What an undertaking!…Switching from Chromebook to Windows 11…

Tom’s dinner consisted of a fresh turkey club sandwich and chips (fries) when we dined once again in the Lucky Penny restaurant in the resort.

In the “old” days switching from one Windows computer to another was implemented by using a cable between the old and new computers. Some apps and data could be transferred wirelessly or using a flash drive or external hard drive as time progressed.

But now, after using a Chromebook for the past two-plus years, and storing all my saved files on the cloud, Google Drive, I need to rethink how I store and use the information we need to keep. I saved all my old files on an external hard drive and the cloud from the time I last used Windows in early 2020, but I don’t want to clutter this laptop with all those unnecessary files. This time, I am starting anew.

Our old posts and photos are stored online, so there’s no issue there. The old posts and included photos can easily be accessed via our archives. There is no need for me to save any of those offline. New bookings, photos, and financial information will be easier to access via files and folders saved on my desktop, which I missed with the Chromebook. There is no way to save folders on the desktop on a Chromebook, at least not by any means by which I was familiar.

Gosh, when I think of people who are not computer savvy and find it necessary to make a change such as this, it baffles me how they’d get through this process. Indeed, it would be daunting and overwhelming.  Then again, those who are very active on and offline already know how to do this stuff. For those who use email and Facebook and browse online, it could be relatively easy.

Tom’s daily breakfast in the Lucky Penny; eggs, hash browns, ham and toast with jelly. He’s certainly enjoying this big meal.

But, for those seeking to participate in advanced tasks, such as keeping detailed and accurate records for business and personal use, making such a change could be time-consuming and difficult. I am not finding it difficult. But, starting from scratch  it will take some time.

So far, as I’m preparing today’s post, I keep encountering the necessity of adding apps I use in preparing each day’s post, some of which are Google-related (Chromebook), not Microsoft-related (Windows). I have found it necessary to continue to use some Google features I like, such as Google Photos, Google Keep, and… I may keep using the Gmail app instead of Outlook. I was never a big fan of Outlook, even in the early days when I used it exclusively.

In any case, I won’t continue to bore our readers with this massive change after today’s mention. Each day, I’ll add more and more apps and files, and perhaps in the next week or so, I’ll have it done. I am looking forward to being done, although I must admit, I enjoy doing this for some odd reason.

As I prepare today’s post, I’m thrilled about how much easier it is to type. When I started working on this Lenovo Flex 5 yesterday afternoon, I automatically banged extra hard on the letter “L,” which motivated me to purchase a new laptop. Other keys and the spacebar required me to bang on the keys to get a result.

My breakfast of three egg white gluten free tortillas, with chicken, guacamole, salsa and onions. It is low carb and very delicious.

What a pleasure it is now. I can type easily, although I am learning to use a different keyboard with numerical keys on the far right that I didn’t have on the old Chromebook. Thus, I need to position my hands toward the left to avoid accidentally hitting numbers instead of letters. In no time at all, I’ll get used to this change.

How are we feeling today”? Tom says he is 75% to 80% better than a week ago. I am, too, but I am still experiencing a lot of congestion, a sinus-type headache, and a degree of lethargy. Although not a napper like Tom, I am getting well over eight hours of sleep each night, according to my Fitbit. It seems sleep is the most beneficial aspect for the recovery of Omicron. We tested positive four weeks ago today.

In four days, we’ll depart for South Africa on a two day journey, spending one night in Johannesburg to avoid driving on the dangerous Highway N4 at night. There have been countless car-jackings using a device called spiking which tear up a car’s tires and causes drivers to stop and get out of their vehicles. At that point, the drivers and passengers are often killed and robbed of their belongings. This is scary. There is no way we’d drive on that highway in the dark.

Well, folks, that’s it for today. Sorry for the lack of interesting photos. Neither of us feels up to looking for photos ops right now. We’ll have plenty of opportunities when we’ll be back in Marloth Park in less than a week.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, May 18, 2021:

Mongoose waited at the door for food before we’d even gone outside in the morning. For more photos, please click here.

Comments and responses What an undertaking!…Switching from Chromebook to Windows 11…

  1. Heather Williams Reply

    Jessica and Tom, Glad you are both on the mend. How disappointing missing out on your Cunard cruise and not having big catch ups with your family. I am always interested in your work arounds and any hints I try to keep in my ‘old memorybank(brain)
    Have been reading with interest about your new computer, and in particular how you save in Google Drive. I have never managed the Microsoft filing system to well so consequently files are a mess. Nowadays I am using Google Drive on my Android phone and tablet, trying to make our home office “paperless”. Can’t say I am much better filing ‘stuff’ but I carry on in my own muddled way. Heaven help the family when I shuffle of this earth to make sense of our paperwork. Not too soon I hope. Jessica I admire how you manage with your technology.😜
    Do hope your future travels back to Marloth Park goes smoothly. We are excitedly waiting to go cruising again here in Australia. Our first is on Coral Princess in August along the Queensland coast.
    Once again safe travels to you both

    Regards Heather Williams

    • worldwide-admin Post authorReply

      Heather, its wonderful hearing from you. We appreciate your kind comments as we muddle (as you say) our way through the requirements for getting us back to Marloth Park, which we write about in today’s post, albeit with a fair amount of frustration. as you’ll see soon when it’s uploaded in a few hours. Yes, being paperless is a liberating feeling which we discovered long ago. I always had an aversion to piles of papers sitting around. To me, they always indicated I had work to do with them. Actually, I am done loading everything on my new Windows laptop and am thrilled to be able to put files on the desktop for easy access. I’m glad to hear you are doing OK with Google Drive. I couldn’t ever get into functioning that way.
      Hope you and your family are doing ok with the increased Covid cases that have hit Australia. It’s not very good here in the US either. Stay safe and healthy.
      Thanks for taking the time to write.
      Warmest regards,
      Jess & Tom

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