Laptop or Chromebook

[indy4x]

@Domdom Same here, we are primarily a Windows shop (approx 14,000 Win10 laptops/desktops) but I'm not sure I would agree with everything you said

Yes MS have dropped the Windows apps for Chromebooks but the Teams app is still there and all of the functionality is in the browser version anyway, if anything is missing in Teams web app it hasn't caused me an issue yet. Office.com in your browser gives you most of the functionality of the Apps anyway unless you are a power user

Sharing documents/collaborating in Office.com is simples, yes you can have docs in Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint online but essentially its all SharePoint behind the scenes

Don't know what the state of play is in Englandshire but in Wales, all schools and FE colleges have bought into the MS Office 365 ecosystem and students are licenced to use MS Office in their personal devices

My daughter has just completed a degree in Geography, all of her assignments, research, dissertation etc was done on a Chromebook with only 1 exception, they have a mapping system that has some specific requirements and even some Win10 devices won't run it. She's just about to start a masters and is planning on using the Chromebook for all of her work

Visio won't be an issue as MS is now bundling a web version with Office subscriptions, if its the more advanced features then you will need the Windows version of Visio

@DanZac The direction of travel for MS is to move as much as possible into the browser and wean people off the fat applications

@gaz1 depends on the laptop, my work laptop is a Dell XPS 15, its about 4 years old and still awesome, it does have a Solid State Drive and 16Gb of RAM and I'll probably keep it for another year maybe 2. 99% of our laptops in work are Dell Latitudes, probably have about 6000 in daily use and the average age is 4.6 years. We do however have 170 MS Surface Laptops, these were bought at the start of COVID as it was all we could get, all I can say is what a load of rubbish, completely unreliable and have caused no end of support issues.

My personal laptop is a Lenovo Yoga, this is probably 7 years old, again runs everything I need including Autodesk Inventor, battery is showing its age, but SSD and 8Gb RAM its fine running Windows 10

Do I have a Chromebook, yep, currently typing this on a Lenovo Yoga Chromebook, its has a large 15" screen, i3 processor and battery life that Windows laptops can only dream of but as @skotl said, they ain't as cheap as they used to be, however the Lenovo Chrmoebook is a premium machine so it did cost more than a cheap laptop but is a quality machine

For work i'm 50:50 Chromebook/Dell XPS purely because I do need some specialist/old software that doesn't run on anything other than Windows so depending on my day I'll take 1 or the other

At home probably 75:25 Chromebook/Lenovo laptop

All of this probably doesn't help @Agrismith and if I was forced to choose between Windows laptop or Chromebook then as much as I love my Chromebook it would have to be a Windows laptop as there is some stuff I use that will only run on Windows

 

[Maker]

Anything college wise I'd want Windows 10 and the office suite, anything else is just faffing around.

I used Google Workspace fairly interchangeably with MS Office, both the online and desktop versions, throughout sixth form and uni, usually Google for any group project and MS for anything individual, though more recently swapping Word for LaTeX and Excel for MATLAB where it's convenient.

Google makes it much easier to collaborate but I always prefer using desktop versions with locally saved files if I can.

 

[gaz1]

@gaz1 depends on the laptop, my work laptop is a Dell XPS 15, its about 4 years old and still awesome, it does have a Solid State Drive and 16Gb of RAM and I'll probably keep it for another year maybe 2. 99% of our laptops in work are Dell Latitudes, probably have about 6000 in daily use and the average age is 4.6 years. We do however have 170 MS Surface Laptops, these were bought at the start of COVID as it was all we could get, all I can say is what a load of rubbish, completely unreliable and have caused no end of support issues.

My personal laptop is a Lenovo Yoga, this is probably 7 years old, again runs everything I need including Autodesk Inventor, battery is showing its age, but SSD and 8Gb RAM its fine running Windows 10

i suspect that you have upgraded it from its original specs

ssd and also ram upgrades

 

[Edward Teach]

Not really the point, I have a high end desktop with eye watering specs. For typing a document or studying I pull out the laptop

Who said I was talking to you
I think I was talking to The OP

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Right, let’s explain a few things about a Chromebook. We have them at work and I run the IT function So I did a very comprehensive test on this before we released them for general use.

