My Google Chromebook Book

P Understanding Chrome, Chromebooks, and Cloud Computing 3

What Is a Chromebook? ...........4

What Is a Chromebox? ...........5

What Is Google Chrome OS? ............5

What Is Cloud Computing? ...............7

How Traditional Desktop Computing Works.........8

How Cloud Computing Works.........8

Should You Buy a Chromebook? .......9

Chromebook Versus Tablet .........10

Chromebook Versus Traditional Notebook ...........11

What’s Not to Like? ...... 13

What Chromebook Should You Buy? ............15

1 Unboxing and Setting Up Your New Chromebook 21

Unboxing Your Chromebook ........... 21

Turning on Your Chromebook—For the Very First Time....22

Setting Up a Chromebook ............23

Creating a New Google Account ........28

Creating a Google Account ...........28

2 Getting to Know Your Chromebook 33

Getting to Know Your Chromebook ............33

Screen ................34

Illumination Sensor ...........34

Webcam ........35

Microphone .........35

Keyboard ...............35

Touchpad .............36

Memory Card Slot .........36

Headset Jack .............36

USB Ports .................37

HDMI Connector ..............38

Status Indicator ...............38

Power Connector...............38

Using the Keyboard ...............38

Using the Touchpad ..............41

Moving the Cursor ..............41

Clicking the Cursor ............42

Right-Clicking the Cursor .............42

Dragging an Item .............42

Scrolling the Screen .................42

Adjusting Touchpad Sensitivity .............43

Connecting External Devices ...................44

Connecting an External Mouse .......44

Connecting an External Keyboard..........45

Connecting to a Large-Screen TV ...........45

Adjusting Brightness and Volume ..... 46

Adjusting Screen Brightness .............46

Adjusting and Muting the Volume..........47

3 Using Chrome OS and the Chrome Desktop 49

Starting Up and Shutting Down ............49

Starting Up and Logging In ...................50

Putting Your Chromebook to Sleep ..........51

Powering Off Your Chromebook ...........52

Navigating the Chrome OS Desktop .........53

Launcher ...............54

Status Area ..................55

Navigating Windows and Tabs ..............57

Opening a New Chrome Window ..............59

Opening New Tabs ..............59

Navigating Tabs ....................60

Managing Window Size ................60

Switching Between Windows ..............61

Closing the Window ..............61

4 Managing Multiple Users 63

Adding Users to Your Chromebook ...............63

Add a User ................64

Editing User Information ....................65

Change Your Profile Picture ............65

Edit Your Profile ...............67

Switching Users .....................68

Switch User Accounts ....................68

Log in as a Guest User ..............69

5 Working Wirelessly 71

Connecting to a Wi-Fi Network ...............71

Viewing Network Status .................72

Enabling Wi-Fi on Your Chromebook ..............72

Connecting to an Open Wi-Fi Network .............73

Connecting to a Secure Wi-Fi Network .............74

Connecting to an Ethernet Network ............75

Connecting via Ethernet...............76

Connecting via Ethernet (Samsung Chromebook) .........76

Managing Network Connections .............77

Automatically Connecting to a Network .......77

Forgetting a Network ...............79

Viewing Network Details .............80

6 Configuring and Personalizing Chrome OS 83

Personalizing the Desktop .................83

Change the Desktop Background.............84

Configuring the Chrome Browser ............85

Configure Startup Behavior ...............86

Display the Home Button ...........87

Display the Bookmarks Bar ...........88

Change Search Providers ...............89

Enable Google Instant ....................90

Select a New Theme ..................90

Reset to the Default Theme .................91

Configuring Other Settings .....................92

Configure the Touchpad ..............92

Change Search, Ctrl, and Alt Key Behavior .........93

Wake from Sleep ..............................93

Sync Your Account ..................94

Disable Guest Browsing ..........95

Hide Usernames ............96

Restrict Sign-In ...................97

Change Your Time Zone ................97

Connect a Bluetooth Device ...........98

Enable Autofill ........................99

Save Passwords .............. 100

Display Web Content .......... 101

Customize Languages and Input Methods ........ 102

Translate Pages.................. 103

Manage Downloads ............... 103

Disable Google Drive .................. 104

Enable Accessibility Features ............... 105

7 Managing Files and Using External Storage 107

Using Chrome’s File Manager ................ 107

Opening Files and Folders ........... 111

Renaming Files and Folders......... 111

Copying a File .............. 112

Moving a File ............ 112

Deleting Files ............. 113

Creating a New Folder ............... 113

Saving Files from the Web ................. 114

Using External Storage Devices ................ 115

Connecting a USB Memory Device............. 115

Inserting a Memory Card .............. 116

Connecting an External Hard Drive .......... 117

8 Using Google Drive to Store and Share Files 119

Getting Started with Google Drive ......... 119

Configure Google Drive .............. 120

Storing Files on Google Drive ................ 121

View Your Google Drive Files ........ 121

Copy a File to Google Drive ...... 121

Open a File from Google Drive ............... 122

Delete Files from Google Drive ............... 122

Create a New Google Drive Folder .............. 123

Sharing Google Drive Files......................... 123

Share a File with Selected Users ............ 124

Share a File via Social Media or Gmail.............. 125

9 Viewing and Listening to Photos, Videos, and Music 127

Viewing Digital Photos on Your Chromebook ............. 127

