More frequently, I’ve logged into user computers and notice that their right side Windows 10 notification bar is inundated with notifications. A common complaint is that they don’t know how they got there, they are incredibly annoying, and they don’t know how to get rid of them.
The origin of these annoying notifications is usually by visiting a site with Chrome. Other browsers also likely allow this, but I’m picking on Chrome because that’s what I use.
The site will usually pop up with a question, “<site> wants to show notifications”, with an Allow or Block option. This is what you get when you go to techradar.com:
A typical notification request
If you click “Allow” you’re giving that site permission to take control of your Windows 10 Notifications at all times, whether you’ve got a current browser window open or not. Here’s an example of a Tech Radar notification.
A techradar.com Windows 10 notification.
At least Tech Radar is transparent enough to show you how to unsubscribe. The good news is that it’s easy to rid yourself of all of those annoying notifications. Here’s how:
If Chrome isn’t open, open it and select the 3 dots below the Close button in the top right corner of your browser window
Select Settings.
Here’s a trick I recently learned. Instead of scrolling through the seemingly endless list of options looking for “Notifications”, go to the top search bar and start typing “notifications”. Chrome will highlight the relevant settings almost instantly.
Click on the highlighted Site Settings, followed by the highlighted Notifications.
Now you should see all of the sites you’ve blocked and the ones you’ve allowed. Click the 3 dots next to the offending site(s) in the Allow section and select “Block”
Keep in mind that there are some notifications that are handy, especially if you use G-Suite or other CRM extensions. Hopefully this post gives you control over those annoying notifications once and for all.
This article compares my experiences using the Surface Go and an ASUS Chromebook alternatively for the last several months and reveals the winner.
The ASUS C302C Chromebook and the Microsoft Surface Go are similar devices in many ways. I’ll start with a summary of each including my personal pros and cons. I’ll finish on why I chose the Chromebook as my favourite.
This device is very clean and a pleasure to use. It comes with an illuminated chiclet keyboard and a 12.5″ touchscreen. Memory (4 GB) and storage (32 or 64 GB) are not as critical as it uses Google Drive for storage. You need a Google account. The current price is $648 on Amazon.
ASUS C302C Chromebook
Pros
12.5″ touchscreen. I’ve really become hooked on having a touchscreen to the point of missing it when I’m on any other laptop. I find 12.5″ is perfect for a travel laptop. It’s small enough to travel light, but is amazingly large when you prop it on your tray table on a plane.
Flip screen. This laptop screen flips over to become a tablet and rotates to portrait or landscape. It’s handier than I would have thought.
Illuminated keyboard. The keyboard is a joy to type on. The back lighting is brilliant.
Android. Adding Android to ChromeOS was genius and makes the Chromebook truly competitive with any other laptop out there. Keep in mind that Android is not available on all Chromebooks. This feature is such a game-changer that it’s worth checking before you buy; insist on Android support.
USB-C for charging and docking. Both the ASUS Chromebook and the Surface Go support USB-C charging and docking. That means I have one cable that connects my laptop to everything I need. It’s very convenient. The ASUS only charges through the USB-C connection, which means it comes with a very handy 45W USB-C charger. That charger can be used to charge my Surface Go or my Google Pixel phone.
Cons
Hardware Compatibility. It’s a little less compatible with things like printers and docking stations. I’ve gone through three docking stations and finally settled on one of the most expensive ones to work flawlessly with both my Chromebook and my Surface Go. Setting up the less common home printers can be a challenge, especially if they don’t support Google Cloud Print out of the box.
It’s not Windows. I do a lot of my work in Excel and, even though there are Android and web versions of Office, they don’t have all of the advanced macro capabilities of desktop (Windows) Office. There are also a few other Windows apps I rely on to run our business that aren’t available on the Chromebook. For those I’m forced to pull out my Surface Go or remotely connect to a Windows desktop.
You need a Google account. Most people have Google accounts but if you don’t want one you likely would not consider a Chromebook.
Some Technical Skill is helpful. The ChromeOS is much better than Linux as far as technical skill required to get the most from the operating system. Even so, I find that it requires the user to roll up their sleeves on occasion to accomplish some of the desirable tasks on the Chromebook. Examples include: enabling Android apps, toggling the touchpad on and off, configuring Google Cloud Print on a Brother printer.
