Comment by shmed | Hacker News Reader

Comment by shmed | Hacker News Reader

I have a hard time understanding why Chromebooks are getting so much praise over the internet, but at the same time Windows RT is considered as the worst piece of technology ever invented. Aren't they mostly the same thing? Both Windows RT and ChromeOS machines are similarly priced, both can be used to browse the internet and access web apps. Windows RT machine usually ship with Office 2013 for free (or the light version of it). They all have touch screens ( I dont think all Chromebooks machine have it). And last time I checked, android apps didnt work natively on Chromebooks, meaning that Windows RT machine have access to more applications than Chromebooks. This will probably be a very unpopular opinion, but I really don't understand why one is so popular vs the other (is it only explicable by the fact that most people hate Microsoft, but love Google?)

Windows RT comes off as "Windows that you're familiar with" with the RT part as a huge asterisk that means "except you can't just install what you'd expect to be able to."

Chrome OS comes off as "Chrome, the browser on your computer"

The former is underwhelming whereas the latter meets expectations.

I never looked at it like this, but the way you put it, they are remarkably similar. Thanks for showing me this perspective.

Probably because of the name Windows - people had high expectations of it, which it did not deliver for obvious reasons - you want 'real' Windows, you go with Windows 8.

Also, ChromeOS is cloud based (good luck using it offline, lol) and easy to manage centrally, while RT is basically Android for tablets.

The ChromeBook has been explicitly designed and marketed as a low-cost alternative for people who just want to access the web. Most ChromeBooks are around $100-300.

Windows RT machines are usually between $300-$600, and were marketed as "Windows" machines, which brought with it a set of expectations that Windows RT machines were not able to meet. People assumed that "it runs Windows" meant that it ran their apps, but that just wasn't true in this case.

I am aware that there are some ChromeBooks that are really expensive, and Microsoft introduced desperation price cuts at certain points, but that's the basic story.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com