Chromebook vs Windows
 

There are several people asking about the difference between Chromebooks and Windows. I will try to break it down:

A computer running the full Windows operating system is capable of locally running programs and has local storage. This would be things like Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Adobe Photo Editor, certain VPN programs and any other full blown application. Now each application will have specifications that the machine will need to meet.

A Chromebook is designed to run all its applications that run from the cloud. If all you need to do is use a web browser for items that you access a Chromebook may be for you. So does that mean you can’t use programs like Word, Excel & PowerPoint? No. If you subscribe to Office365 for as little as $5/month, you can run most Microsoft programs in a browser. It is not quite as rich of a user experience as the full blown program, but it works well. Alternatively, you can use the Google suite.

So simplistically, most people can use a Chromebook, but you will need a cloud based storage system as well. Make sure you back that up as well.

I'm still on Windows 7. I've thought about upgrading to W10 or W11 (on a new laptop) but much of the software I sometimes use won't run on it. Well I don't use it often but have hours and hours of data that I don't want to lose but only refer to a couple times a year. Upgrading that software would cost about $2,000 - $4,000. I don't use it enough to justify that expense but don't want to lose the data either.

XP
 

XP WAS A GREAT SYSTEM, and I go back before Windows.

I just upgraded to Win11 from Win10; very little, if any, noticeable change in functionality.

Microsoft offers a free upgrade from WIN 10 to WIN 11. I did this and everything seems to be working OK. You will have to run a diagnostic to test the compatability of your hardware with WIN 11 first.

windows 10 vs 11
 

I replaced my aging Lenovo W520 with a Microsoft Surface Pro v7. Excellent, compact and fast. Win10 OS but Microsoft upgraded automatically, free and I have had no problems.

I've been running Win 11 for several months on my test computer and just upgraded my main computer from Win 10 to Win 11. I preferred the Win 7 menu style over the Win 10 and ran a utility called Classic Shell which duplicated the Win 7 menu under Win 10. This program will not run under Win 11 but I prefer the Win 11 style menu over the Win 10 so it doesn't really bother me. Win 10 is supposed to be supported into 2025 and doesn't offer any earthshaking advantages that I've found. It does a lot of cosmetic changes like moving the taskbar to the center of the screen. I am running it on two older Intel 6-core I7 processors with 8gb memory and don't have the TPM 2.0 or Secure Boot that is required for installation but there are several work-a-rounds to accomplish this. I'm still running Win 10 on my 4 gb laptop and third desktop 4-core AMD with 8 gb memory. I haven't found any incompatibilities and the upgrade is pretty straightforward if you just want to bite the bullet and be on the leading edge. If you're happy with Win 10 and want to wait a couple years or so to upgrade you won't be missing that much. Microsoft has been releasing upgrade versions to Win 11 every couple weeks so it's a work in progress. I'm probably on the 8th or 9th version since install.


Bob B.
2007 Winnebago Voyage 35L
1994 Saturn SW2

I just recently updated one of my computers to 11. I wish I didn’t. I lost some functionality that I value. I do not know enough about 11 to speak on its stability what I can say is 10 is VERY stable and reminds me of Win2000. I won’t be updating my other systems until forced to.

FYI for all that are running Windows 7 and below. Since Microsoft has dropped support for these versions, you are no longer receiving any updates, which includes security updates. This also means that it is no longer safe to use these versions connected to the internet. You are taking a risk of being hacked and having your identity stolen every time you access the internet using these older versions of windows.
Do what you want, but just be aware of the risks you are taking.

As someone who started out writing my own programs, and followed Microsoft upgrades from DOS 1.0 and up, I have to disagree with the above statement. Never (I said never) upgrade because a new version has come out. If you MUST upgrade to keep things working, then absolutely, but if it is working, leave it alone. All software and hardware vendors put out new products to encourage upgrades and improve cash flow. In my experience, 50% of upgrades are to generate cash flow for vendors. And as far as no longer receiving upgrades for your windows 7 system, if you are running a good anti-virus program, who cares? The time and frustration with learning new software, and the need for new software to run under it, rarely make it economical. A necessity sure, but not economical. My Windows 7 laptop runs perfect and does all I need. I have plenty of backups, and when my unit quits, I will grudgingly upgrade the minimum amount I can. 30 years in IT taught me some hard lessons...

No thanks.

A Tale of OS Upgrades
 

I had been using Windows 7 and was happy with it. Then, my hard drive crashed. (Did anyone say "backup"?) So, put in a new hard drive, and wanted to reload Windows 7. (I had some experience with Windows 8 on a work computer, and was very less than thrilled.) However, by that time, I couldn't find a way to reload 7; I was stuck with Windows 10.

After getting over the newness of 10, I was glad I couldn't go back to 7. There are a lot of features to 10 that I really like. For example, I can pair my Android phone to my computer, and read and write texts from the screen/keyboard. My wife and I now live by our Windows 10 sharable calendar. It was worth going through the learning curve, and I'm thoroughly enjoying 10 vs 7. Visually, the transition appeared to be a bigger issue than it was.

Windows 10 S and Inexpensive Laptops - Information
 

Please note that Windows 10S is closer to a “Chromebook” than a “PC”. Please see my previous response on Chromebook vs. PC above.

Windows 10S is limited in only allowing loading of apps found in the Microsoft store. This is not bad, just not the same as Windows 10 or 11 or 7.

Knowledge is key. The PC world has a lot of information to understand and many right answers to choose from. I hope this is helpful to at least one person.

I have been in this industry since before the PC was a thing (yes that makes me an old fart, but a young one). Happy to answer any questions I can.

Wish I knew as much about DPs as I do about PCs. The difference as few letters make.

Not a HUGE difference between 10 and 11. But you will see some from w7. Not the end of the world, it will just you some time to adjust.

I would recommend looking for a laptop with i5 processor and a SSD drive instead of a traditional hard drive. You will see everything run faster and appreciate the new computer more. Jeff.