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ZDNet Great Debate results: There are good reasons to buy a Chromebook

I argued that there were good reasons for a Chromebook and the majority of readers agreed. While they may not be your only computer, they offer a low-cost refreshing user experience that gets better all the time.
Written by Matthew Miller, Contributing Writer
ZDNet Great Debate results: There are good reasons to buy a Chromebook
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It has been a long time since I participated in a ZDNet Great Debate so it was a pleasure to argue that there are good reasons to buy a Chromebook and take the win today.

The question was in my favor because I think we can all find some good reasons for the Chromebook, just as we can also find good reasons for a tablet or any other device that we might not necessarily purchase or recommend. I took the question to mean, "Can I honestly recommend someone purchase a Chromebook?"

As a professional engineer who runs many programs that only work on a Windows PC, I completely understand that Windows PCs are needed and will never go away. However, I find a Chromebook to be a rather refreshing and enjoyable experience and think they make excellent low-priced secondary computers for professionals.

When we are not working, many of us spend hours surfing the Internet, enjoying media, interacting with friends on social networks, and more. It's nice to get away from the work computer and have some fun.

There are also millions of people who spend the majority of their time in a web browser and for them Chromebooks are an excellent choice. There is no worry about security updates, outdated software, sluggishness as systems clog up, and other issues I spent many hours troubleshooting for family and friends.

My youngest daughter has a Samsung Chromebook as her PC and thinks it is a full computer since it meets all of her computing needs. In a year I have spent zero hours providing troubleshooting services and for those of you who do provide these services, likely most of the readers here at ZDNet, that is an awesome testament to Chrome OS and its user-friendly nature.

Chromebooks are not for everyone, but I think they are perfect for a significant number of people. We get a lot of naysayers in the comments when we talk about Chromebooks, but my recommendation is to give one a try and see how little time you spend in frustration managing Windows.

Additional ZDNet Chromebook coverage

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