Should My Next Computer Be a Mac, a PC or a Chromebook?

One trick to getting your money's worth with any purchase is to buy enough product to meet your needs, and not more.  If TV is your major source of entertainment, the big-screen, all the bells and whistles model may bring you a lot of pleasure.  If you watch it an hour or two a month, just about anything will probably be fine.

If sitting at an antique table set with beautiful china and real silver gives you pleasure and you can afford it, go for it. If all you see is furniture to dust and silver to polish (what a pain) then you'll probably be happier with a Wal-Mart table and stainless steel flatware (and save a few dollars).

What about your next computer?  Until recently, you had two basic choices:  you could buy a PC or you could buy a Mac.  Now you have a third mainstream choice--a Chromebook.  Should you buy a PC or a Chromebook?  Should you buy a Mac or a PC?  Let's look at the options.

Things to Consider When Buying a New Computer

• What would you like to use it for?  If you could spend as much as you want, what would your new computer do? If the answer is send emails and surf the internet, you will probably be happy with a lower-priced machine than the person who wants to play graphics heavy games.  If you have particular software you want to run, check to see if it can be run on the computer you are considering.

Where do you want to use it?  Obviously if you want this computer to travel with you, it will need to be some sort of laptop.  If it is for office use only, you may prefer a tower hooked up to multiple monitors (though you can hook your laptop up to multiple monitors as well).

Who is going to be using it, and how computer savvy are they?  Some people like to tinker with their computer and software while others just want it to work.

How much do you want to spend?  How important is price?  

Reasons to Buy a Windows PC--And Reasons Not To

A PC (personal computer) that you buy in a store runs the Windows operating system, which is the most commonly used operating system today.  Today you can get a desktop computer, without a monitor, a laptop, or an all in one desktop computer that integrates the processor and the touch screen.  Generally speaking the desktop design gives you the most processing power for the dollar, though laptops are more comparable in price now than they were a few years ago.  All in ones are the new kids on the block and like most things, if you want the newest, you'll pay more.

The main reason to buy a PC is compatibility.  Since the Windows operating system is the most popular, particularly with businesses, there is more software available for it than for the other systems, so if you need to run software that is only written for Windows, you may need to buy a PC (there are ways around it, but they generally require some level of technical expertise to implement and maintain). 

Overall, Windows works reasonably well, though you won't find many people who love it, and because of its ubiquity, finding people who know how to tweak it or fix problems isn't difficult.  On the minus side, that same ubiquity means Windows is a popular virus target.

One thing some people consider to be a big minus for Windows (and others consider an advantage) is that they have moved to automatic updates.  Rather than releasing new versions of the software, Microsoft is pushing updates to current users.  While they will take "not now" for an answer, they keep requesting to update and even if you don't want to do so, you may eventually end up accidentally hitting the "yes" button and updating.  Microsoft does this to keep the program secure, but people with finely tweaked systems or who are running outdated software may find that one of these updates "breaks" their system.  

Reasons to Buy a Mac--And Reasons Not To

Like PC's Macs (Apple Computers) come in desktop and laptop versions.  

People who use Macs often love them and hate to even think of going to Windows.  People who do a lot of graphics or other artistic work tend to use Macs more than most businesses, so if that is your field, you may need a Mac to be compatible with other people--and I tend to think that if most people in a field are using Macs there must be some economic advantage to doing so.   

Macs do not tend to get the viruses PCs do because there are not as many of them and because  they work differently.

While Windows has become a lot more user-friendly lately, Macs have a reputation of just plain working--if you want something to fiddle with and tweak, go buy a Windows  PC.

While you can buy Windows PCs in a lot of different configurations, made by a lot of different companies, at a lot of different price points all Macs are made by Apple and there are relatively few price points.  In general Macs are more expensive than Windows PCs, but they are durable and high quality.

Reasons to Buy a Chromebook--And Reasons Not To

The new kid on the block in the computer business is the Chromebook.  In a lot of ways, these computers are glorified web browsers, or tablets with keyboard--and whether that is a good thing or bad depends on your needs and wants.

When you turn on a Windows PC you have to wait for it to "boot up", for all the background programs to start, before you can start doing what you want to do.  Chromebooks turn on in about 5 seconds.  

Chromebooks are designed to be connected to the Internet and to run apps rather than locally installed programs.  While you can use them offline, it is not what they were designed for and if WiFi is not generally available where you are going to be using this computer, a Chromebook is probably not the best choice.

The main strengths of Chromebooks are their price, ease of use, and battery life.  Even with a keyboard, their size and weight are closer to tablets than laptop PCs. They are becoming school favorites because they can be made school-ready (connected to the school's network, with chosen apps downloaded) in a matter of minutes.  Updates can be made to all computers in a school via a central control panel in a matter of minutes, whereas Windows PCs must be individually updated. 

Chromebooks under $200 are easy to find, though a recent Amazon search also found one for over $400.00.  The one my daughter's school required cost right at $200.  Most Chromebooks will last close to eight hours per battery charge, far more than the average Windows laptop.  

The main disadvantage of Chromebooks is that they do not run Windows software (though they can connect to Cloud Office).  If you have a need for a particular program and there is no Chrome app for it, you will have to chose another platform.  If your need is for web browsing, basic word processing and basic spreadsheets, a Chromebook will probably meet your needs.  

What will your next computer be?  At this point, I'm still thinking Windows PC but Chromebooks are looking better all the time.