How long do updates take?

This week was an especially frustrating week for my computers.

My websites for work had WordPress core updates.  Those usually go smoothly, but then there are sometimes issues with plug-ins and themes that take a little work-this was the case for me.  I spent hours troubleshooting a couple of issues, and finally after going to the theme developers (who issued 3 updates this week) I was on track.

I have a Mac laptop and a MacMini that I use for work.  I use Adobe Creative Cloud products that constantly have updates.  I changed some Mail profiles for my work email, and needed to update them on the Mac. Between the two sets of updates, my computers spent hours cranking through data and were almost unusable.

Regularly the Windows machine goes through updates, and I detest the screen that says ("Windows has XX updates-please do not shut off or unplug computer").  The next morning when I turn on that computer, it may take another couple of reboots to get it working correctly.

Then there's the trusty Chromebook.

When I boot up in the morning, it takes about 10 seconds to get up and running.  All of the apps are basically available immediately.

I contrast that with my Mac-mini, which boots up quickly, yet because of all kinds of software that runs in the background, it may take a minute or two for my Mail program to download the newest emails and be ready to function (sometimes involving the "spinning beach ball" in the process).

My Windows machine with a Solid State Drive boots up a little quicker than the Mac-but not 10 seconds fast. It is not uncommon that it takes a minute or two to load all the necessary software before my Mail is ready to download.

And then there's the updates on the Chromebook.  They don't happen frequently, but when they do, there is an arrow that appears in the right corner of the screen, you click on it, the computer restarts, and in 30 seconds or less, everything is working correctly again.

In my younger days, going through updates with Windows 3.1 or one of the earlier MacBook's was a joyful challenge with a little bit of stress mixed in.

I have to admit, that after working with personal computers for over 30 years, I actually like the simplicity of the Chromebook, and the absence of stress.

Google Slides for Presentations

Are you a presentation warrior?  Noone will ever be able to convince you to use something other than PowerPoint or Keynote.

I know, I have been there in my career.  Maybe even more than the average warrior because I created on average about two new presentations a week for about 5 years straight. My corporate friends were creating one or two every 6 months and tweaking them every once in awhile. They would never give up their PowerPoint.

What if you are not a regular user of PowerPoint/Keynote and need the occasional presentation for work or hobby? I say, try out Google Slides.

Its interface is very similar to what you would find with any other presentation software.  There are a number of templates available, and if you are hardcore user, you can build a presentation from scratch and customize it as much as you want.

You can import all kinds of free templates from websites like Slides Carnival or Free Google Slides Templates if there aren't enough in the default collection for you.

You have most of the same options that are available in other presentation software, and you have a great deal of flexibility in formatting. Because I am not a "master" at the craft as I once was, I don't need all of the bells and whistles I once thought I needed.

The big question that most everyone would ask- "Can I use the presentation without an internet connection?"

The answer- YES!

If you are using a Chrome Browser and you have set-up your Google Drive to "Sync Google Docs, Sheets, Slides & Drawings files to this computer so that you can edit offline."- You can do it.

I rarely work on any Google app without being on WiFi, but the option is there if you need it.  You can also export any Slides presentation to other formats that are compatible with other systems [.pptx, .pdf or (.jpg, .png or .svg) for single slides].  I have yet to find myself in a bind when presenting somewhere with a Chromebook created presentation.

There is also a great option of publishing to the webs for others to see the slideshow- either as a file or an embedded web presentation...(this was easier than anything I have tried with PowerPoint).



So, if you need something easy to use, that costs nothing extra, and does most everything other software does, give Slides a try.

Phone Calls for Free with Google Voice

A short story to get into the big story...

I am currently using an iPhone 5 that is over 3 years old.  Last week I discovered that the case is warped and the screen is separating from the body of the phone.  The week before that I was looking at new phones, just to see what I had to choose from.

I decided to go with the iPhone 6, because it is newer technology, the case is not as big as some of the other phones available.  I don't think I would mind an Android phone, but all that I have looked at have larger screens and I don't want anything that large in my pocket.

It is a whole other story to go into why I have chosen StraightTalk as my cell service, but in a chat with them today, it appears that I will need to make my warped phone last another few days, so I was concerned with a Plan B.

The big story...

I have used Google Voice for several years, and currently my my Google Voice number rolls over to my cell number, so I don't miss calls (but most calls I get through Google Voice are sales calls or are wrong numbers).

