Comment No, but schools will take a second look (Score 2) 232
We test piloted Chromebooks vs Windows laptops last year, and the decision was made to go with Chromebooks by the district's tech committee over the summer. 700 Chromebooks were purchased and rolled out to a complete grade level plus classes in other grade levels.
The decision to go with Chromebooks was purely political. There was a staff member on the committee (who is no longer with the district) that hyped Google Apps, but when September came, everyone found out you could not run Office on them, and many of the Google "Apps" listed in their directory for Chrome were either just shortcuts or weren't free, so there has been some resentment towards the Chromebooks and Chrome.
Yes, Chromebooks are lower maintenance. However, it would have been only a slight edge with Windows 8's recovery features. Windows 8 can run in 2GB pretty well for what kids would need it for.