Chromebook vs. normal laptop

My crappy little ASUS died and I want to buy another laptop. In my experience, they all die in a year or less, regardless of brand, so I don't want to spend much money. The Chromebooks are the cheapest option, but I'm given to understand that they have limitations:

1) Limited functionality when not connected to the internet

2) Incompatibility with most standalone software

3) Storage depends on "the cloud"

4) And...it appears that you have to swear absolute fealty to Google and let them lead you around by the nose (sign up for/install anything they "suggest")

I only want to use the Internet and do some basic word processing. No video games, not a lot of streaming. I don't need anything fancy-ass at all. But I don't want anything so annoyingly limited in function that I end up sailing it out the window like a Frisbee.

Any thoughts/experiences?

Chromebooks are all I use.  No bloatware.  Great price point.  Not targeted by malware and viruses.  For every day browsing and basic computer tasks they are great machines.  Make sure to check the 'end of use' on the chromebooks you are looking at.  Google supplies updates to the machines up to that date then the security becomes obsolete.

Here is an excellent website that exclusively reviews all the chromebooks.  https://chromeunboxed.com/chromebooks/

Yes, you are then married to the google/chrome ecosystem.  For a search engine, check out duckduckgo to keep the snooping google out of your business as much as possible.

Good luck!  (BTW - the chromebook I am typing this on is 4 years old and still runs like a champ)

Thanks! What happens when "end of use" arrives? Do you basically now own a paperweight unless you pay Google more money?

I assume that even the most basic cheapo Chromebooks can read and record on flash drives...right? What do they use for a word processor? Can they read and edit MS Word files and PDFs?

I'm borderline paranoid about Google because I continually get hit with ads selling products that no one would ever think I might be interested in unless they had spent the last week looking over my shoulder. Which they have.

Also, I did a contract gig writing informational copy for a law firm that specialized in defending people accused of sex crimes. I did a couple of Google searches to look up terminology and as a result, for the next six months my inbox was flooded with ads saying, "HEY, PERVERT! WE CAN KEEP YOU OUT OF PRISON! CALL NOW!"

So thanks for the duckduckgo Google evasion tip.

With what you use it for Chromebooks are a good choice. 

Most of the complaints you made about google can unfortunately be made about the new windows operating system also. 

End of use is just how long they will offer security updates. The device will still function. It will just be less secure, meaning more at risk of malware, viruses, hackers etc. Eventually it will be old enough where some newer apps won't work. 

Google docs SHOULD be able to handle your word files just fine.

Most Chromebooks will have USB ports for your thumb drives, although a few of them are starting to phase out full size USB ports in favor of usb-c but That's not much of an issue because adapters are cheap. 

You can look for Chromebooks with a higher storage capacity if you want to avoid depending on cloud storage. Also, portable ssd drives are becoming more and more reasonably priced. You could get wireless ones as well. 

Had an expensive Chromebook as my daily driver for about a year. While I loved some things about it, I just couldn't get over what it couldn't do. 

It is very difficult to work with media files of any type as it is almost impossible to import those and then if you clear that hurdle there aren't apps that work with Chromebook that allow you to edit them. That being said it was a great media consumption device. I also have my elderly mom on one as it is simple for her to use and I don't have to worry about her habit of clicking on any link she comes across on FaceBook 

So if you need to edit: voice, image or video files a Chromebook isn't right for you. If you want to play computer games rather than phone games a Chromebook isn't for you. If you have specific apps or programs you need to use that only run on Windows or a Mac then a chromebook isn't for you.

If you don't have to have a laptop, there are some tremendous values in the mini-pc segment.

I'm not sure what you're doing to blow out a laptop in a year or less, I've used Macs since the first ones, built computers since DX models and used laptops over the last few decades and each simply became obsolete...these were Windows and Mac devices.  The most likely failure was battery, hard drive/ssd, or power supply which in most cases were fixable.  Are you drooling your oat latte into the keyboard every morning or abusing a port with your noodle?

Nothing wrong with a Chromebook, they are pretty solid and cheap devices.  I'd recommend a refurbished MacBook from Apple if you don't mind switching who is looking at your data from Google to Apple.  Any of the M1, M2 models are a few years old but functionally superior to any of the current Windows or Chromebooks and under 500.  Or wait for the rumored 2026 MacBook that uses a newer phone chip for the cpu and will be more affordable...similar to a Chromebook.

There is a google universe to replace the windows one.  There is a google this-and-that to replace all of the windows microverse.  Google sheets.  Google docs.

When the end of use hits, you basically have an unprotected computer.  You will no longer get updates to your system and security.  IMHO, that is typically when it is time for a new system.  Given the prices of Chromebooks, no big deal.
And yeah - google sorta sucks.  Invasive.  What isn't?  Clear cookies and such.  The whole thing is a racket.  I have run into issues where certain software does not run on Chrome i.e. TurboTax.  In those situations I use an old computer with windows.

Can I just say this is a great kitchen sink topic?  I am tired of politics.

Every failure has been either the hard drive or the display. I suspect that the fairly poor cooling apparatus in the cheaper laptops had a lot to do with the former, and the fairly flimsy nature of the physical wiring with the latter. I also travel with my laptop, and there's no way that all the jostling and banging from it riding in my suitcase could be good for it.

There's one brand or model of laptop (not Apple) that's supposed to be a lot more robust than most. I forget which one it is, though. I might be best advised to pick up a used one of those.

I've been anti-Apple ever since back in the day when they refused to supply their specs to third party peripheral manufacturers, creating for themselves a monopoly on printers, external hard drives, displays, etc. And the result was that those items cost three times as much as their PC equivalents. But worst of all, if you "upgraded" to a shiny new Apple XVIII or whatever, you found out that all your peripherals were NOT back-compatible and your $1000 printer was now a funny-looking paperweight.

I worked for TurboTax in 2022-3. I'm still Oregon licensed and was considering doing it again this year. Good to know that their software won't run on a Chromebook. Thanks.