Tip of the Week

Unfortunately, winter is quickly approaching. Don't expose your Chromebook to the cold weather by leaving it in your car overnight.  Also, take precaution when it is rainy or snowy outside.  Exposing your Chromebook to rain or snow can cause major damage.  As always, it you have any questions, stop by TSI.

And don't forget to follow us @EastSideTSI

TSI Tip of the Week

For this week's TSI tip, we want to share with you some advice for keeping the keyboard on your Chromebook working good.  For those of you who like to eat or drink around your Chromebook, be careful.  Food residue can make the keyboard really sticky and liquid spills can damage it.  Also, be careful with the keys. They can pop off easily.  If you have any issues with your keyboard, stop by TSI - the sooner, the better

Don't forget to follow @EastSideTSI

HP Chromebook 11 vs the Samsung Chromebook Series 5

The following post was written by Bryn Osborne, a first year TSI student.

My name is Bryn Osborne and I am a Junior at East Leyden High School.  I am also a first year student in the Technical Support Internship course.  Last week, I was approached by Mr. Jason Markey, East Leyden’s Principal, and Mr. Bryan Weinert, the Director of Technology, about testing the new HP Chromebook 11.  To do this, I used the HP Chromebook 11 for one full week in all my classes in place of my usual Samsung Chromebook Series 5.  The results could not be finer.

The first thing I noticed is that the HP Chromebook is extremely fast.  I tested the HP and the Samsung Chromebook side by side and visited a variety of websites.  The load time was much faster on the HP Chromebook than it was on the Samsung Chromebook.   I also did a side by side comparison of the HP Chromebook and a desktop computer in the TSI classroom.  Again, the load time on the HP Chromebook was much faster.  

The second thing I evaluated was the keyboard and trackpad.  Compared to the Samsung Chromebook, the keyboard on the HP Chromebook is more slick and provides a smoother typing experience.  The trackpad is more responsive and does not freeze like the Samsung trackpad does.

When compared to the Samsung Chromebook, the screen on the HP Chromebook is more hi-res and is better in image and quality.  The sound quality is very crisp and as the volume increases, the sound does not get distorted or muffled.  The device is lighter, smaller, and seems more durable, particularly with regards to the charging port.

There are two features on the HP Chromebook 11 that stand out: the fan and the LCD lights. There is no fan because the processor does not require one.  The LED lights on the front face of the Chromebook lights up when powered on.  This adds a cool feature to an already sleek looking device.

I was disappointed with one aspect of the device: the battery life.  On an average day, with the Samsung Chromebook, I use approximately 50% of the battery.  With the HP Chromebook, I used at least 75% of the battery during my normal school day & activities.  This is concerning since batteries lose their charge life as time goes on.  The one positive with regards to charging is that the HP Chromebook uses a micro-usb port.  This means that you can use a traditional phone charger to charge the device if needed.

As my final conclusion, I prefer the HP Chromebook 11 over the Samsung Chromebook Series 5 due to it’s fast speed, keyboard/touchpad performance and sleek look.

Update: On Wednesday, November 13th, Best Buy & Amazon pulled all their HP Chromebook 11’s from their shelves.  Rumor has it that the charging ports were overheating.

Mamabear App

Are you a parent that owns an Apple or Android phone? The Mamabear app lets you monitor your child's whereabouts. You can download it for free on your smartphone! 

What does it do? It uses GPS to provide the parents information about where their child is and when they leave or arrive places. 

To use it, both the guardian and the child must download it to their phone. For the parent, the app streams information such as a map to where the child is and buttons such as to send messages, check alerts, and change settings. For the child, the app has various icons they can use to send notifications. For example, the child can send a car icon to let their parent know that they want to get picked up. If parents are monitoring more than one child, they can change the colors on the map of where their child is.

The app also offers a feature where parents can monitor Instagram and Facebook activity. For example, if their child adds a new friend or are tagged in photos.

Installing: When you download it, it requires a few steps to get started. Parents must create an account and profile with information such as their name, birthday, and phone number.

Trying it out: Some parents might look at this app as one of the best things ever because they're able to know where their child is and what they're doing and if they're safe. But in my opinion, I would not like my parents doing this. I feel like parents that do this don't trust their children. They have to give their kid freedom so they can learn to become independent. If a parent is interested in trying this out with their child, then by all means, download it and use, but thank God my parents barely know how to go to their pictures on their phone so they won't be able to use it on me. 

TSI Tip of the Week

Does your smartphone run really slow? If so, it may be because of your apps. Did you know that a lot of apps keep running even when you are not using them? If you have an iPhone, you can easily close them by double tapping your home button and swiping up on each open app. If you have an Android, there are multiple ways to do this. Stop by TSI if you want us to show you how.

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