New Windows 10 PC & Chromebook

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We are buying a new PC with Win 10. We were holding for 1903 but that looks like it is a mess. There is a new update pending (cant remember the number) to fix the bugs. I am sure there will be new bugs.  Dell is building with a PRO OS. Can some of you opine what would be best option? 1903 or wait?

Also buying a Chromebook. Want to load CCCleaner and Malwarebytes. Any better options?

What is most compatible printer to service both PCs?

If I do not want cloud storage for Chromebook files, can I use use a thumb drive? This PC is only for email and Office productivity. OK..maybe some shopping, too.

What’s the best learning tool for Chrome? Dummies? I am in that category for sure.

Price is unimportant for this project. Just want it to be easy as I can get it to be.

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1903 will most likely be fine on a new PC. OEMs test PCs so they are pretty sure it is working with the OS that comes on it. It all depends on what you do to the PC after you get it. The more “tweaking” and general messing around you do the more likely you will have problems with future updates.

I use the free version of Malwarebytes. I regularly use it to scan the PC. I won’t put Ccleaner on any PC I have influence over. The regular installer comes with junk you have to be careful about courtesy of the current owner. I see no reason to run it regularly. I would only consider a portable version if the PC was seriously messed up and I had exhausted all other troubleshooting possibilities.

--Joe

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I use the portable version of ccleaner but before running it I create inbound and outbound rules in the firewall blocking it. =

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Regarding CCleaner on Windows. It can be a useful tool if you are careful with it.

By careful, I mean avoid the landmines in the default installer, and by all means NEVER use the registry cleaner!!!

I use CCleaner daily to clean my cookies and cache from several browsers, and that saves a lot of manual cleanup. Same for temp files and other junk.

There is a very handy option to identify the cookies you wish to keep, like frequently visited sites that you want to preserve settings for, and it shreds the rest of the cookie accumulation.

Learn how to use it and customize it for your needs, and it’s a very cool assistant.  Just lean towards the conservative approach and you will be fine! 🙂

PS I also keep CCleaner blocked at my firewall… 😉

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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bbkingman01 wrote:

Also buying a Chromebook. Want to load CCCleaner and Malwarebytes. Any better options?

Just checking – are you thinking of loading these two programs to your Chromebook?

(That’s not possible.)

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[AlphaCharlie]

At home we have one Win 7 laptop, and one Chromebook.

My wife does not like the Chromebook because she cannot wrap her head around the local storage vs. MyDrive vs. OneDrive vs. Google Drive vs. any other Drive vs. the Cloud, and says she is “never sure where the computer put the document.”  I am not even mentioning Box or DropBox. Even with a subscription to Office 365 Personal, she is still confused.  

You might have a better experience if you stay 100% in the Google ecosystem (Gmail, Google Docs/Sheets/Slides, Google Drive, Google Chrome, etc.) which is not an option for her.

Regarding your printer question, we decided that we can go to an office supply store for the very very rare times we need color, so got rid of our inkjet printer and those expensive ink cartridges. Now we happily use Brother laser printers. 
One is a printer only (older model HL-2270dw) and the other is a multi-function printer+copier+scanner (newer model MFC-L2750dw).  One toner cartridge yields thousands of pages, and printing is sharp and very fast.  Both printers have WiFi if you want to use them that way, and the new multi-function one is compatible with AirPrint and Google Print, so you could even access that when you are offsite. The scanning function works just fine, too.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 8 months ago by AlphaCharlie.

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By the way, I am pretty sure that Malwarebytes and CCleaner are not compatible with the ChromeOS.

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Microfix

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anonymous wrote:

I use the portable version of ccleaner but before running it I create inbound and outbound rules in the firewall blocking it. =

I use Portable ccPortable.

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AlphaCharlie wrote:

By the way, I am pretty sure that Malwarebytes and CCleaner are not compatible with the ChromeOS.

Malwarebytes has a Chromebook version :

Note: Malwarebytes for Chromebook is an Android app engineered specifically to protect your Chromebook. Google Play automatically detects if you are viewing this page on an Android device or a Chromebook, and will install the appropriate Malwarebytes product.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.malwarebytes.antimalware&hl=en

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AlphaCharlie

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A chromebook has chromeOS which is a Linux kernel-based operating system with google coding for their proprietary apps/ tweaks/security.
How can ccleaner portable run on a chromebook?
It’s an entirely different OS..
Not sure if chromebooks allows bleachbit (linux version, can anyone confirm)

Keeping IT Lean, Clean and Mean!

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Thumb drives and external hard disk drives work fine on Chromebooks. I don’t keep much in local storage on mine.

Here’s a short guide to some things on Chrome OS :
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3168062/how-to-use-a-chromebook-10-must-know-tips-tricks-and-tools-for-beginners.html

It’s nowhere near as complex as Windows, so the learning curve shouldn’t be too steep.

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I would say that the Chrome OS would work best for anyone that just uses a computer to access the internet via a web browser.

If you don’t need local applications and such, and your tools are all online, then it’s the way to go!

My 80+ year old dad had been using a Mac Mini for years to do his online banking via the Apple Safari browser. But when his Mac hit end of life, his bank would no longer offer online access via his obsolete version of Safari. No more updates, so no more access…

Then I drop shipped him a new ChromeBox (same tech as a Chromebook, but without monitor & keyboard) as a drop-in replacement for the Mac Mini. I spent a few minutes over the phone walking him through swapping the cables, etc., and then he was up and running.

The Chrome OS has a very gentle learning curve, and I only received a few support calls from Dad after the initial install. The browser based computing experience is all that most general consumers need, and does away with the complexities of managing a general purpose computer.

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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Any printer will work with both of those because the drivers are written for both.
Connecting to the printer is the issue you need to decide. As mentioned above, a printer with wifi makes it easy.

I use an HP colour laser because I want quick clear well priced printing, but I don’t print photos.
Did you know printer ink is more expensive than gold per weight?

cheers, Paul

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I gave up on inkjets a few years ago.  I was only getting a few pages per ink cartridge!

I seldom need to print anything anymore, so when I do, I’d try it, and invariably my printer would make printing-like noises, but then spit out a blank page.  All attempts to clean the print heads (built into the cartridges) or otherwise restore them (one CMY 3-color, one black) to life failed.  The kits to re-ink them myself did not work, and neither did the Walgreen’s service to refill them (they didn’t charge me).  I’d end up having to buy a new cartridge, which would work as you would expect.  I’d print whatever it was I needed, then forget about it.  By the time I needed to print again, months later, the ink cartridge was again deader than a doornail.

I bought a Canon B&W laser printer/scanner about five years ago, and I am still on the starter toner cartridge, which still works perfectly.  If I were to go color, it would be a color laser… inkjets are bad enough with their “more than gold per gram” cost, as you mention, but having them dry out and cease working after having printed only a couple of pages is worse.

 

Dell XPS 13/9310, i5-1135G7/16GB, KDE Neon
XPG Xenia 15, i7-9750H/16GB & GTX1660ti, KDE Neon

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