Yesterday night, I decided to try out a product that I haven't put to the test in years. NeverWare CloudReady, a port of Chromium OS that can be installed on older computers and laptops, sparked my interest yet again when I saw that they introduced a Multi-boot feature so that you could install it alongside Windows. Because Windows 10 is not really my favorite product when it comes to operating systems in regards to their forced update scheme, I had an excuse to install something new. Sure, I could have wiped the hard drive and installed this as my primary operating system, but I still used the Multi-boot feature because I still have data on my hard drive that I didn't want to lose. Here is my experience with the installation and the use of this product.
The installation of this product was very easy. All I had to do was follow the instructions on this website. Although it wasn't recommended to use a SanDisk USB Flash Drive, the one that was purchased for me some time ago worked very well. As I booted into the CloudReady installation, the display became very bright. I wasn't too happy with this, but I was able to turn down the brightness after figuring out the new function key layout. All I had to do next was click at the bottom-right hand corner of the screen, click "Install CloudReady...", and follow the on-screen prompts. After taking a little break while CloudReady installed, I unplugged my USB Flash Drive and booted my PC.
When I first booted, I was asked to select my language, keyboard layout, and enter my network settings. After I filled in the required information, I was sent to a login screen where I logged into my Google Account for the very first time on this installation. Then I was able to set my profile picture and take a tour, even though I could have just dived in and played around if I wanted to. I was greeted with a clear desktop, and a taskbar with the Chromium Browser just waiting for me to open. This simplicity deserves a personal applaud from me, as well as the other great benefits that come with this product that I usually use often.
Great software comes with the operating system, and my preferences from Google Chrome automatically sync. All of the apps and extensions from the Chrome Webstore automatically download and install themselves without me having to press a button. The taskbar even adds icons to my favorite office applications from Google so that I can access them easily with a click. I am so happy that I do not have to use my geek skills in order to get to work, and that I don't have to waste my time installing applications like I do on Windows or Mac. Even though a normal out-of-the-box Linux distribution provides this functionality, it's not as personalized and quick as NeverWare CloudReady.
As with all software, and basically everything in general, where there are great benefits there are drawbacks. One drawback is that not all Windows Or Mac programs/apps are going to install on this operating system (unless you want to tear apart CloudReady, but I'd say please just use Windows/Mac). However, the Chrome Webstore does feature some good applications that you may find are better than the ones that you use. You never know how a product or service is going to be unless you try it out yourself. Another drawback is that some systems may not be supported with CloudReady. If you would like to learn more about which products are certified to be compatible with this software, please click here.
Neverware's CloudReady software is geared more toward users who just want to use the internet and have an office suite ready for them at first install. Users who wish to run applications such as games like Grand Theft Auto 5 or Garry's Mod will want to stick to their current Windows, Mac, or Linux operating systems. Because I use both a desktop and a laptop, I can leave my heavy applications to my desktop while I use my laptop for browsing the web and writing articles on the blog such as this one. I'd say my laptop is CloudReady for the future, but is yours?
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