(pics
chromebook pics here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/234455/chromebook1.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/234455/chromebook2.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/234455/chromebook3.jpg

)

THE INTERNET COLUMN
By Giles Turnbull


[Standfirst] If you're looking for a cheap, simple laptop computer for Christmas, you could try a Chromebook. Google's browser-in-a-box doesn't do everything, but it does do most things that most people need. 


WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHROMEBOOK

It's almost Christmas, and people's thoughts are turning to festive computer purchases. 

So what will you buy? An iPad? A new phone? How about a Chromebook (google.co.uk/chromebook)?

Chromebooks are Google's typically left-of-centre approach to laptop computers. They look ordinary enough, but they work very differently to most of their counterparts. 

Unlike most laptops, they don't run an operating system (like Windows or Mac OS X). They're just a vehicle for Chrome, Google's hugely successful web browser.

The downside of this is that they're not quite as powerful or as versatile as a laptop. 

The upside, though, is that if you don't need much power and versatility, they're great little machines. 

If all you need is email, web browsing, writing simple documents, and perhaps a bit of social networking, a Chromebook can do it all. 

The biggest advantage is that its battery will last nearly all day, and it costs a fraction of a proper computer.

There's also little risk of being hit by a virus. There's no system for it to invade and infect (although you should still be careful where you type your Google password, and you have to have a Google account to use your Chromebook at all). 

Chromebooks are happiest when they're online all the time, so they're less useful to frequent travellers struggling to find wifi, although many Chrome apps do have an offline mode. 

Many people will pick a Chromebook this Christmas simply because it's cheap. It might not pack the same punch as a "real" computer, but for a lot of people, it's all the computer they need.

FIND A SHORT DOMAIN

Finding a short, snappy domain name for your shiny new website can be hard work, because all the good ones have gone. Well, almost all. Short Domain Search is a simple site that constantly searches for short domains that are still free for the taking. Not .com domains, but new ones like .io, .cc and .nu. Grab them while they're hot, at www.shortdomainsearch.net.

PLACES FOR PARCELS 

Don't you hate it when delivery companies make you wait in all day for a parcel? A website called Collect Plus (www.collectplus.co.uk) wants to make parcels less painful, by turning local corner shops into drop-off points. You pick the one nearest you, and your package will wait there for you, until you get a free moment to collect it. You can send stuff this way too, useful for returning goods bought online, or shipping items sold on eBay. 

WHAT DID YOU DO TODAY?

I Done This (www.idonethis.com) is a useful tool for small teams who need to keep track of what every individual person has achieved during the day. Towards late afternoon, it emails everyone on the team just to ask them: "What did you do today?" They reply with the details, and by the next morning a digest of all the replies is sent out to the whole team. Everyone knows what's going on, no special software required. 


BROWSING AROUND ... HELP THE PHILIPPINES

:: The Philippines Red Cross
www.redcross.org.ph

:: UNICEF in the Philippines
donate.unicef.ph

:: The Salvation Army
www.salvationarmy.org

:: Save the Children
tinyurl.com/save-the-children-philippines

:: Donate through Oxfam
www.oxfam.org.uk/PhilippinesTyphoon

:: Official Philippines government info
www.gov.ph/crisis-response/updates-typhoon-yolanda/


THING OF THE WEEK 

:: The internet you can touch
vimeo.com/79179138


Giles Turnbull has a website at gilest.org 

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