I decided I would check out my set-up at the office this afternoon, just in case Plan B became necessary.  The scoop- it works like a charm.

As I have written in previous posts, my Chromebook is docked to a monitor and a sound system.  I plugged my Apogee 96K Mic into a USB port and immediately had all of the audio I need to make and receive calls on the Google Voice number.

So here are some notes:

• Get a Google Voice number.  When you first sign into Google Voice with your Google account, you are given the option of picking out a number that works for you.  I picked an Asheville area phone number (since it was the area I have been living for the past 10 years) that will be mine forever (and can be changed to a new number for an extra $10 dollars). You can forward calls from other phone numbers to your Google number and as they say, "Google Voice gives you one number for all of your phones — a phone number that is tied to you, not to a device or a location."
• Google Voice is a stand alone web page (google.com/voice/) which is integrated with Google Hangouts or your cell phone.  You can make calls and send texts, and receive calls, texts and voicemail at that page. You can use Hangouts or your cell phone to make phone calls anywhere in the continental USA for free. You can make long distance/international calls for a fee and you can add money to your account very easily through your Google account.  The rates are affordable-I used to call friends in Japan for 3 cents per minute (it was more expensive to call a cell phone), and I think that they are comparable to Skype rates.
• You can call call anyone internationally for free using Google Hangouts.  If your friend/co-worker has Hangouts, you can connect to their Google Voice number and even use video to converse.
• Google Voice is an extension that you can add to your Chrome browser/Chromebook that integrates with Gmail. When I open my Gmail, I have the option of making a call from a link at the bottom left corner of the screen.  So, Gmail becomes my one stop shop for communications.

There are many ways to use this technology for work and home use.   I can easily integrate this with any of the devices that I use, that includes iPad, iPhone and any of my computer systems through the Chrome browser. Calls for free on any device, that's hard to beat.

Currently, my workplace uses a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) system for all of its staff.  Google Voice can be used in similar ways, and can be integrated with various kinds of hardware. Though the day of a desktop phone may be a thing of the past.  

Currently, I have a desktop phone device for work that is plugged into my router at my house (150 miles from the main office).  My "office phone" forwards to my cell phone 100% of the time (except when a cat happens to knock it off the hook).  I receive office calls all over the country when I am traveling, and most folks think they are reaching me at the Charlotte office.

With a little research and testing, I could devise a completely Chromebook driven office phone system for a small business or regionally dispersed working group for a fraction of the cost that most groups are paying, and they wold have advantage of all the tools built into the Chrome work environment. 

Is it time for you to rethink your home/office phone system?

Play-ing on a Saturday

It is another Saturday morning with the Chromebook.

I am listening to "Car Talk" on NPR.  I am in my sweatpants, and my computer is in my lap.

There is nothing on my mind this Saturday except play.  After a long week of work, I like to play on the weekend.  After a week of temperatures in the 70's with sunshine, it has cooled off and there is rain in the air, so it looks like indoor activities.

So, what can you do on the Chromebook without spending money?

Google Play.

Music

This was covered here: Sreaming Music on the Chromebook

Books

I love to read, and there are hundreds of free books that are available with a few clicks.  I discovered that a number of books that were required reading in college are available for free (seems that ancient texts are fair game to be republished).  For my clergy friends, Wesley's sermons and writings are here-free.  And if you ar into trashy novels, there s a great selection for free. (I think my parents would have loved this resource--they bought thousands of used paperbacks over the years for less than a quarter. That genre is here for free and they can easily be stacked on a tablet.)

Movies and TV

There are lots of free videos on the internet...YouTube is one of the easiest places to go.  Google Play has several hours of free videos available too.  Mostly documentaries and animation, but it is Saturday after all.  Why not a documentary about cybercrime? I just put The Most Dangerous Town on the Internet: Where Cybercrime Goes to Hide on my wishlist.

I saw a number of older TV shows that you can get episodes for free.

And though it is not free, there are lots of cheap movies and TV programs available in Google Play for less than $3 dollars.

Some of my friends would say that almost anything can be found online for free, including live sports, movies and all kinds of television and movies.  These websites tend to be riddled with pop-ups and viruses for Windows machines.  The Chromebook may be the best device to access these sites since the operating system is a browser and relatively difficult to destroy.

