, that sense of terror had never really been conveyed through gaming. True, there have been several Aliens-based games in the past, for all manner of systems (one of our favourites was a Doom Aliens mod, from 1994), and we did have space-based horror in the form of System Shock and Dead Space, but the Alien franchise always felt a little flat. However, 2014’s Alien: Isolation from SEGA…

Alien: Isolation

Double Dragon Trilogy

I blooming love Double Dragon. Back in the late Eighties, at the local arcade – a dingy, dishevelled dive, complete with sticky carpet and drenched in eye-watering neon – my mate Daz and I would force-feed ten pence pieces into the Double Dragon arcade machine and settle in for an afternoon of cooperative digital violence. It was superb. Imagine how happy I was to get my hands on the complete trilogy on the iPad. Sadly, Daz and I have parted ways in the years since 1987, but these days I have a couple of children who can help me take on the bosses and finally rescue poor old Marian from the clutches of the Black Warriors gang. Often, when it comes to arcade conversions for mobile devices, the end result…

Double Dragon Trilogy

Another World – 20th

Part game, part interactive movie, when Another World was first released for the Amiga it was more than just another game. It was a real interactive experience. Rather than falling into one of the established genres of the time, Another World was neither a puzzle game, a shoot-’em-up nor a platformer, but it was all of these and more. Playing it now it’s easy to forget how revolutionary it was at the time. The spookily realistic sprite animation still looks very nice, but it was gob-smacking in 1991. The game begins with a scientific experiment gone wrong, which transports the main character to a strange, dream-like world and so begins the adventure where you take on challenge after challenge as you try to stay alive and figure out a way…

Another World – 20th

Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories

It’s hard to believe Grand Theft Auto III is well over 20 years old. It’s also hard to imagine how the games industry would look without this iconic brand that transcends video gaming. Even non-gamers are familiar with the title, although often for the wrong reasons. Controversy! Violence! Adult content! Yet GTA didn’t become an institution because of its controversial storylines. It invented the ‘sand box’ genre which has changed the face of gaming in subsequent years, with the growth and development of the franchise to the levels one would once question possible with the masterful GTA 5 and the devastating badness of the much anticipated and much savaged Grand Theft Auto Collection. Despite the fantastic ports of Vice City and San Andreas, there was enormous trepidation and excitement about…

Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories

Tengai or Sengoku Blade as it is know in its homeland, Japan, is a horizontal scrolling arcade shoot - ’em-up which was released in arcades in 1996; and via several excellent home ports at the time. Yet this iOS conversion somehow feels the most fitting of the home releases. Allow me to explain. As a long-time fan of the genre, I have always experienced issues with lifespan vs price when it came to purchasing stand-alone releases. Numerous shooter collections litter my games collection, but very few stand-alone packages join them. This is far from a criticism, but the genre itself lends itself well to short bursts of intense gameplay coated in rich, over-the-top visuals, sonics and a pumping soundtrack. This is perfect arcade fare, as a handful of credits offer…

BADLAND, Game of the Year Edition

BADLAND is a beautifully designed side-scrolling action adventure puzzleplatformer that takes place in an atmospheric forest packed full of deadly traps you must navigate through to reach the end of each level. The game is controlled by using one finger to guide the peculiar furry character through the treacherous BADLAND, much like the highly addictive 2D Helicopter PC game if you recall, or the side-scrolling sections in classic Mario. However, this is a great deal more in-depth and obviously visually superior. The screen automatically scrolls from left to right. You simply tap your device’s screen in order to cause the furball to rise higher, thus avoiding the many traps and obstacles in your path. Releasing your finger causes him to drop back down. There are many power-ups available in each…

BADLAND, Game of the Year Edition

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