That convenience demands more computing horsepower, and often a higher price compared to most Chromebooks. Customers can buy the Home or. The one-time purchase Office 2021 suite offers an alternative to the subscription model. Microsoft 365 costs 69.99 per year for individuals, or 6.99 a month. If you have an Office for home product and bought Office at a retail store or online store, but dont have a Microsoft account, its possible you havent redeemed your product key yet (if you got one), or you missed. Before you can install Microsoft 365 or Office 2019 you need to associate it with a Microsoft account, or work or school account.
![]() But it’s the workarounds and little inconveniences that you may find annoying.Two other points: For years, there were plain, clamshell Chromebooks and…not much else. The internet offers much of what you need, whether that means working within web apps or using Chrome plugins. Google handles all the security, too—now with better biometric options up front, too. (We’ll talk more about that, below.)Updates occur behind the scenes, so you can just open the lid and go. Preston Gralla / IDGThe Start menu is command central for Windows 10. Windows PCs are available in desktop and laptop forms, and can be configured in infinite ways to accommodate needs from basic productivity to resource-intensive workstations. They run Windows applications, from Microsoft titles to a raft of third-party software. What’s the difference between a Chromebook and a Windows PC?Though you probably already know what differentiates a Windows PC from a Chromebook, here’s a brief refresher: Windows PCs run Microsoft Windows 10 (and soon, Windows 11), the dominant operating system for traditional PCs for more than 25 years. (Parallels can already be used to provide remote access to Windows apps.) You’ll need a very specific enterprise Chromebook to take advantage of it, however.Chrome OS or Windows? The choice is up to you. In fact, it seems like many Chromebooks are now 360-degree convertibles, available to be flipped around and used as a thick tablet for Android apps.Google and Parallels have also announced Parallels Desktop for Chromebook Enterprise, a $69.99/user solution that will support—gasp!—running Windows apps on Chromebooks, by building a version of Parallels into Chrome OS. But there are a few key differences: Chromebooks typically include a dedicated search keyboard key, while Windows emphasizes the Windows key. ( Windows 10 users can run Linux as well.) Chromebooks may be cheap, but they’re surprisingly flexible.In a Chromebook, many of the apps reside below the taskbar.Physically, a Chromebook looks much like a Windows-powered notebook, with a keyboard, a display, a front-facing camera for videoconferencing, and so on. Another perk: the ability to run Linux—not something that most users will care about, but a useful niche addition. The newest Chromebooks contain a bonus, however: the ability to run some Android apps (more on this later—Android apps are coming to Windows 11, too.). They run Chrome OS, essentially a Chrome web browser vehicle, and are often priced several hundred dollars less than a Windows PC. Gom player mac os xWindows PCs have a wide range of microprocessors powering them, usually chips from AMD and Intel, or more recently, a Qualcomm Snapdragon.Chromebooks generally favor lower-performance Intel Atom chips (branded as Pentium or Celeron), Snapdragons, or lesser-known processors from the likes of Mediatek or Rockchip, that are suited to the lighter demands of Chrome OS. Mark Hachman / IDGMicrosoft Cortana runs within Windows, but the Google Assistant is only in Google’s own Pixelbook devices.Inside, the only real differences are the processor. Remember, most 360-degree convertibles/2-in-1s flip the keyboard out of the way, essentially transforming the Chromebook into a big, bulky tablet. Android apps run acceptably in a laptop form factor, but they’re arguably more convenient when used as a tablet, and held in your hand. Because Chrome OS and Android are now conjoined, a key reason to choose a Chrome OS tablet instead of a clamshell hinges on how often you’ll use Android apps. Mark Hachman / IDGThough the Chrome OS Files app within Chromebooks is a little rougher than Windows, it’s been designed with cloud storage (in Google Drive) from the beginning.The only Chromebook with Google Assistant support so far is the Google Pixelbook. Both Chromebooks and Windows tablets allow external storage. Less storage means less cost many Chromebooks also use inexpensive eMMC flash storage to save even further. Now, however, Amazon’s Alexa has also been added as a Cortana partner application or “skill,” which means Windows users get two assistants for the price of one. GoogleIt’s not quite the Google Assistant, but it’s getting there.Microsoft’s own digital assistant, Cortana, is supported on all Windows PCs that include a mic—which is virtually all of them. The feature is rolled out on Chrome OS 90. While it’s technically downloadable for the Chrome browser, many features reportedly won’t work on anything but a Chromebook. As the name suggests, Cursive is an app that allows you to jot notes in cursive, a bit like Microsoft OneNote. Mark Hachman / IDGOffice Online (Office.com) is accessible via a browser from either a Chromebook or Windows PC.As of September 2021, Google has begun rolling out Cursive, a Progressive Web App (though they’re powered by the Web, PWAs can be saved locally as apps) that is designed for detachable Chromebooks like the HP Chromebook X2 11. (Office apps like Word now autosave, too.) For our purposes, both Google Workspace and Office Online will run on either a plain Chromebook or Windows PC however, if you need access to a local copy of Office, only a PC will suffice. I spent over a year exclusively working on a Chromebox (the nearly defunct desktop version of a Chromebook) and found Google’s simple interface and instantaneous autosaves superior to the Windows version of Office at the time. Purchase Microsoft University Bluetooth Keyboard OptionTake the cramped detachable keyboard on the Lenovo Chromebook Duet, for example. You may also find Windows PCs a bit more easy to configure for printing.From a hardware perspective, it’s our view that a laptop form factor is more convenient than an add-on keyboard, or external Bluetooth keyboard option.
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