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[szw-mapple fan]

Regular Windows/OS X laptops are a dying breed. Even these 'ultrabooks' can't save it.

People are buying tablets & smartphones. But most people still want fully-fledged browsers & a keyboard for home/office work.

Answer? Chromebooks. For the average consumer a Chromebook is perfect. And with the steps Google are making to making Chrome OS feel more like a proper operating system, there's no way around it. See for yourself.

I disagree. Mac Sales has actually grown. (https://www.macrumors.com/2014/01/09/gartner-pcmarket-statistics/) Macs and higher-end PCs are usually bought by people who need the computing power, real applications(I'm not discounting the apps Google makes, but they aren't close to the real pro apps), and the ability to be on different platforms and use services that aren't Google's. I think ChromeBooks are eating their way into the ~$300 former netbook segment, but they are in no ways really competing with Macs and Ultrabooks(that aren't cheap).

 

[Michael Goff]

Bragging? If stating stating facts rather relying on personal opinion is "bragging" then I suppose I'm guilty of that sin.

Yes, I get it and for whatever reason, you like to bash Chromebooks because you feel they're not something you'd like. That great but why do you care if others find them useful?

Myself, I use OS X, Windows, and Linux and so I don't have a dog in this race.

I don't have a dog in this race either. I actually like Chromebooks for what they are. What I don't like is when they're super hyped up for no good reason. I could actually see myself using a Chromebook. I did for a while, though it was a cheap model that had problems with not being able to have a lot of tabs open when I was actually doing things, and the touchpad was bad.

While Google might be marketing these as web browsing systems, it would seem that a number of the users are kids, both for education and entertainment, and the sites and web apps kids use aren't going to tend to show up in ad-based web usage stats. My two kids and the majority of their friends have Chromebooks. They use Google Docs and the like for homework. They're told specific sites to go to for research, none of which serve ads. They play on sites like Club Penguin, where, again, no ads are served. Just because someone is trying to claim that ads are accurate representations of web usage doesn't mean it is true. I see lots of them in use around here but not typically by the coffee shop crowd. You don't tend to see preteens out with laptops, which would like explain why you don't see them much in the wild. But that doesn't mean they aren't out there.

About using GDocs for homework.

Have they ran into any problems where they don't quite transfer right to .doc when they need to? Or do their teachers accept GDocs and their unique format?

Maybe I went too far to the other side after reading too much from pundits saying these are replacing laptops in the sense that laptops are dying and Chromebooks are one of the two culprits that are doing it.

 

[Goftrey]

I disagree. Mac Sales has actually grown. (https://www.macrumors.com/2014/01/09/gartner-pcmarket-statistics/) Macs and higher-end PCs are usually bought by people who need the computing power, real applications(I'm not discounting the apps Google makes, but they aren't close to the real pro apps), and the ability to be on different platforms and use services that aren't Google's. I think ChromeBooks are eating their way into the ~$300 former netbook segment, but they are in no ways really competing with Macs and Ultrabooks(that aren't cheap).

I completely agree. As I said a few posts back they're not designed for people like us, but for people who spend 99% on the web, and more than likely have a smartphone (and/or tablet) but wants a fully-fledged browser & a keyboard to work with. I think Macs will always carry that niche along with the loyalists who will always go & buy the new kit, regardless of the state in the market.

 

[Tanegashima]

Regular Windows/OS X laptops are a dying breed. Even these 'ultrabooks' can't save it.

People are buying tablets & smartphones. But most people still want fully-fledged browsers & a keyboard for home/office work.

Answer? Chromebooks. For the average consumer a Chromebook is perfect. And with the steps Google are making to making Chrome OS feel more like a proper operating system, there's no way around it. See for yourself.

Doens't matter.

I need a real computer, and buy one.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Software Updates can only go so far when the OS itself is based on poor ideas.

Haha! Given that this is coming from a person who shills Windows RT pretty hard in other threads Google should probably take it as a compliment.

 

[Michael Goff]

Haha! Given that this is coming from a person who shills Windows RT pretty hard in other threads Google should probably take it as a compliment.

Windows RT has some execution problems, but not idea problems. Windows RT isn't an entire OS based around "what can a browser do" So, please, don't really compare the two. Or continue to attack the messenger instead of the message, that really makes your argument look good ... or not.