Do I need a new laptop, or will the IPad do?
 

I recently bought a new I Pad air and am thinking, do I really need a new laptop. I only use it for surfing the web, photos, music, word processing and emails. I’ve heard you can get Microsoft Office for the IPad, what do you do if flash player is required. Since I’m not computer literate, any advice or recommendations would be appreciated. Thank you.

You may want to look into getting a Chromebook. You can buy a good one for about a hundred dollars or so. It will do everything you mentioned, but it won't have much hard drive storage, or a disk drive. You need to learn to use the cloud to save your files. The Google Drive will allow you to store 15 GB of data for free. Also, you can subscribe to MS Office 365 for about 70 dollars a year, which will allow you to use word processing on the Internet.

A few years ago I started using my Ipad and now my laptop just sits idle.
Got a keyboard case for the Ipad, so it’s like a mini laptop, and it works just great for me.

Same. Nothing I can’t do on my iPad including my taxes.

The use of Flash is becoming less of a problem because the major browsers are going to drop support for Flash at the end of 2020 so most reputable sites are working on alternatives.

A Chrome book is a good alternative to a full Windows laptop.

The only use case for Chromebooks which is still a problem is if you need installable software such a TurboTax or Quicken. The vendors may now have cloud based versions of their products but I have never used them this way.

I would recommend you hold off a while and see how many times you need to pull out your old laptop and for what purpose. There may be browser based options.

You can download LibreOffice for MacOS and it'll do everything you normally use Microsoft Office for, except it's free. Works the same way, the files are compatible.

You can use Google docs for word processing and spreadsheets and they are easy to share.

There are web sites that don’t work nearly as well on my iPad as they do on my computer. I am also MUCH faster on my computer. Typos are far fewer and those that do happen are much easier to correct. I really do miss pointing with a mouse and having a delete key. Still, I use my iPad for 90% of my work. I’ve tried MS Office on my iPad and it is very inferior to the real thing.

I use my iPad 100% load WPS (a free program in the App Store)you will be able to do everything that you did with Windows and open any windows documents, I use it all the time now, still kept a Windows computer but I will donate it in January 2020

Isn't printing a problem/difficult on Chromebook and/or ipad?

As I said, I have a bluetooth mouse and keyboard I use for my tablet. As long as you have bluetooth technology in your ipad (which you do), you can connect a mouse and keyboard with no wire, no dongle.

Google Docs can read MS Word docs and you can save them as Google Docs. Then you can change it and re save it as a MS Word doc.

This Monday (Dec 2nd 1PM) the Connected Computer Club will be having a Workshop at The Eisenhower Rec Center. I will have a Chromebook/Linux table, other tables are Apple, Aundroid, PCs and "other".

Come on down (bring your village ID) and ask questions.

My wife and I hardly touch our laptop or chrome book anymore, months at a time, and her Chromebook for over a year. iPad works perfect with our Epson wireless all in one/double side printer. You can also get a keyboard case or standalone keyboard and/or a mouse for your iPad if you are doing a lot of hard core work. I think tablets are the most convenient things with our laid back lifestyle here. Easy to carry to lanai, bed, living room, poolside in a lounge chair etc. just my opinion. I just use my laptop for hardcore gaming and graphic arts noe.

I’m like UPSTATE, I’m not very literate about computers. My 6 yr. old great grandson know a lot more about computers than I do. My question is when I read some of these comments I’m thinking I have a laptop too, what is the difference between an IPad or Chromebook over my laptop?

Typically, a Chromebook will boot up faster than a laptop, and operates much like a tablet for surfing the Internet. It won't have as much internal storage as a laptop, and will not have a disk drive. Unlike a laptop, you won't be able to load software programs onto a Chromebook. That is because it doesn't have a Windows or Apple operating system to use as a software template. So, the Chromebook is more similar to a tablet than it is to a laptop. Some people recommend an inexpensive Chromebook to use exclusively for financial transactions because you don't need to worry about getting a virus or having your data stolen.

