Thought I would come back and update. Well, in the end, I decided to go with the Apple. :-) There were so many reasons I wanted to get one and quite a few reasons I didn't want to get another windows machine. Two of the issues that were keeping me from getting the Apple resolved at the last minute and I was very happy to see no obstacles to getting it. I have had a MacBookPro for two weeks now and loving it! Almost have everything moved over from the old computer and Monday got the new printer installed and connected. Tech support has been great as expected. There have been some issues with changing over from the windows system to the Mac. I was using MS Works on the old Dell and converting those to iWorks was not straightforward although in the end most of that is done. Going from MS Office is easier. Changing over from Windows Media Player to iTunes...if you are importing your music to WMPlayer in the wma format, well, come to find out it is a proprietary format to Windows and it is not easy to switch over to mp3 that will allow the iTunes to play it. I had to convert 800 songs to mp3 before moving it to the Apple which was not so great. Time consuming. Had to download four programs on Tuesday and only one of them actually made the conversion. Plus converting the files does lower the quality some. So, I am planning on getting as much off of CDs to replace them as I can, but they are fine for the time being. Just for your information, you can set your WindowsMediaPlayer to import into it in the mp3 format and that will make your life so much easier if/when you want to move them or use another player. Photos were a breeze to move and using iPhoto is just a treat! Such an improvement over my previous photo software for organizing photos. I have never used Photoshop software, so maybe that is as good at organizing as the iPhoto? I do plan on trying photoshop at some point. So that's my story. :-) Jane, I hope you have made the change over to whatever you liked the most and have a new machine that you are happy with. :-)

OP might have gotten screwed up in the Windows setup sequence? I've dealt with ASUS tech support a few times over the phone and I found them to be very helpful and with good communication skills. I hope you'll have a similar experience. If ASUS fails you, tell Walmart they sent you a dog and they'll very likely do an exchange, my experience with them has been good too. To each his own, I dislike "chat" support. I've found it frequently to be very time inefficient. What should be a 10 min or less phone call becomes a 30 min chat session. It's not for me, thanks, I'll take my chances with an accent.

sugar- You can use the Internet away from home in two ways: You can go someplace, open up the settings on your tablet or netbook, etc., and see if you have free wi-fi available where you are using it. For instance, many restaurants, healthcare providers, airports, all Starbucks, all McDonalds, many small businesses, most libraries, etc., have free wi-fi, and any such electronic device should be able to connect to it (presuming the device works properly). If you get a tablet with optional cell phone technology built in, and also pay for a cell phone carrier data plan, you would be able to connect to the Internet anywhere there is a cell phone signal from your carrier. I have 2 iPads and an Android tablet, but none of them has the built-in capability to receive data (Internet access) from a cell phone carrier. I simply use them to connect to the Internet using my home wi-fi wherever I am in the house or out in my yard, and I take one along when I travel because I can usually find free wi-fi somewhere. I didn't want to add an extra hundred dollars or so to the price of my tablet for added, built-in hardware so I could connect to a cell phone data plan, and I did not want to additionally pay for that monthly data plan as it can get expensive and is sometimes limited in terms of how much info/data you're allowed to access each month by the carrier. If I'm traveling and I absolutely can't find a free wi-fi connection, I connect to the Internet with my smartphone. So, to be clear, if you are going to opt for a tablet, you need to decide whether you want a model with wi-fi capability only (like mine), or are willing to pay more for the same tablet so it has the built-in capability to connect to the Internet through a cell phone carrier and pay monthly for a data plan. Is that clear, or do you need more explanation?

By open, I meant...open to opinions of others. By repeating the same comments, you imply that anyone who does something differently from what you do is wrong and or making a mistake. When an actual Chromebook owner spoke of having a positive experience, you responded by saying "I would never have one". I'm not sure why you find it necessary to be so contrary but that's YOU berating others. I think it's nice that you help others. I hope you continue to do so whether here or elsewhere, but that's not a license for being narrow minded with the advice you give.