Newsstand

Most of what I found was for tablet readers only.  But there is an app for iPad and iPhone, and I was able to add a free magazine to my library and open it immediately on my tablet.  Even though the language in the store makes you think it is only available on Android devices, that is not the case.

I just added to my library: TIME: Nelson Mandela Commemorative Issue.

I think I will stay busy today.

Google Docs for Everyday Productivity

Will Google Docs do everything that Microsoft Word does? No.

Will it do most everything you need it to do? Probably.

What do most people use Word for? Writing letters, drafting emails and other documents.  All of the myriad of features that you find in Word are mostly there for power users.  It has way more features than I have learned to use and I have done some fairly complicated things with it.

Over the years I have laid out books, dissertations, and all kinds of PR materials using Word, but the vast majority of my work is nothing more than simple documents that I save to my hard drive or cut and paste into a website.

I have used Word in numerous office settings, from a newspaper to non-profits, to work with the state community college system, and back to the church.  What I discovered in all of these settings is that for most of the employees, we collectively used less than half of the features that come with Word (and less than 1/3 of the tools that come with Microsoft Office).

Some questions that people ask of Google Docs:

Is it compatible with Word?

In short-Yes. At the community college I was told that I could not use any other Word processing program, because it would not be compatible with the hardware on the campus network.  That just became a challenge and I frequently used Google Docs and iPages with my Mac to test the edges.  As far as I know, no one ever found out or cared what I was using.  You can export any Google Doc into Word, and back the other way. Are there occasional issues.   Sure.  But I have not found them to be formidable.

Can you insert images, tables, footnotes, etc. in Docs?

No problem.  The insert interface is easy and manageable.  Give it a test.  Inserting a footnote may actually be easier in Docs than Word.

Can you format fonts, etc.?

I have never found issues.  You have many of the standard fonts, plus a host of others.  You have all of the sizing capabilities an can even format text for web documents easily.  If you need to use other languages, there are some options that you can set-up in your account to do that.

Does it have easy to use templates?

It has a bunch of them available in the basic program.  You can run a search, and there are hundreds of them online for various projects.  Most all of them are customizable.  Not sure that you will need more than what is available.

Can you use it offline?

Yes.  It is completely possible to use Google Docs without an internet connection.  I will devote an entire article to that question at a later date


What are the drawbacks to Google Docs?

I am finding fewer every day I experiment.  If you are already a power user of MS Office, you will probably not want to switch.  For the money, Google Docs can hardly be beat as a word processor.

Summary: If I were to start a business, I would recommend that only folks who needed the extra features get computers that run Office, the rest of us would use the Chromebook with its own suite of tools. Docs being the most used of the bunch.  We would save money upfront, and we would already have networking tools available too us thanks to Google.

Taking Notes with Google Keep

It's Saturday, and late afternoon is time for a little writing, and taking notes.

When I am on the Mac, I use their default program- Notes.  It works across all of my Apple devices.  Take notes on the iPhone, and they show up on the MacBook and the iPad.  It has been pretty seamless. They added the ability to add pictures and drawings with one of their updates, but for the most part the app is plain, and just works.

Google has its own app for similar functions- Keep. I tried it first on my Chromebook and then downloaded the app on my iPhone and then on the iPad.  It syncs notes quickly and on demand on all devices.  Sometimes with the Apple devices, notes have a lag time, and sometime trying to manually sync the notes doesn't get results. It was a welcome surprise to see notes on one device appearing on the others almost instantaneously in Keep, and without fail.

What does Google Keep do?  Most everything you would hope a note taking app to do.

On the Chromebook desktop, it does not have the same capabilities as it does on an iPhone or Android, but it has these basics:

• You can take typed notes as easily as you can create a document, but it does not have any formatting options that I can tell. (Using keyboard combinations, I can add bold, italics and underlines on the MacBook)
• You can give any note a title, or leave it without a title.
• You can give the note a color using one of the seven pastel colors available.  You can filter notes by color in a search.  This can be a very useful feature if you organize and color code as a habit.
• You can give the note a label and you can filter your notes by a label.
• You can add an image to the note.
• You can add a reminder to the note and you will get a notification on all of your devices at the scheduled time.  I like this feature, because on the iPhone, the Notes app and the Reminders app are separate functions.
• You can also add a checklist to a note that you can use for keeping track of finished tasks, or a shopping list. I can see this as a cool feature if a team is sharing a note with a checklist. (see below)
• Also, you can share a note directly with another person in the Google system (it may work outside the system, but I have not been able to confirm yet).  It will show up in their email and in their own Keep app.  Seems very useful if you have a team sharing notes and checklists.
• You can also copy a note to Google Docs and can begin a new document from that note.  It will also copy over images from the note.