Thank you for the responses, please keep them coming. One thing I forgot to mention is the internal storage and or disk drive. I honestly have no idea how a cloud operates and the pros and cons of using one. My wife has a Dell XP13 and loves it, so who knows. Personally for me, I’m thinking of hiring an expert to walk me through all my options and how to use them.

If you don't have a Google account, you should set one up. It's free. Then, use Google Drive to store data in the "cloud". Google allows you to store up to 15 GB of data on your Google Drive for free. The advantage is that you can access your personal Google drive from any computer anywhere or from your cell phone by just logging onto the Google drive website. I have all of my important legal documents on my drive in a scanned PDF format, so I will never lose them. And, I haven't even used 1 GB of the free storage.

Tony gave me a laptop a few years ago. I didn't use it until Hunter and Taylor helped me out. Now if I have to use it, I just wait until they show up. It's just an excuse to have them around!

Cloud: internet-based file storage and access.

Previously you'd save everything to floppy disks, or a tape, or a CD-RW, or the hard drive. Now, things can be saved (or save automatically) to a virtual server on the internet.

The upside: no files on your computer to corrupt, or get virus or malware on.

The downside: you have zero access to any of your files if your internet goes down, or if you bring your tablet/laptop somewhere else and there's no internet there.

I prefer redundancy: I let things autosave to the cloud, but I force-save everything to a flash drive (aka thumb drive). That way it doesn't matter if I have internet or not. Doesn't matter if my desktop computer breaks or not. Doesn't matter if I'm home or not. I grab my flash drive and bring it with me, and everything I need is right there to plug into whichever device I happen to be using.

I think most people including the very tech savy young people are now using Ipad oR Chrome book for everything except maybe intensive gaming. The Ipad is so convenient and portable, why use anything bigger

Ohiobuckeye
 

Retireguy123, your explanation helped a lot. All I really do is read emails, send text messages & do some banking & read some newspapers I’m interested in. So a IPad or Chromebook will work for me & save me a little bit of money. Thanks for your input on comparison!

I use a WiFi printer with my iPad, no issues, however with a chrome book is difficult to do and set up

I've been in tech for decades, and was an early adopter for just about everything. Comfortable with Windows, MacOS, iPad, Android, and Chromebook.

It used to be that you needed a real notebook or desktop computer to do certain things, but that's less so today.

My primary computer these days is a Chromebook, married to 2TB of cloud storage. Also travel with an Android or iPad tablet, and a real windows laptop.

On rare occasions, a real MacOS or Windows computer is required.

Someday you may come across a website situation where a tablet or smartphone is insufficient.

IPad choice
 

An iPad is a wonderful device, especially as we age. I have used numerous iPads, for quite a few years. I currently use the 12.9” iPad Air, and absolutely love it. Older eyes, love bigger screens! You mention you do word processing. You can purchase a full size Bluetooth keyboard inexpensively, that connect effortlessly to you iPad. The iPad is much lighter than a laptop (including a Chromebook), and is so easy to use. Battery life is excellent! No, I’m not a salesman for Apple. I did however recently retire from a major Central Florida City, where I spent my career in IT. Good luck!

I have one of these for my iPad Pro. It basically turns your iPad into a laptop.

Robot Check

I am thrilled to see such a great response about chromebooks. I have using one for about 10 years and in my 50 years in the computer world, I've never found anything as good as a chromebook for my needs.
One clarification - you CAN use it offline, you can create and update sheets and docs, watch videos and read a book.

We have 2 Windows Desktop computers, used only for road maps and storing, sorting etc photographs and music. Past acquisitions. Heavy and take up lots of room but hubby likes the double large monitors. Each of us has iPads and laptops. The only thing we use 98% of the time is the iPads. I do use the Dell laptop for photographs and art because it has a lot more memory and photo processing and a CD drive. I bought a MacBook for dealing with iTunes easily but it didn’t help, now we use it for word processing. I travel with an iPad and iPhone and Apple watch - that’s all I need.

Once again, thank you for all the responses. I’m attempting to educate myself regarding the cloud and using a flash drive as a back up. Also looking into the possibility of adding a keyboard, along with a word processor. I may not need a notebook, we’ll see.