Need a cheap (non Apple) laptop...Windows or Chromebook?

I'm the wrong person to ask because I have a MacBook Pro and am Apple all the way but basically the Chromebook is all Google apps and the idea is you store everything on line because the hard drive is minuscule - like the capacity of an old smartphone! But if all you want to do is check email and check in on the boards, it's probably a good option. Sounds like it comes ready to go with everything installed. I believe in addition to google docs you may be able to use the online version of MS office but you won't be able to load any more programs on it.

Otherwise you could just go for a cheap windows laptop. I had Dell laptops in the past before I switched to a Mac and was always happy with them, but don't know what the current machines are like,

Chromebook. We are Apple people too, but bought a Chromebook laptop for ds#1 to bring to high school and do his class and homework on. It works wonderfully for him. He has a Mac mini is his bedroom as his main computer, and hasn't had problems pulling his work off the cloud onto it.

I wouldn't buy a laptop for just email and peaing. And I certainly wouldn't lug it on vacation. Why not consider a tablet instead? I have an ipad, but there are other, non-apple tablets out there.

You must have Internet access for the chromebook. There is NO internal storage everything is stored in the cloud. If Internet access isn't an issue where/when you would need it then I've heard it is a good option.

My DD, DS and I have HP Chromebooks. DD finished her last two years of school with it. You have Word and Excel online. I'm sure there are more items but those were the two we needed. iowgirl is correct that you cannot download software to it. I was bummed about that because I wanted to use it in my scraproom with my Silhouette. Other than that small issue, we love ours!!

You can do work in the microsoft suite stuff offline and as soon as you are connected to wifi, it will save it to the cloud.

My work laptop has windows 8 and i love it. I have been an os x (mac) fan since 1999, but i think my next laptop will be a touch screen windows machine.

I used a chromebook the other day (a colleague asked for some tech help) and while i didn't spend a lot of time with it, i thought it was fairly intuitive. But i would have major concerns about compatibility with programs and i'm also a little concerned about Google having access to my information. I know ms and apple also do, but Google has been known for some questionable privacy policies in the past. That being said i do use an android phone.

I gotta add I'm shocked at all the Chromebook love. DS has one issued from school and we all hate it. We've used the insurance every year as it keeps breaking. Thankfully the insurance is only $27 thru th school.

And if you ask me the lack of internal storage has caused the more issues than anything. There have been multiple times DS had lost work or couldn't get on to do work because he's blocked from pretty much everywhere internet wise. Or he'll be on doing work and get booted off wifi and work is gone, has to start all over. He dislikes it so much he will cart both his personal Dell to school and the required chromebook. The keyboard just stops responding sometimes it's bizarre. Oh and the big kicker is google chrome works better on his laptop than on the chromebook.