It has a few more features on iOS and Android devices.

• On a phone you have the ability to use voice to dictate notes (and you can share that audio file between phones, but the audio file does not get shared on the laptop).  The dictation feature is very accurate and I think it will be useful in the future.  I can imagine dictating notes in Keep and adding them easily to an article or blog.
• On a phone you can take a photo and add it to a note which is immediately available on other devices using Keep.
• On an Android, you can share a drawing on the phone with other devices.  It is not an option with the iPhone/iPad at this time.

So, this app is a keeper.

Streaming Music with the Chromebook

A must in my work space is a way to stream music.  It is the compliment to much writing and website management.

Over the years, I have used a little bit of everything with my Mac--iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, Rdio, TuneIn, and Amazon--I have been using the Chrome browser on y Mac since its beginning.

I can truthfully say that I never used Google Play that much. After all, how many streaming sites do you need through the day?

With the new Chromebook, I made a decision to give it a full test.

First step, I uploaded some of my music from iTunes to Google play using the Music Manager program.  It was a simple download and an easy process that works behind the scenes.

I discovered just how much music I have in the Cloud, so I downloaded a dozen albums to my Mac, activated Music Manager and uploaded those albums to Google Play.

I got what I wanted transferred easily, and began playing my own music without a glitch.

Google Play also has streaming radio channels that are quite eclectic, and much like Pandora, will play a mixture of music similar to the artist that you choose.

The app figured out quickly what I listen to based on my own music, and gave me a dozen choices to choose from (James Taylor Radio, Lyle Lovett Radio, Jackson Brown Radio, etc.)

I can easily find another genre if I choose. So far, I like the selections of Google Play better than Pandora, but sometimes I wish I had the choice to listen to whole albums like I do on Spotify.

Best of all, I have access to the other apps that I use regularly- Pandora and Spotify.

With my Chromebook docked with the external monitor and a cheap sound system plugged into the audio out n the monitor, I am getting excellent audio that rivals anything that came out of the Mac.

Summary- The Chromebook does an excellent job of streaming music, Google Play is an excellent and inexpensive option for listening to music. I can use all of the other music apps just as easily. I am at work and surrounded by music that I love. Enough said.

USB Tests- iPhone and Flash Drive

I had a few minutes today to test some USB media on the Chromebook.

As I was fishing for my keys in the dish on my mantle, I happened across an old 2 GB Kingston flash drive that I hadn't seen in years.  I brought it to work to see what was on it.

I could have easily plugged it into my regular work devices, but I took this as an opportunity to test the Chromebook.

• Discovered some two-year-old files that were easily read on the Chromebook (using Files app)
• Easy to move files around to different locations on Google Drive
• Right clicking on the flash drive in the files menu gave me two options: Eject or Format
• I formatted the disk which emptied the contents, restored it to a 2 GB capacity.  I discovered that you cannot rename newly formatted flash media on a Chromebook, but it was easy enough to do it on a Windows machine and the name persisted.  
• I was able to read documents on both Windows and Mac that were created on the Chromebook and transferred by flash drive.
• I would say that this was a positive test with the exception of not being able to change the name of the drive.

Having seen everything work so well, I tried another test, with my iPhone.  I plugged the iPhone into the Chromebook with the Lightning/USB cord, it was immediately recognized and began charging as if I had plugged it into my Mac, or a USB power socket.

• After a few moments, the iPhone appeared in the Files app, but I was not able to see files of images on the Chromebook.  
• I opened my iPhone and had to "Allow" files to be seen on the Chromebook, then the files appeared with their thumbnail pic on the Chromebook.
• I could move image files to folders on my Google Drive.  I was not able to move images to the iPhone (which is fine with me).
• I quickly created a new video on the iPhone and uploaded it to Google Drive.  I was able to manipulate and edit with no problems in the WeVideo app.
• I would say this was another successful test.  Being able to move images and videos to the Chromebook is a great finding.  I have an audio recording app on the iPhone that saves clips to Dropbox, and those are easily read on the Chromebook too.