They will run MS Office but the question is more of why? They are designed to run Google Workspace where all the applications run in Chrome.

Google Docs (Word) is lighter than MS Word but still very feature rich and very easy to use. Designed to use Google Drive for file storage which is cloud based. This has advantages in so far as file sharing is much easier. No emailing huge documents, just the link. Files can also be downloaded (save as) in full MS Word format if desired, or even xml.

Same thing for Google Sheets (Excel) which fully supports excel macros if needed. Not a lightweight app, I built a multi-million euro budget in this including using formulas such as REGEX to import and extrapolate data from multiple sources.

Google Slides (powerpoint) is good but importing from Powerpoint isn’t great with formatting. That said it works well enough for me to prefer it over Powerpoint even on a PC.

Now, where it really scores is with collaborative working. If you don’t need this then the value is questionable. In the shared world of corporate it makes Office look thin and wimpy. Multiple people editing the same document at the same time, being able to comment specific people in on questions etc which then Emails them with a link to exactly where you want them to look ( via GMail ). Every file has an absolute link within Drive which means even if you “move” a file none of your links or embedded content breaks (unlike Office).

Sharing files is a 2 click job and again, one place to share from unlike Microsoft world where it might be in Teams, Sharepoint, Onedrive, a shared drive etc. Also, the fact it’s all in Drive means you don’t need to back it up And it is accessible from anywhere you have an internet connection. There is also offline access if needed but it’s a cached copy of what’s in Drive.

However, if you’re mostly flying solo you won’t reap the benefits of all the collaboration stuff it has. These are really Corporate benefits, or in an Educational environment for schoolwork.

So, Chromebook or PC? Well I still have a PC, despite preferring Google Workspace as my Office productivity suite. The Chromebook has a limited number of installable applications, including AutoCad quite recently but the PC is more versatile. What a Chromebook won’t do for me are:
MS Visio. Google has some drawing stuff but it’s not good.
Full Adobe creator suite. Google has a pdf reader and a writer but not much more if you use advanced features of Adobe.
MS Teams app. It works in Chrome but not the full app. Google’s version is Meet but you can’t join a Teams meeting with Meet. Same thing with Zoom.

One large benefit I get in Corporate world is not needing so much desktop support. If a Chromebook breaks we just give the person a new one, they log in, 2 minutes later they are working again, no data loss, no drama and happy staff. Desktop Support has become an inventory controller now.

Long winded, sorry. But hope this helps a bit. Happy to answer further questions if needed.

Fair comments.

Just to add. You can use all the Google gear on a Windows machine but you can't do it the other way around.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

its either windows 10 or its a mac os system

Laptops vs Macbooks

If this isn't the right spot for this, please let me know (or can the mods move it?) I figured there'd be a good selection of oppinions and experience here, My laptop is getting a bit old and temperemental so I'm begining to look at replacement options. I've always been Windows as I figured it...

www.mig-welding.co.uk

im not a lover of windows 10-11

whichever laptop you choose a laptop only has 3 years then its obsolite compared to a pc that you can update

dont buy anything below 64gb hard drive, windows 10-11 wants that size for upgrades/updates

That's pish Gaz.
My 8 year old i5 laptop is still more than capable of what I ask of it.
Yeah if it's your only pc il agree but as an paperwork machine.
Also depends on the specs of the older laptop. A top spec laptop is going to be more usable for longer

 

[Kayos]

Who said I was talking to you
I think I was talking to The OP

Charming, a quick Google (on whatever device you like) should explain how a forum works.

