It has finally happened – I’ve gone all Google.
My phone and tablet run Android, and my main blogging computer – the Chromebook Pixel – runs Chrome OS. A couple weeks ago, I made the decision to get rid of the old Sony Vaio Windows laptop that was taking up space on my desk, collecting dust. I don’t even remember the last time I turned it on, and since I’ve been trying to get rid of all the useless junk I’ve collected over the years that goes unused in my office, I decided it had to go, too.
Getting rid of my last Windows product wasn’t actually an easy decision to make. How am I going to root my next phone? How am I going to edit videos? What about Skype?
Then I realized that I really don’t do any of those things anymore. Ever since I’ve migrated from the EVO line to the Nexus line, I honestly don’t feel a need to root my Android devices anymore. The only real reason I rooted before was to get stock Android without the bloat, and I already have that in my Nexus 5. T-Mobile also includes tethering for free in all its plans, so there is no need to root to get that ability, either.
I also edit videos only once or twice a year, and for my needs, there are several very good cloud services that can accomplish what I need (WeVideo and Magisto come to mind right away, and both are free). Finally, I don’t even remember the last time I ever used Skype – everyone I communicate with on a regular basis has moved to Hangouts, and I still have Skype on my Android devices in case I really need to use it in a pinch.
In other words, I realized that everything that was causing me to cling to my old Windows machine just wasn’t relevant anymore. So I got rid of it.
To be fair, I haven’t gone completely cold turkey. My partner still has a Windows laptop that I can grab if I need to flash something on my phone real quick. The institution where I teach is also all Windows, so I still am forced to use it in the classroom and the office. (However, I run Chrome on my work computer and never leave the browser, so it’s almost like Chrome OS.) If needed, I can always install a Linux distro on my Chromebook Pixel, too, and root my Android devices or download Skype. In other words, I’m not 100% in the cloud just yet.
But I’m 99% there – and ridding myself of personal Windows ownership is a crucial step to getting there completely. To be honest, I’ve never felt better; I feel like I’m embracing the future of cloud computing, and I know that the only way I could really get “scroogled” is to stop using Google and go back to Microsoft. Call me a fan boy if you want, but this set up works for me, without compromise, and without any of the hassles I had grown accustomed to.
