Hi,

I need to buy a new laptop after my old one gave up the ghost yesterday. My preference is to buy another Chromebook, however i'm starting a Masters in Social Research in September and it did occur to me whether I would be better off having a Windows machine that could run MS Office.

What do people think- is this necessary? I know that Google has a free alternative to Office but being an extremely proficient user in Word/Excel/Access (due to work) I wonder if it makes sense to learn a new programme?

Any thoughts welcome. I'd rather keep costs down but my main priority is having something sufficient for my course.

I know that Google has a free alternative to Office but being an extremely proficient user in Word/Excel/Access (due to work) I wonder if it makes sense to learn a new programme?

I did PhD in Education (Randomised Controlled Trail). I had both Chromebook and PC. Chromebook was great for data collection and quick writing. On my PC I had Stata, SPSS, R, Scrivener, Zotero and finally Citavi which is a must if you write a dissertation. You are not going to find worthy alternatives for Chromebook. In a sentence, go for PC.

[quote]Quote From bernardpar:
I know that Google has a free alternative to Office but being an extremely proficient user in Word/Excel/Access (due to work) I wonder if it makes sense to learn a new programme?

You could install Linux on your new laptop and then use LibreOffice for free.
Alternatively you could learn how to use Latex and dump Word for good. If you use any maths at all I would strongly recommend this for the typesetting alone.
I have replaced all of my families computers with Linux now and would never consider using Windows on any machine again. The cost of OfficeSuite and the cost and necessity of using a proprietary firewall, anti-virus etc. is unacceptable to me.
The savings in terms os money however will be offset by the need to invest time learning to use the new free and better quality stuff with Linux.
No free lunches I'm afraid unless your uni has a deal to provide and Office Student version.

Yes my uni gives free access to Office 365 2016 packages, online and for download. I've never had anything but a Windows laptop so I've no idea if this package is functional on other platforms..

Personally I wouldn't be without Office as it's easy and familiar and the majority of people I work with use it.

Why don't you ask your future advisors? They certainly have a better answer than we can give.