The OP was asking for advice on a laptop vs chromebook, I was pointing out that a desktop is neither of those and often used for different reasons

 

[Kayos]

That's pish Gaz.
My 8 year old i5 laptop is still more than capable of what I ask of it.
Yeah if it's your only pc il agree but as an paperwork machine.
Also depends on the specs of the older laptop. A top spec laptop is going to be more usable for longer

My daughter still uses my i5 Thinkpad 320, when santa brings her a new one I will be reclaiming it for a full time linux machine

 

[indy4x]

i suspect that you have upgraded it from its original specs

ssd and also ram upgrades

Nope, both the Dell XPS and Lenovo Yoga are as they came from the factory, no tweaks or modifications

Same goes for the 6000 Dell Latitudes, there is no way we would be upgrading that many devices, just don't have the time or resources

Oh, and the XPS and Latitudes are all i3 processors

 

[Domdom]

Same goes for the 6000 Dell Latitudes, there is no way we would be upgrading that many devices, just don't have the time or resources

This was one major consideration for us when considering Chromebooks.
Battery life is great
Cost of the unit is competitive
Replacement takes no time at all, no build of Windows to stay on top of, no need for multiple security products, no apps to install and no need of 1st line support. 9 times out of 10 if a Chromebook has a problem then a factory reset fixes it. If not we just give out a replacement.

One downside we have found is using multiple screens on a dock. Of course it’s not a proper dock, just one of those questionable USB3 port replicators. Dual screens can be a problem especially with things like Citrix. You can’t window a published app to one screen, it’s a bit of a faff.

In fairness it does seem all vendors are going with this USB3 connector and frankly it’s pretty rubbish. Too small to be durable is the issue. Even my nice shiny Lenovo P1 machine, which is a real powerhouse, yep, this has it.

But if the use case does actually fit a Chromebook, certainly in corporate world, the TCO is vastly better than a Windows laptop. We are also finding the staff love them with all day battery life, lightness, simplicity and overall reliability. However, the use case has to be a good one or you get all sorts of push back from the staff.

Overall, in my world, MS have a lot of catching up to do. Office (online or local) still needs a load of infrastructure to support it, Workspace doesn’t.

 

[Agrismith]

Laptop or Chrome, do not waste your money,
You can get a very adequate second hand PC for what you want to be doing for £120 - 150,
SSF desktop PC, Intel i5-6500 CPU @ 3.2GHz, 256 Gb SSD M2, 8GB ram, Window 10 Pro 64bit
You can connect it to any tv with a HDMI cable etc.
Wireless Logitech key board and mouse for £21

In this case it has to be one or the other as I don't want a desktop permanently setup at the dining table.

 

[Rkweld]

In this case it has to be one or the other as I don't want a desktop permanently setup at the dining table.

Why is your telly on your dining table
Sorry, I could not resist.

 

[Rkweld]

Joking aside, I had a similar choice back when lock down hit, kids in home school, needed a computer to do schooling on.

I ultimately went for a hp laptop. Last laptop I had years ago was hp and it lasted ages. Infact it never died but the power cord socket, battery and charger needed sorting out. I never used it enough and by the time I realised you could get a free upgrade to windows 10, I found out I first needed windows 7 to get that but I was still on vista! So windows upgrade and repair put me into new laptop prices.

My concern with chromebook was if its OS updated like android, would it become obsolete and unable to upgrade?? You cannot buy stock android to update a phone OS, is Chrome OS the same? Atleast I could buy the next edition of windows if I wanted to upgrade for security and futureproofing if the hardware was specced high enough to support it.

It is worth looking at alternative well established freeware that runs on windows though, such as libre office and such.

Also some stores have their exclusive models by brands such as hp which are good spec for a good price. John lewis also have 2 year warranty on theirs, currys was only 1 year.

The guys on the curries shop floor were good though when I was picking their brains about processors, longevity of the technology/hardware in certain models. It was a shame they could not match the price, spec and warranty I could get else where.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Joking aside, I had a similar choice back when lock down hit, kids in home school, needed a computer to do schooling on.

I ultimately went for a hp laptop. Last laptop I had years ago was hp and it lasted ages. Infact it never died but the power cord socket, battery and charger needed sorting out. I never used it enough and by the time I realised you could get a free upgrade to windows 10, I found out I first needed windows 7 to get that but I was still on vista! So windows upgrade and repair put me into new laptop prices.

