The 180 Dollar Chromebook

For the past few years, I’ve been all about the lean lifestyle, and nothing complements that better, from a tech standpoint, than a Chromebook. Sure, Mac is sleek, sexy, and often seen as the go-to money-making machine, but here’s the truth: most of us shell out $1,000 or more for a computer just to check Facebook and Gmail. Guess what? The $150–350 Chromebook does that just fine.

I’m a gypsy at heart, a “gipsetter,” if you will. When people ask me where I’m from, I just shrug and say, “from places.” I practically live on planes. No matter how much I want to slow down, that’s just my life. Tomorrow, I’m off on a 33-hour, four-segment flight to San Francisco, which has become my “second base” for now. And honestly? It’s not even my worst trip in recent years.

So, what does all this have to do with computing? Two things. When you travel as much as I do, excitement quickly gives way to exhaustion, and you’ll trade anything for a bit of rest. The less you carry, the freer you feel. Extra weight, extra responsibility — it sucks. That’s why my $180 Chromebook makes a lot more sense than the $2,000 MacBooks I’ve bought in the past.

Do I need a powerhouse for heavy computing? Not really. Most of what I do lives in the cloud. But if I ever need the MacBook experience, I’ve got two options: 1) use a Mac virtual machine, or 2) buy a MacBook, then return it within two weeks. Apple probably hates people like me for the second one, but I couldn’t care less. After investing so much in their products over the last decade — for myself and my businesses—they owe me a lifetime of free MacBook rentals (or at least a discount!).

When it comes to productivity, the one resource that’s truly hard to find on the road is connectivity. You can lug around the most powerful laptop, but there’s no guarantee you’ll find decent Wi-Fi or LTE, no matter how much you’re willing to pay. Sometimes I fire up Photoshop or edit a video, or I might use an Android VM or Feedly. But mostly, I use my Chromebook with Chrome Remote Desktop to access my Mac OS X virtual machine and get stuff done. The beauty? The connection required for VNC is minimal, and the speed on the remote machine is something you’ll never experience on regular Wi-Fi — it’s colocation at its finest.

What’s the point? When you’re on the road, with or without a clear destination, you’ll realize the value of traveling light—both physically and mentally.