This may be a dumb question, but I’d rather ask than not know.
I’m thinking of getting a Samsung Chromebook for traveling but wonder if my Windows version of Scrivener will run on it? I just noticed it uses the Google Chrome OS.
Thanks in advance.
Angie
I’m afraid not. As you note, Chromebooks have their own operating system, so it won’t support Scrivener. If you’ve got another computer running Windows as your main base, you could export documents from your project for working on the Chromebook in another application, then copy your changes back in when you return, as users will do for working on iOS or Android devices now. There may be some limitations with formatting, but in general that should work to get text back and forth for when you’re travelling.
Thanks. I kinda thought that might be the case but wanted to make sure. Appreciate the reply.
I’ve worked on a Samsung Chromebook since November and really love it. It’s fast, lightweight, and best of all low-cost, and it does make a great travel machine. The absence of Scrivener is an issue, but in time it may be that the Chrome OS, which is Linux-based, will run programs originally designed for Linux or Android. Wizards are already running Ubuntu on Chromebook machines.
If you use the Chrome browser on Windows, you may easily exchange notes and files with Scrivener via SimpleNote or Google Docs. That’s also an easy way to share or collaborate on files with editors.
The biggest negative I hear is that “it can only run online,” which is untrue. Many of the apps run in offline mode and synch with Google Drive when you’re back online. And you may also buy a model with 3G service, for use when traveling.
Four companies are now building Chromebooks: Samsung, Acer, Lenovo, and Hewlett-Packard. I believe this trend will grow, especially if Microsoft encounters weak demand for its Windows 8 machines.