Definitely consider a Chromebook... (Score 1)

If your employee is non-technical they are going to need support. There are some interesting proposals here, but a lot of them require hands-on access to the laptop or some solutions that sound great but might be difficult to manage in practice. And when they have a problem that you have to solve, it's your time AND their time wasted - a double hit. As with anything, keep it simple and supportable. Really, if you need a machine that will allow your employee to do basic office productivity, normal browsing and Internet use, a Chromebook is an ideal solution. There's almost no support needed for users, they are light, portable, cheap, and everything is stored in the cloud so there's no hassle for backups or shared storage. There is very little risk for viruses and malware on Chromebooks. Newer ChromeOS versions allow for offline use, so you can edit documents anywhere, even without Internet access. Just don't get TOO cheap - Get a Chromebook with a good screen (1080P) that is reasonably sturdy. I have an Acer Chromebook 15 for personal use and love it. Throw in a 32 GB low profile and I've got all the local storage I'd ever need. For $250, it's a STEAL if it does what you need. That being said, however, Chromebooks aren't for every purpose. If you need a specific software package or a tool you can't use in a browser you probably won't be able to install it on a Chromebook. But you'd be surprised how many apps there are for ChromeOS nowadays. Your employee might also not like something new - They might like all the features of Windows and hate feeling limited on a Chromebook. On the flip side, they might use today Windows because they always have and might really enjoy the simplicity and speed of ChromeOS.