Chromebox

I hunted a Chromebox a few days ago. They are not officially available in Poland yet, bit from time to time you can track one down on an Internet auction. The Chromebox is the essence of what a home computer should be. It is not portable, so obviously needs an external monitor and a keyboard. And needs to be plugged to the wall power.

The setup is a breeze. Power on (it boots in 5 seconds). Enter your WiFi password. Select a country and a language. Enter your Gmail user name and password. You are done. Provided you have a Google account (which is a must to use the Chromebox), you will be up and running in less than a minute. Everything on the Internet works. Including flash - based games I tested.

The Chromebox can handle multiple users. Something neither iOS nor Android can do. Multiple user accounts are important on any computer. There always is a need to share the hardware and why mix data, links and credentials? There is a guest mode too. So anyone visiting your house can use it to check their Internet stuff without setting up an account and without leaving traces behind.

I wonder why Microsoft does not offer something similar, a 365Box or a LiveBox. Oh actually I do know why. They do not have an operating system simple enough. Windows Phone is... well... a phone OS and Windows 8 is a complicated rich OS. May be Widows 8 RT will do the job, time will tell.

In the meantime, if you need a device that will be used to access the Internet at home and you need a real mouse and keyboard, the Chromebox is a perfect choice.