View Photos from an External Storage Device ........ 128

Edit a Photo ....................... 129

Store and Share Photos Online with Picasa Web Albums..... 130

Listening to Music on Your Chromebook ........... 131

Listen to a Single Track........... 131

Listen to a Playlist .................. 132

Uploading Your Music to Google Play .......... 133

Playing Music with Google Play .............. 135

Watching Videos on Your Chromebook ....... 136

View a Video ............... 137

Watch TV Shows on Hulu ............... 138

Watch YouTube Videos ........... 139

10 Browsing and Searching the Web 141

Browsing the Web ............... 141

Go to a Web Page ............. 142

Click Links ......... 143

Reload a Page .............. 143

Move Forward and Back Through Pages ........... 144

Zoom into a Page ............... 144

Viewing and Managing Browser History ........ 145

View Your Recent History ........... 145

View Your Full History .............. 145

Delete Browsing History ............ 146

Searching the Web ................... 148

Enter a Query ............... 148

Use Google Instant ................. 149

Use Google’s Advanced Search ....... 149

Understand Search Results ............. 151

Change Search Providers.............. 153

Managing Your Home Page ............... 154

Choose a New Home Page ........ 154

Display the Home Button ........... 155

Bookmarking Favorite Pages ............. 155

Bookmark a Web Page.................. 156

Display the Bookmarks Bar ............. 156

Go to a Bookmarked Page .......... 157

Manage Bookmarks ................ 157

Browsing in Incognito Mode ............... 158

Open an Incognito Window ..................... 159

11 Using Chrome Apps and Extensions 161

Understanding Chrome Apps ................. 161

Getting to Know the Chrome Web Store ............ 163

Installing and Launching Apps ....... 164

Download and Install Apps ........ 164

Launch Chrome Apps.................. 166

Managing Installed Apps ..... 166

Configure App Options ............ 167

Uninstall Apps ..................... 167

Determine How Apps Are Launched .......... 168

Examining Chrome Apps—by Category ........... 169

Business Tools ...................... 169

Education ................ 170

Entertainment Apps .................. 171

Games ................. 172

Lifestyle Apps ................... 174

News & Weather Apps ............. 175

Productivity Apps ................... 176

Social & Communication Apps ............ 177

Utilities ................ 178

Installing and Using Chrome Extensions ........... 179

Download and Install Extensions ......... 179

Use Extensions .............. 180

Manage Chrome Extensions ................... 182

12 Working in the Cloud 185

Office Suites in the Cloud ..... 185

Google Drive ........................ 186

Microsoft Office Web Apps......... 188

Microsoft Office 365 .............. 189

Zoho Docs................. 190

Word Processing in the Cloud ........... 191

Google Docs .................... 191

Microsoft Word Web App .............. 192

Zoho Writer ............... 192

Spreadsheets in the Cloud ................... 193

Google Sheets ...................... 193

Microsoft Excel Web App ................... 194

Zoho Sheet ............... 194

Presentations in the Cloud ......... 195

Google Slides ................. 195

Microsoft PowerPoint Web App ........ 196

Zoho Show .................... 197

Photo Editing in the Cloud ............. 197

Adobe Photoshop Express Editor ............ 198

Other Online Photo Editors ............ 199

Finances and Banking in the Cloud .............. 199

Calendars in the Cloud ............. 200

Google Calendar ............. 200

Other Online Calendars ............. 201

Email in the Cloud ................ 202

Gmail .............. 202

Outlook.com ............ 203

Yahoo! Mail .................... 203

13 Printing with Google Cloud Print 205

Understanding Google Cloud Print ............ 206

Connecting a Printer to Google Cloud Print ........ 208

Connect a Cloud Print-Ready Printer ............... 208

Connect a Non-Cloud Print-Ready Printer ....... 208

Disconnect a Printer from Cloud Print ........ 209

Printing to Google Cloud Print .............. 209

Print from Your Chromebook .................. 210

Sharing a Printer ................ 210

Share a Printer ................ 211

Disable Sharing ............... 211

14 Using Google Chrome Safely and Securely 215

Cloud Computing and Data Security ....... 215

Chrome OS and Malware .............. 217

Protecting Against Phishing .................... 217

Practicing Safe Computing ..................... 219

Protecting Your Personal Data ................ 219

Avoiding Cyberstalkers ..................... 221

Protecting Your Children Online ................. 222

Configuring Chrome’s Privacy and Security Settings ............. 224

Don’t Save Passwords.................. 224

Don’t Use Autofill ....................... 225

Configure Privacy Settings ............... 225

Configure Content Settings ................ 228

Clear Browsing Data ............... 230

Restrict Sign-In .................. 231

15 Optimizing Your Chromebook’s Performance 233

Optimizing Battery Life ............. 233

Use the Right Adapter ............. 233

Keep It Cool ..................... 234

Keep a Little Charge .................. 234

Dim the Screen ................ 234

Disable Wireless .................... 234

Speeding Up Performance ............. 235

Don’t Multitask ................ 235

Disable or Remove Extensions ............... 235

Enable DNS Prefetching ..................... 236

Disable Feedback to Google ............. 237

16 Troubleshooting and Recovering from Problems 239

Dealing with a Frozen App or Web Page ............. 239

Resetting Your Chromebook ............. 241

Recovering from Severe Problems ............ 242

Updating Chrome OS .............. 243

A Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts 245

B Google Chromebook Pixel 251

TOC, 9780789751386