[billethkid]

I am making an effort to understand the pros and cons of switching from a pc to a chromebook.

I am looking at the touch screen flip top version of chrome book.

I was a windows 7 hold out until the past year. I was completely satisfied with windows 7 and annoyed bigly by windows 10 arbitrary doing away with much that was easy in windows 7....and it seems like there is only one option for anything done on windows 10 and that is microsoft ONLY.

So I am in no hurry or even no need for a new device but getting educated. Chrome book seems interesting. Is it a major training curve to switch?

Please take into account I am computer capable but not a computer trained user/operator.

[Sgroemm]

Chromebooks simply use the Google Chrome operating system exclusively (no Internet Explorer, no Microsoft Edge, no Firefox, etc.) If you have Gmail or have used Google Drive before....Chrome is a "no brainer." They load very quickly at power on (due to the fact that they do not load Windows or some other operating system, but rather connect to a browser through Google on the internet). You can use a mouse; but also the touchpad/trackpad has some quick options such as two fingers scrolls, tap two fingers to right click, and swipe left or right with two fingers to swipe quickly between open tabs. The main advantage is that it is very difficult for Chromebooks to get a virus! I own 6 Chromebooks and have never had a problem in 8 years of using them. I store all of my files on Google drive but you can also use the Google Cloud storage. It is very easy to use and has Microsoft word, powerpoint, slides, spreadsheets and photo. You can use any of the Google apps or extensions, but you cannot download programs (such as Quickbooks or CD games) onto a Chromebook. There is no desktop as there is on a PCs to save to. If you are proficient at Windows, Chromebooks are simple and I think you would have a very easy transition. They don't run every "player" for example they don't run Shockwave (which some web pages use) but they do run Flash (which other web pages use). Personally I cannot use my Chromebook for online work I do with the Educational Testing Service in Princeton because they don't run their platform, but I use the Chromebook for online reading (TOTV) with ease and of course shopping!

[JerryLBell]

One possible disadvantage to a Chromebook is that the applications are web-based. That means two things. First, you have to be connected to the internet to use them (which is not a huge problem if you have wifi available most placed you'd use this). Second, web-based applications tend to have wildly different user interfaces. That is, they seem to compete with each other in coming up with new and different and innovative ways to do the same thing. With Windows-based applications (or with applications on Apple computers), the user interfaces tend to be much more consistent. If applications on Windows were different cars, they would all probably use a steering wheel to steer, have the turn signal on one side of the wheel and the windshield wipers on the other, use a gas pedal to accelerate and a brake pedal to decelerate. If web-based applications were cars, one might use a joystick for steering, braking and decelerating where another might use a steering level and slider controls to acceleration and deceleration, etc. Depending on the applications you use, this may or may not be an issue.

[JoelJohnson]

Two very good descriptions of the chromebook. I too have come to love it. I've worked on just about everything from PCs to IBM mainframes, while I do have Windows 7 laptop, I only use it about once a month.
If you wish to see a chromebook in use, I'll be at Eisenhower Jan 15th between 1-2pm with the connected villages club. Just bring a village ID.