ASUS CHROMEBOX-M004U Desktop

Our desktop died a few months ago and we were looking for a replacement. Because my wife and I both have tablets and a laptop, we have found that we have not used the desktop as much. As a result, we were wondering whether we should even get a replacement. We decided it would be nice to have but we didn't want to spend $500+ on a new computer. I had heard of the Chromebox previously but didn't pay too much attention to it. I decided it would be worth looking into and after seeing all the good comments, I felt it was worth taking a chance on getting one.Is it anything spectacular? Yes! Does it do anything more than Chrome on Windows? No. But here is why (when your desktop finally dies/or you are just sick of how slow it is) you should buy a Chromebox:1) Fast enough to do everything you want to on the internet. If you are like most people, you will realize that 90+% of the time you are on a computer, you are using a web browser. Everything else on your computer therefore is added weight to slow down your internet experience. This may include Virus/Malware Scanning Software, Viruses and Malware, other background processes, etc. ChromeOS takes all this out and gives you the the web browser and a great way of connecting to it. Will it handle the latest high intensity graphics game around? No, it won't come close but if you are looking for something to do that, you probably aren't even looking at Chromeboxes and therefore are not even reading this post.2) Still can do Microsoft Office Online. This was actually a surprise to me but it actually works fairly well. For those of you who are not familiar with Office Online, it is a web version of Office that doesn't have all the bells and whistles of regular office. If you are like most people, you really don't use the bells and whistles. I do quite a bit of work in Office with my employment (law) and find that everything that I need can be done on Office Online. If you really don't need a lot of features, check of Google Docs, it rocks as well.3) 100GB of online storage. From your new Chromebox (or Chromebook) go to drive.google.com/redeem and type in some information an viola, 100GB of online storage.4) It is simple to use. There is no learning curve with the Chromebox. It is the Chrome web browser and if you have used any browser in the last 5 years, you will be up to speed. There are a few features that you don't get on regular Chrome like Bluetooth and WIFI but even make that easy to operate.5) It uses Google Print. So this could be a frustration for a lot of people. The Chromebox, even though it has USB ports, does not allow you to connect printers because it doesn't install drivers. So what can you do? First, get a printer that is Google Print capable. Okay, I am with you, I really don't need another printer laying around my house. Second, try the xPrint Server from Lantronix. Granted it is a little expensive (~$150.00) which makes one wonder why not just buy a new printer. Third, use an old computer that runs Chrome as a gateway. While not a great choice, it is better than some of the first options. Fourth, get geeky with a Raspberry Pi. For those that are not aware of what a Raspberry Pi is, it is a $35 computer capable of running Linux. Needless to say, Chrome can run on Linux and it can also install printer drivers. Here is a tutorial on turning a Raspberry Pi into your Google Cloud Print servant.[...]Again, this is a hurdle for a lot of people but I will say, after you get Google Cloud Print working, it is awesome. No more worrying about what computer your document is on and what computer is connected to which printer. It is simply, clicking this printer and this document.6) It can be customized. If you find out that Chrome OS is not your thing that is okay. There are plenty of tutorials on how to install Ubuntu on the Chromebox either as a dual-boot or replacement. If you are interested in this, I would recommend getting an extra 2GB stick of ram (Laptop DDR3). It may also be smart to upgrade the size of the SSD as well. If that looks greek to you, then just stick with Chrome OS.Hopefully you have found my review helpful of the Chromebox. Just to recap, this is a great desktop replacement if all you need is something to surf the internet with and do homework. You will be pleasantly surprised at how fast it loads up and how easy it is to use.

Fantastic little gadget! I've had the Asus Chromebox M004U, the inexpensive one-$169.00, 2GB ram, 16GB SSD-for a little over a month and from using it, I'll state that it is better than advertised.When the box arrived from Amazon, it didn't look big enough for a "real" computer. Bear in mind the Chromebox is only 5" x 5" x 1.5" in size. I took out the Chromebox, plugged in the power supply and looked for a cable to hook up a monitor. Neither a DVI or a VGA plug will work. I did find an HDMI-to-HDMI cable which fits the Box, but not either of my monitors. I was thinking about buying a new monitor when I remembered that my 32" LG TV had a second HDMI port. It's mounted on a swing-arm close to my computer desk in my "man-cave" so I can catch football games and NASCAR away from the rest of the family. I pulled the arm & TV over closed to the desk, pressed the power switch and got a picture.The set-up went quickly and easily. I already use Google Chrome browser and the Chrome operating system is based on it so I was functional on that part. I entered my wifi password and, just like that, I was on the web. All my favorites were there just like on my PC. I surfed around to several sites and everything looked as normal. I should mention that everything was fast.I also already use Gmail, so the email part went fast. It's exactly the same as Gmail on my PC. I think you can set it up for Outlook, but since I use Gmail, I didn't bother to try that.It comes up fast. Someone told me 7 seconds. I have counted 1-thousand, 2-thousand... and quit because I never got over 7-thousand.You can't get to what you have on your PC hard drive. If you have saved it to Skydrive, you can easily find it with your Chromebox.I was getting worried. Everything was going quickly and smoothly, then I hit a snag. I went looking for a file, any file, and couldn't find one. Well, Toto, we're not in Windows land any more. We have to go see the Wonderful Wizard of Google. Let me give you a translation from Windows to Google for some I have picked up.1. First, think of your Chromebox as a big Android phone.2.There are a group of icons in the lower left side of the monitor just like Windows. Google calls this line of icons the SHELF.3. The first icon is black with 9 little squares like a keypad. This is effectively your Start button. In Google-ese, it's your APPS.4. You can move apps to and from the shelf. Right click on the icon in your apps and select "Pin to shelf." If the "Pin to..." sounds familiar, it's just like an Android phone.5. Somewhere in your apps you'll see a blue, green & yellow triangle. This is Google drive. Think of it as your C: drive. You automatically get 15GB G-drive space free. When you buy a Chromebox or Chromebook laptop, you get another 100GB free for two years, as I recall. I was wondering what Big G was going to hit me for extending the 100GB. I checked and when I did, it was $2 per month. Pretty cheap.6. I already had Microsoft Skydrive, (or is it Onedrive or is MS trying to confuse us). It also works just like Google drive.7. If you are paranoid about storing things in the cloud, you are in trouble because everything is automatically stored in your cloud.8. Speaking of saving, don't look for a save button. There is none. Remember, everything is automatically saved to the cloud.9. You can hook up an external hard drive, but I haven't tried that. The Chrome computers DO NOT support CD or DVD drives yet.10. Google Docs can read all my Word files and save as either .docx or Google files. No problem here.11. Amazon Prime videos work just great through the Chromebox. So does Kindle for books (Kindle Cloud).Bottom line: Since I got this little jewel a month or so ago, I have been on my PC maybe a dozen times. Some of those were to start moving more pictures and notes on radio control airplanes(my hobby) to either Skydrive or Google Drive. The Chromebox makes my PC seem slow and antiquated. Sure it doesn't do Photoshop and others, but for surfing, watching videos and movies, reading Kindle books and doing the occasional doc or spreadsheet, it's been excellent for me. For what I do at home, I'll take a Chromebox over a PC any day.Added May 10, 2015: It just dawned on me that I haven't turned on my Windows PC in 2 weeks! It's still fast. It books up fast (7 seconds to the password prompt-I timed it). It shuts down fast-5 seconds. I've yet to see a prompt like, "Do not turn off or unplug your computer. Installing updates 1 to 21." Google print works fine, even from my phone-a Nokia Windows phone, no less. It goes through wifi & email. Double glad I spent the $160 for it.