Palo Alto City Libraries began offering Chromebooks earlier this month as a pilot program to gauge public interest for the devices. Library-goers will be able to test drive the Chromebooks until early February of next year, when the pilot program ends.
– Jeffrey Lu
[[nid:29103 left full]]Palo Alto City Library patrons looking for a good book this weekend may also notice a shiny new addition in select libraries: Chromebooks.
Chromebooks — small laptops running Google’s Chrome OS — differ from conventional laptops in that they operate in the cloud. This means that applications are Internet-based and not directly installed on the computer.
“Chromebooks work through the cloud, so there’s no software running directly on the computer itself,” senior librarian Jessican Goodman said. “[Conventional] laptops run software like Microsoft Office, while the Chromebooks run web apps instead. You can use [web] apps like Google Docs for word processing, but it’s a slightly different experience than using a traditional program like Microsoft Word.”
Goodman explains that, due to its cloud-oriented operating system, Chromebooks are more efficient than conventional laptops for consuming web content.
“Because the Chromebooks work through the cloud, they’re much faster than a traditional laptop,” Goodman said. “They’re great for streaming videos, listening to music, playing games, and editing photos online.”
Another perk? Chromebooks start up within eight seconds and run for over eight hours on a single charge, according to library director Monique le Conge.
All glamor aside, the library’s latest technological addition is not without drawbacks. Users hoping to print documents or watch DVDs on Chromebooks will have to turn to the library’s traditional laptops instead.
“While Chromebooks have a capacity for cloud printing, they don’t work with our current wireless printer network, so we’re not able to offer printing from the Chromebooks at this time,” Goodman said. “Chromebooks do not have disc drives built in, so users cannot play CDs or DVDs like they can on the [conventional] laptops.”
Chromebooks are currently available at the Downtown, Main, and Mitchell Park Temporary Libraries.
The Palo Alto City Libraries began offering Chromebooks earlier this month as a pilot program to gauge public interest for the devices. Library-goers will be able to test drive the Chromebooks until early February of next year, when the pilot program ends.
In keeping with ever-changing trends, Goodman hinted at the possibility of other new technologies in the near future as well, such as e-book readers and tablets.
“The library is also looking into other mobile devices such as iPads and Nooks or Kindles for teaching purposes and possibly for circulation sometime in the future,” Goodman said.
Until then, Palo Alto bookworms can still snuggle up with a traditional, paper-bound book.