Until I started using the Chromebook, I absolutely loved the Surface Go. With its 10″ screen and light keyboard cover, it is the true definition of an ultra-portable. It weighs just over a pound and is small enough to take anywhere. The current bundle price (tablet and Type Cover keyboard) is $670 at Costco.
Microsoft Surface Go
Pros
Size – The size of the Surface Go is what attracted me to it in the first place. It brings back memories of my previously favourite laptop, the Dell Latitude X1, which by today’s standards looks bulky.
Windows 10 – Even though it comes pre-installed with Windows 10 S (essentially a stripped down version of Windows 10), you can easily take it out of S mode to turn it into Windows 10 Home. Windows 10 is also arguably more user friendly than ChromeOS, making it more suitable for non-technical users.
Touchscreen – Similar to the ASUS Chromebook, having a touchscreen is a luxury I never thought I’d use. Now that I’ve gotten used to it, I find it hard to go back to a non-touch laptop.
Removable keyboard – The Surface Type Cover is actually an extra purchased option (or bundled, such as this one from Costco), so the Surface Go is a tablet first, a laptop second. If you like it in tablet mode, being able to remove the keyboard (or flip it around so it’s more convenient to carry) is a bonus.
Cons
Keyboard – There are a few things I don’t like about the keyboard.
The keys feel cheap and are “clicky”. I find it disruptive to type on it in a quiet meeting.
Due to the size of the tablet, the keys on the Surface Go Type Cover are too close together for comfortable typing. If you have large hands, I imagine this would be even more uncomfortable.
It’s flimsy. Unlike traditional laptops, the Surface devices are tablets. As such, the Type Covers do not support the tablet on a lap or other uneven surfaces.
Lack of Android – I never thought having Android on a laptop would be a key feature. It turns out that having Android on a Chromebook not only makes it on par with a Windows laptop, it elevates the Chromebook above Windows laptops in many ways.
Proprietary Charger. Thankfully the Surface Go also charges through the USB-C port, which enables me to use the same dock as I have for my Chromebook. The proprietary Surface charger is a waste. If you want a second charger, do yourself a favour a get a USB-C charger, like the one that came with the ASUS Chromebook. That way you can charge all things USB-C, not just your tablet.
Conclusion
After using both the ASUS Chromebook and the Surface Go for the last several months, my go-to device is definitely the Chromebook. In priority order, here’s why:
The keyboard – it is much more enjoyable typing on the ASUS Chromebook than the Type Cover of the Surface Go.
The size – for continuous use, I prefer a slightly larger screen size. 12.5″ is still plenty portable. 10″ is too small for prolonged use.
What about docked? Even docked, I find my preference is the Chromebook. It’s a subtle difference, but when docked, I absolutely have to have an external keyboard with the Surface Go. That’s an extra step and inconvenience that’s unnecessary with the ASUS. Additionally, I use the laptop monitor as a secondary monitor when docked. The 12.5″ Chromebook screen does that much of a better job than the 10″ Surface Go screen.
What about Windows? There are many times I just need a Windows laptop to get things done. In those cases, the Surface Go is plenty useful, particularly when docked. As I mentioned at the top of this post, I was convinced that it was the perfect desktop replacement, with it’s portability and dock-ability, until I started using the ASUS Chromebook. Interestingly, ASUS does not make a 12.5″ Windows laptop.
There are many other Windows laptops out there, including the Surface Laptop 2 or the Surface Pro. Curiously, both of these considerably higher end devices lack USB-C ports, which to me is a must-have. For now, the ASUS Chromebook suits me just fine.
I recently had the opportunity to test another hosted service, Draftix.com. I found it by searching for some software that would help with season ticket group distribution. I was creating a new season ticket group of varying ownership and figured there had to be someone out there who’s already figured out how to do it easily using software or even Excel.
After doing a quick Google or Bing (I’ve tried using Bing lately – maybe more on that in another post) I stumbled upon Draftix. Interestingly, Bing provided the only direct path to Draftix- the second result, while Google (using the exact same “season ticket sharing software” query as linked to above) didn’t have a link to Draftix in the first 200 results (I gave up looking after 200). Google’s second result did find a site (Vator.tv) that holds a review of Draftix that leads you to the Draftix site. This is a perfect example of why relying on only one search provider (and Google is getting a lot of negative press about this lately) can limit your “view” of the Internet substantially. An analogy would be if you rely 100% on one news service for all of your current events (The same kind of negative view a lot of people have of CNN.)Continue reading
