When Chromebooks first came on the scene many people thought the devices were neat and nice for someone who doesn't need to do any real work, but they believed the usefulness of the system was simply quite limited. At the time, they may have been right.
However, times are changing and we are now living in a world that simply doesn’t need Windows to accomplish real work. If you want to get the most out of your Chromebook and set it up to be not just a toy, but a real work horse which will enable you to get things done wherever you may be, then all you need have a look at these easy ways to expand the usefulness of your Chromebook.

Work Offline

The Chromebook has earned a reputation for being a lightweight machine that must have the Internet in order to be even remotely useful. This reputation was deserved because the first machines to roll out of the line did, in fact, require an Internet connection. However, ChromeOS has come a long way and while you will see the most benefit when you are online, you can still access many of the apps like Gmail and Calendar when your Chromebook doesn't have an Internet connection available.

Use Adobe Photoshop
One of the early criticisms of Chromebooks was the fact that many popular desktop apps simply wouldn't run on the platform. However, things have changed. Adobe and Google have announced that they are bringing Adobe Photoshop as a streaming app to the system so artists everywhere can have access to the powerful Photoshop application right on their ultra portable Chromebooks.

Access Microsoft Office

Microsoft reigns supreme in the world of office apps with Word, Excel and Powerpoint leading the pack in terms of basic office apps. In the past, these apps weren't available on the platform but now, like Adobe, Microsoft offers a completely free web based version of these packages that you can use on virtually any system including your favorite little Chromebook.

Use Android Apps
Google is moving toward a system where Android apps and Chrome apps can be installed on both systems easily, and to that end they have already released several apps for both platforms. With a little bit of elbow grease you can already get most Android apps to load easily in ChromeOS using hacks that are readily available online. This system unification is only expected to get better over the coming months so any app that doesn't work as well right now might perform perfectly as Google updates both the Android and ChromeOS systems.

Install a Full Desktop Operating System
While you might think you are limited to only the ChromeOS when you buy a Chromebook, you can actually install other operating systems alongside ChromeOS. First, you must make sure that you have enough free space on your hard drive and you must enable developer mode on your device. Once you do, you can easily install Ubuntu or another Linux derivative right there on your Chromebook and easily switch back and forth whenever you need a full operating system.

Setting this up does require a little more know how over the average user, but with the help of your computer savvy friends you can easily configure your Chromebook into a fully functioning laptop.

As you can see, there is no denying the Chromebook has evolved from a simple web based machine into something that is highly useful for both everyday work and play. While this functionality does require a little setup on the part of the user, once it is complete everything just works and you will hve access to one of the cheapest work horse machines you could ever imagine.