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Chromebook for academic use: Dr Andus
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Posted by Daly de Gagne
Jan 18, 2019 at 12:38 AM
I have followed Dr Andus’ example and bought a Chromebook. I like it - mostly. However, I find some rough edges.
Some are minor. Others more frustrating. For example, Readcube/Papers app and the web version each have weaknesses not present in the Windows version. For example, getting an article to the right size is virtually impossible in the Android apo but possible in the browser version. Yet, I have been unable to figure out how to highlight using the browser version, but it’s easy in the app. So I am having to go back abd forth between the two. I can vary text size easily in the online version but only with difficulty using the app. One version makes it a snap to apply tags, the other does not. So I like Readcube but not the fact the web version and the app require going back and forth because their features differ.
So, I am thinking about using Papers, as Dr Andus is doing, or Mendeley. Zotero I am not crazy about. It seems I am spending a lot of time switching to Chromebook from Windows at the beginning of a term where I need to read, digest, and be able to discuss anywhere from 120 to 150 pages of assigned reading a week plus that much again from material I find and read to provide additional context and understanding.
Dr Andus, how are you liking Papers? And, what would you suggest in terms of making the most of the Chromebook?
Overall are you still satisfied with Chromebook? Do you have any advice on how to make the most of it?
Thanks.
Daly
Posted by Daly de Gagne
Jan 18, 2019 at 12:44 PM
With some trial and error I figured out how to tag and add highlightbin thr browser version of Readcube/Papers on the Chromebook. Lack of a proper help file is a PITA.
Daly
Posted by Dr Andus
Jan 20, 2019 at 12:28 PM
Daly de Gagne wrote:
>So, I am thinking about using Papers, as Dr Andus is doing
Hi Daly,
This must be a misunderstanding. Sorry, if I gave you the wrong impression. I have not yet switched fully to Chrome OS for all my academic processes. I live in a schizophrenic situation, stuck between Windows and Chrome OS, with some processes in one or the other, or duplicated in both.
Also, the service I was thinking of switching to is Paperpile, not Papers (of which I don’t know anything about):
The thing about Paperpile is that it directly integrates into Google Docs, so it would be about replacing the MS Word + EndNote combo for me, with PDFs stored in Google Drive (rather than my Windows hard drive, as it is at the moment).
>Dr Andus, what would you suggest in
>terms of making the most of the Chromebook?
>Overall are you still satisfied with Chromebook? Do you have any advice
>on how to make the most of it?
Daly, it sounds like you’re more ahead in this process than I am. Unfortunately at the university where I work, we’re still stuck in the 20th century, generating and emailing around thousands of MS Word and Excel files daily for no good reason. Needing to clear my Outlook box because people knock it out by sending me big attachments is still a daily problem.
But I’m slowly plotting my escape (though a Windows machine will still be needed at some point in the process, where journals specifically demand a Word doc to be submitted, or to be able to collaborate with colleagues stuck in Word).
Anyway, the ideal situation of doing 90%+ of the academic processes (research, reading, writing etc.) would require a high-end and recent convertible Chromebook with a lot of processing power and RAM and with a stylus, coupled with a number of subscriptions of relevant services.
For collecting data, it would require Paperpile or similar, to reference files (PDF etc.) saved onto Google Drive. Though initially Google Keep (using the Keep Chrome extension) might also work for capturing URLs or quotes on the go, before further processing (to be put in Zettelkasten, for instance, or Paperpile).
WorkFlowy or similar (Dynalist) could serve as a meta dashboard for organising todos and links to files, to keep an overview of everything.
For reading and annotating PDFs, I’d use the Chromebook in tablet mode, with the stylus, using the Kami web app, then exporting the annotated files and storing them on Google Drive.
For reading notes (as a Zettelkasten), I’d set up Dokuwiki hosted by an external service (e.g. A2 Hosting), so I could link to entries from WorkFlowy and link to PDFs stored on Google Drive.
For outlining I’d use my usual tools, WorkFlowy, Gingko, MindMup, Bubbl.us, and Keep (for selecting and ordering quotes and notes for writing-up). Also Keep and Squid (Android) for any handwritten notes or drawings (with the stylus).
For writing up, I would use Google Doc with a nice distraction-free midnight theme (using the “Distraction Free Mode” Chrome extension), using Keep in the sliding side panel for any selected notes or quotes to refer to, and Paperpile to do any academic referencing.
As I said, the very final formatting (for a given journal style) may still need to happen in Windows in MS Word, but that would be post-production I can live with.
While the above approach may sound complicated, the upside is that most of these services are very fast, they would be each just a Chrome tab away from each other, all backed up online (so not vulnerable to local failure or theft), directly linkable to each other via URLs, in the superfast environment of Chrome OS.
Yesterday I tried dictating into Google Doc on a Chromebook, and I was blown away by how much faster and less hassle it was than doing it in the latest version of Dragon Naturallyspeaking (which cost me a huge amount over the years) on my Windows laptop.
Unfortunately the above system is still mostly a fantasy because I haven’t had the time to set all of it up yet, though most of the pieces are in place, and I have been using them, but not in a fully integrated, seamless way.
Another benefit of the above system is that it would be OS agnostic still, so one could still carry on using it while being forced to use Windows or other OS, on account of it being web-based and operable from a browser.
Daly, thanks for asking, as it helped me clarify some of my thoughts about it and get me a step closer to turning this fantasy into reality :)
If ReadCube Papers works for you though, then that’s great, as it means there is yet another way to do all this on a Chromebook.
Posted by Alexander Deliyannis
Jan 20, 2019 at 05:36 PM
How’s your experience on the Chromebook with Word online? Can’t it fully replace the desktop version yet?
Dr Andus wrote:
>But I’m slowly plotting my escape (though a Windows machine will still
>be needed at some point in the process, where journals specifically
>demand a Word doc to be submitted, or to be able to collaborate with
>colleagues stuck in Word).
Posted by Dr Andus
Jan 20, 2019 at 06:20 PM
Alexander Deliyannis wrote:
How’s your experience on the Chromebook with Word online? Can’t it fully
>replace the desktop version yet?
I don’t use the online version much, I prefer to use the Android version when I have to, but even then more as a viewer for Word files, as opposed to getting any serious work done.
But there is no comparion between the online/Android versions and the full Word experience on Windows, at least for power users.
I would never recommend a Chromebook to someone who needs to have reliance on Word for their workflow and work on Word files with others.
However, for the casual Word user or someone who only uses it to type things up and light formatting, they may not even notice the difference with the online/Android versions.
But if that’s the case, on a Chromebook they’d be better off using Google Docs for all the integration benefits with Google Drive, Keep etc., plus Google Doc files don’t count towards your Google Drive storage, and you can still export them as .docx if you really have to.
The main reason I don’t use Word on a Chromebook is because the Word files I need to work on with others often have tables, and using Word Online/Android messes up the formatting of content when saved and sent on to other Windows users. It’s not reliable if you’re communicating with clients and need to make things look professional and perfect.
I strongly suspect that Microsoft is not fixing these issues on purpose, so as to discourage Office users from defecting. Google of course also does this to Microsoft with some of their products, so they’re even…