The takeaway- USB media seems to work almost seamlessly between the Chromebook and other devices.

Chromebook and WordPress Management

My work life is spent mostly in front of a computer, and mostly online.

I spend lots of time working on WordPress, since my work involves managing no less than seven affiliated sites to our main site- wnccumc.org.

You can look at the site, and you might say that it looks ancient, that there's nothing special about it.  But, I can promise you it is effective for the audience that uses it.  Our webs presence accounts for about a million page views per year, and the downloads of documents, forms and the like bring its usage to nearly 280,000 folks.

I asked myself the question, could I do this part of my job if I only had a Chromebook?

Because my work patterns are so ingrained after years doing it in similar ways, it would certainly be a little more difficult to make the switch, but it could be done.

• The actual editing and management of WordPress sites does not take high powered software or hardware.  It is a web-based dashboard where the meat of the work is done--this can easily be done on the Chromebook.
• 98% of the documents that are downloaded from the sites are stored on Google Drive to make management of those files easier and to not overload the site server (which can happen when hundreds of people are trying to download the same document online at the same time- a regular occurrence). 
• There are lots of photos and graphics on these sites.  Currently, I do most of the editing work on Adobe Photoshop.  After years of using it, that would be the most difficult part of the job to switch over.  But, I have been doing some graphic work on the Chromebook for this blog and other projects, so it could be done with some practice (I will do that for a future post or two and report back).
• Creating/sharing media is a regular part of the job.  I have already done some audio editing and testing of audio projects, so I know it can be done.  Will I change over my entire work flow to move it to the Chromebook? Probably not.  Is it possible to use the Chromebook to do it?  Sure.

I have already done quick editing and posting for the job on the Chromebook on nights and weekends away from the office.  I will continue to do that in the future.  

As I become more comfortable doing all of the tasks that I perform every day for this project, it will be easier to translate the experience to my regular work life.  (Imagine the hardware/software budgets if more folks switched to Chromebooks?)

Google Calendar- Some Cons Discovered

Today I was dealing with my calendars at work, so it was natural that I wanted to see how these functioned on the Chromebook.

My main calendar for the past few years has been the one I share on my Macbook, my iPhone and my iPad.  The Apple Calendar app has been working for me fine for years.  I can share those calendars with my Outlook program on the PC, and share them with my Google Calendar.  I can also share my Google Calendar with Apple and Outlook.

For the most part, the calendars sync together well, and if I open one, the same information is there that is on the other calendars. (I believe that having too many devices can make calendars a problem.)

I discovered today that Google Calendar is slower at syncing than I would like.  I added a new event to my Apple calendar this morning and it still has not shown up on the calendar app late in the afternoon.  This is not always the case, sometimes an event shows up fairly quickly.  It's kind of random.

I did a quick search and based on a number of articles, many people are experiencing the same thing.  A Google event shows up almost immediately on the Apple calendar, but it may take up to 24 hours to see an iCal event on the Google Calendar.  The support pages are full of folks complaining about the slow sync of iCal events.  Many folks asked why there was no action by Google to remedy the problem.

One bold responder (not a Google employee) wrote on a forum: "It's a free app, get over it."

Sometimes you get what you pay for.  Free is good, but sometime it means that it has a little less quality or effectiveness than you would like.

Overall, I am pleased with Google Calendar and have found it to be very sophisticated, easy to do all kinds of things like invite folks to events, and share information with others.  One of my favorite features is how it integrates with my email to put events on the calendar, or notify Google Maps about appointments and the like.

So, for the money, it is one of the best calendar applications out there.  If you need everything to sync immediately with other calendars, you will probably be disappointed.

I will explore some of the other features of Google Calendar in a future post, but this was what was on my mind today.

Dealing with Files on the Chromebook

If you were to look at the Desktop on my Mac or my PC, you would see files and icons by the dozens (most of the time).  To you it looks chaotic, but to me it is just normal.

It is my first stage of file management.  If you were to look on my backup drives and at other ways I save data, you would find a system fit for a person with OCD.  It is who I am.

Now, if you were to take a look at my Chromebook, you wouldn't recognize me.  Nothing on the desktop (because it isn't meant to have clutter on it).

My files are neatly arranged in my Google Drive.  When I download from the internet, I am directed by the Files app to put them somewhere, and it seems intuitive enough because I don't like my Cloud drives to be cluttered.

