I have a bad case of (self-diagnosed) tech ADD. Even when I love some device, and it’s working great for me (read: my Macbrook Pro), I still want to try what else is out there. I’ve experimented with PC’s (Lenovo and Samsung) and I’ve experimented with the Macbook Air. Nothing has compared to my Macbrook Pro Retina 15″ in any regard. This affliction applies to other devices as well. For listening to music, I’ve tried my iPhone, an iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, and Sansa Sport Clip (which, for ~$40, tiny, and clippable, I highly recommend for workouts). I can easily get drawn in to the newest and shiniest. I don’t consider myself materialistic in any other way except this. And maybe bags.

Lately, I’ve encountered an actual problem in my everyday life which has necessitated some further experimentation. Some well-justified experimentation. My MBP is great for working at home, but I hesitate to lug it back and forth with me to work every day. It’s a little too big to comfortably handle; my messenger bag can get a little unwieldy. I also don’t love the idea of exposing it to the possibility of theft–or damage–on a daily basis. I’m a generally careful and trustworthy person, but riding the subway every day or leaving my bag on the chair next to me at Starbucks, day in and day out, in a busy city…I’m constantly exposing myself to liability.

So, I decided to try out a Chromebook. I went with the Toshiba Chromebook 2. It’s small, light, and durable, which serves my need for ultra-portability. And, it was about $350. As far as computers go, that’s a very friendly price. It would be much less devastating to lose or break it than my MBP. So on paper, this solves my problem. How does it stack up in practice?

Well, I’ve only had the Chromebook for about a day, but I love it. So much in fact that I’m using it now, at home, instead of my Macbook. Of course that’s partly the novelty-effect at work. But, I could see myself opting to use it instead of the Mac even once the novelty wears off. It’s light and speedy. It’s so functional. It has everything I need, and nothing I don’t. Anything I could possibly want that it doesn’t come with, I can add to it (e.g. Evernote, Lastpass, Momentum, StayFocused, Gmail Offline, G.lux, Dropbox, Any.do, and Spotify). Plus the graphics of the Toshiba are quite stunning, and going down from a 15″ display to a 13.3″ hasn’t had as noticeable an effect as I thought it would.

Of course the Chromebook’s drawback is that you need to be online to enjoy 85% of the its features. There are some things that I can still access offline (Evernote, Gmail Offline, Google Docs) but you lose all syncing capabilities until you’re connected. This is not a big deal, though. The places I frequent (home, work, the coffee shop) all have free wifi. The times I’m not connected, I can still work on writing. And let’s be real here, we could all do with a little less connectivity sometimes.