My concern with chromebook was if its OS updated like android, would it become obsolete and unable to upgrade?? You cannot buy stock android to update a phone OS, is Chrome OS the same? Atleast I could buy the next edition of windows if I wanted to upgrade for security and futureproofing if the hardware was specced high enough to support it.

It is worth looking at alternative well established freeware that runs on windows though, such as libre office and such.

Also some stores have their exclusive models by brands such as hp which are good spec for a good price. John lewis also have 2 year warranty on theirs, currys was only 1 year.

The guys on the curries shop floor were good though when I was picking their brains about processors, longevity of the technology/hardware in certain models. It was a shame they could not match the price, spec and warranty I could get else where.

Yes support isnt long term
Same as tablets/phones.
Another reason I stay away. Nothing worse than having a function tablet that you can't install an app on because planned obsolescence stops me updating its OS

 

[Ubique]

For work, I have a Panasonic CF-52 running Windows 10, it does everything I expect it to. It will continue doing so should it lose a network connection, my documents are stored locally on it and I can backup to USB if required. It doesn't require me to give Google sight of everything I do (although I have blocked certain Microsoft 'services') nor does it sell me to advertisers.

At home, I use a Surface tablet and a HP laptop for 'serious' stuff, plus a generic 'low power PC' as a media server - running Windows 10. All works as expected.

 

[indy4x]

I apologise, I downloaded it and got this so yes it is just the online version!
View attachment 310182

This caused me a bit of pain tonight and my 1st reaction was WTF!

I sync Dropbox and OneDrive folders to my Chromebook so need to access local files.

Looks like MS have replaced the individual Word Excel apps with a single app called Office, seems to work ok

 

[Sean]

there is no right answer as its all about personal taste, bit like asking " Im about to start drinking again, what beer would you recommend?"*

Im a "think pad" accolite now - utilitarian user fixable bombproof(almost literally) and 2nd hand bargain bucket cheap. massive spares market even got one for DrTheWife as she , being a teacher and OUtutor often has 2 or 3 on the go at same time has managed to wear out or brake Acer Dell HP and varous other stuff supplied by work, the Thinkpad is ancient and "low spec" but outperforms anything else by just being down right ruggedly dependable.
Windows 10 on hers with proprietry OU system on top, mines Linux



* mcewans Champion, but only one or two and drunk from a small glass

 

[nikos]

Anything college wise I'd want Windows 10 and the office suite, anything else is just faffing around.

I teach on-line, Uni level IT courses here. Lot's of energy spent resolving "issues" on students that use chromebooks....Energy which could be put into much better use, IMHO.
Also, most course descriptions specifically state you need a PC and a CB will not work for the course...

nick

 

[Munkul]

I teach on-line, Uni level IT courses here. Lot's of energy spent resolving "issues" on students that use chromebooks....Energy which could be put into much better use, IMHO.
Also, most course descriptions specifically state you need a PC and a CB will not work for the course...

nick

Yeah that's exactly what I mean. I'm sure some people can get by with chromebooks on some courses, but why would you want to take that chance?

 

[brewdexta]

My youngest daughter uses my Chromebook for school, it became redundant once I stopped commuting to the office so she may as well get use out of it.

She has had zero problems with it, she's now in the 2nd year of high school so over a year of use.

She's never owned a Windows computer, her desktop runs ubuntu.

My eldest daughter does have a Windows desktop, but most of the tools she uses are on line and don't rely on any Microsoft apps so she could probably get by without one, she often completes her homework on an Android tablet. She's in a different high school that is in a different local authority so they use different apps. (and have different holidays and school buses, a complete pain but that's another story!)

I'm now going back to the commute so I'm resurrecting my old Lenovo Yoga laptop that died. I'm adding another SSD so I can dual boot into Linux. It has Win10 at the moment, the only tool I use that is MS based is Visio. Visio is worse comparted to how it was before Microsoft bought the Visio company, less features. I use Oracle VirtualBox to run Linux on it at the moment, I tried MS Hyper-V, the networking side of it was appalling.