I know, you are saying that I could easily do that with my PC or Mac, but there is something about having it on my desktop that seems comfortable--and there is something about being organized in the cloud that feels comfortable.  Now, I realize I have some issues, but I am not going to spend years in therapy to get my computer file quirks figured out.  Let's just say the Chromebook takes care of my quirks for me.

I worried a little about this experiment that I would not be able to adjust to file storage while using a Chromebook.  Almost a week in, and it doesn't seem to be problem.

I will go into depth at another time, but I am finding that I can plug in hard drives and flash drives, and the Files app helps me get the job done with ease.  No issues as I might have guessed.

I have 115 GB of storage space in my Google Drive for the next two years.  I don't anticipate running out of space, but it might be possible.  I will keep you posted.

In the meantime, I will keep filling my neatly organized folders, and not spending much time worrying about file management.

Audio Editing

One of the things that I do in my work- edit audio clips for podcasts and other media productions.

I have a couple of tools on my Mac that are standard tools--a piece of freeware called Audacity, and Adobe Audition.  (Not to mention that Garage Band comes with the Mac OS)

I have been using Audacity for years, and like the ease of use, and the ability to quickly edit a piece of audio.

I have only been using Audition for about 18 months.  It is one of the best tools out there, and I have not used all of the options available to me. It is more than I need for my use (and I would never pay the price to personally own it).

So, the experiment had me looking for apps that could help me edit audio.  I ran across the Beautiful Audio Editor App over the weekend and thought I would try it out.

The first tests were conclusive-it can be done.

Was the recording capability as good as my current set-up in the office? No.

Was it easy to use? Yes.  Even someone who has never edited audio before could earn it in a few minutes.

Were there many options for editing? Not a huge amount, but adequate for a simple project.

Was it worth the price? Yep, free is good.

So, here's a first project that I tried in the app (and then I uploaded it to my Spreaker account so that I could post the widget below):


What do you think?

Sunday Morning with Chromebook

I make no secret of my history and background.  You can see my whole job history here.

I have worked in the church for much of the last 38 years.  I've had other jobs too, but the church keeps calling me back. Currently, I am not a pastor, but I make my living doing Web & Communications work for the church.

The Bible has been a big part of my life.  I read it, study it, refer to it on a regular basis.  In older days, I carried it in book form.  I wore out any number of copies through the years.

Now I carry numerous copies on my phone, and use the You Version app.  The Chrome Web Store has a browser version of the app.

It has a few more capabilities than the mobile version, it is easier to read, and fairly easy to use all of its tools.  The app is quite portable and user friendly.  More and more of my friends in ministry choose to use apps like this as they lead their congregations.

I could see using the Chromebook as a regular part of a Sunday School/Christian Education program in a local church or community. The possibilities are huge for people of all ages to use technology for regular learning.  I can imagine some customized apps that could be tailored to a congregation/class and as easy as the Chromebook is to use and manipulate, it wouldn't be just the 18 and under crowd that would find it helpful. (I had a complimentary idea a few years back that might be worth exploring)

This Sunday, I am going to read the Bible on my Chromebook.

Saturday Morning with Chromebook

It is Saturday morning and the Chromebook is on my lap.

Most Saturday mornings are fairly lazy, when there isn't a work event to attend to.

My preferred Saturday morning is to spend time listening to NPR from 9 am to noon.  Weekend Edition, followed by Car Talk, and then Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me.

Sometimes I play it through my smart TV app- Tune In, sometime it is on the NPR iPad app, this morning was a day for the Chromebook.

There is an app in the Chrome Web Store called NPR Infinite Player.  It takes you to the website- NPR One, which also is an iPhone app.  It is easy to sign on as a user, and have access to news features and your local NPR station stream.

So I have tried listening to my three hours of radio in a number of ways on the Chromebook...with the speakers on the laptop, with headphones plugged in, and through my Bluetooth sound system.

The speakers are a little tinny and not as high quality as my MacBook speakers.  They will do in a pinch, but they are not a true multi-media experience.

The headphone quality was good.  Richer than the speakers, but then I can't get more that a foot or so from the laptop.  I am not carrying my laptop to the bathroom.

My favorite by far is using Bluetooth.  Rich, stereo sound with excellent connection.  I would guess that this will cut down on battery life, but it is effective.

So, here's to the Chromebook and a little leisure.