I wrote this blog without an internet connection

Just for the fun of it, I decided to write this blog on the Pixel without an internet connection.

I am doing this because I’ve read that some people think it is slightly insane to pay $999 for a “web browser.”

I think they miss the point, but I’ll play along. It is true that much of the functionality of this device is now disabled.

But it is also true that this is not stopping me from writing this blog in Google Docs, which is automatically being saved to my device. I will then cut and paste into Blogger when I am back on-line. If you are reading this, then it worked as planned.

Out of all the apps that are saved on my desktop, here’s the ones that I can access: Google Keep (as long as I’m not trying to click on any links that I have saved in there), Wunderlist (including my task list and passwords), I have access to my files that are in my desktop Folder, Google Drive, and Slides. In short, most of the real work apps are accessible.

Here’s the ones that absolutely do not work at all: Gmail, YouTube, Pandora, Google Calendar, Facebook, Blogger, Weebly, Google+, and Netflix. Most of those are not crucial for me in the day to day. Plus, I can access any of those through my phone if I need to.

So I can create and edit documents, review or use my saved powerpoint presentations, and gain access information I have saved in Keep, my task list, and my passwords. Hardly crippling.

And that is without downloading a single extension like the Gmail Offline app and the many other apps that also work on the Pixel or any Chromebook when you are offline. I haven’t really even thoroughly researched all of the extensions and apps that are available for offline use because I really don’t need to.

But the reason why I say the critics miss the point is that I’m really getting used to - loving actually - having everything in the cloud and NOT having to save everything in my old school office with my old school MS desktop or using an old school memory stick. True freedom, I think.

I love the fact that I can save a PowerPoint presentation document from work on Google Slides and now can access it from anywhere on any device. Same for documents and spreadsheets.

I also love that everything is so fluid between my Android Nexus 6 and my new home laptop, the shiny new Pixel.

Don’t believe you have to be on-line to use the Pixel; this blog is proof that it’s just not true.

Google Slides: ready to be your go-to presentation app

After one month of using cloud-based Google Slides on my Pixel, I do not want to go back to a desktop-based presentation program. 

My first encounter with Slides was updating a 50+ page PowerPoint presentation for work, which was saved to the hard drive on my desktop, which also was at work.

That's great, if I want to do it all while I'm at work. Not as nice if I'm travelling and have access to a bunch of devices, but not the desktop that my PowerPoint presentation is saved on. 

Yes, I know that you can also save and update PowerPoint with OneDrive in the clouds, but this is the Pixel blog, not a Surface Pro blog, so I'm gonna tell you how this whole thing worked for me using Slides. 

I emailed the PowerPoint presentation to myself before I left work and saved it in Slides - which I had read but didn't have complete faith in - was compatible with PowerPoint. 

So now, my PowerPoint document is accessible from my Pixel, but also my phone, my tablet, or whatever other device I happen to be near. I can read it and update it from anywhere. After updating the first ten pages, I simply cut and paste those changes to the PowerPoint presentation when I got back in the office and had time to do it. It took a few minutes, but it was pretty easy overall. 

There is a tremendous amount of freedom in knowing that I'm not locked to the desktop. 

Next up and just last week, I was in a three-day meeting using a MS Office laptop that was not mine and I needed to create a new presentation for a meeting that same week, but I didn't have either my Pixel or my desktop available. 

So I turned to Slides; I created a beautiful presentation in minutes that I updated later that evening on my Pixel. I emailed the presentation to my the person who needed it and we reviewed it in the meeting that I was at later in the week from my colleagues laptop, a MS-based Dell laptop. 

Truthfully, this was one area where I was a little apprehensive about forking over the $999 for the Pixel and why I had considered one of those sleek MS Surface Pros. I had seen people using them and they look like awesome little devices. But I really do not like the colors (personal preference) and I also am pretty attached to the Google ecosystem. 

I also had considered the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2, which has the Hancom Office products. I gave Hancom a test drive on my work tablet, a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0. I think the product works beautifully on the Tab Pro, but on the Tab 4 it was an instant headache making any changes or even scrolling through the document for that matter. But I attribute that more to the mid-range specs on the tablet than because of any problems with Hancom itself. 

Other than the aforementioned reasons, I love the fact that Slides is constantly updating itself and I never have to fear getting a phone call, walking away from my desk, and forgetting to update it. 

I'm a huge Google Slides fan. Wonder if they sell Google Slides bumper stickers?