I’ve been resisting Windows 10 too. I have reservations about privacy, and I worry that I might lose access to a couple of hundred gigs of video I purchased from Amazon and that I need a Microsoft Silverlight digital certificate to play. And Win10 kills Silverlight dead. Will I lose my video library? Amazon no longer provides downloads, so they’re irreplaceable.

You first, and let me know how it goes

This is what I bought:

Refurbished HP 8200 for $293. They’ve gone up $20.

8gb of ram, core i5 pentium. Don’t remember the cache or FSB.
It Rocks!

I keep getting notices for a free upgrade to Windows 10. A little gunshy of the new OS. I really like 7 so far.

I looked into building one but just the mobo and proc were over $300.

Might have to buy one of these HP’s for myself

Other than that, I run Crap Cleaner and Malwarebytes occasionally (free versions).

This is all assuming you still want a gaming rig. If you just want a spare PC to surf the web and play the old games that performed well with the dual core I would restore it to factory condition. Upgrade your ram and upgrade to Win7 O/S

I would guess 400-500 minimum for low-mid stuff not counting a graphics card. It could be a lot more if you get hooked on fixing it

I realize these issues could be managed if I kept current with the latest releases and operating systems, or if I were more interested in software. But that’s just the point I was trying to make in my post above. Every new IT improvement requires immersion in technical details that I find very tedious, and which have a very short shelf life, forcing me to learn new ones before I’ve mastered the old. I’m getting tired of having to learn a new set of tools every time Microsoft wants to sell me something new.

I know its churlish and petty of me; I like using the technology, but I find learning and working on it very tiresome. To use another metaphor, I love my telescope and have learned how to use it, but I’m really not interested in grinding my own lenses.

I understand this kind of commitment is necessary to really exploit the technology effectively, I just don’t enjoy doing it. I’ve spent my whole professional life playing catch-up with this technology, and always one step behind. Now that I’m not getting paid to do it, I have little incentive to continue it as a hobby. I’m perfectly ready to give it all up and go offline altogether.

I’m well aware of how much modern life forces you to interface with these computing devices and and telecommunications technologies. It is getting almost impossible to conduct even the most routine business any more without the internet, modern telephony, etc. This is a dilemma I find increasingly distressing every day. My problem is not a need for technical advice, it is an increasing reluctance to listen to it.

For the usage you describe, they’ll smoke a Windows box. You’ll never want to use anything else. But they’re also suited for more ambitious purposes as well. You can run local apps if you wish (there’s a Chromebook Store similar to Google Play for Android), but a Chromebook’s heart belongs online…and you can find really good web apps for almost anything. Many are free, but the ones that aren’t are typically quite affordable.

I used Windows 7 and IE 11 (which most hip people seem to avoid). I turned on a function called “Tracking Protection” (under “tools”) which seems to filter a lot of the loaded crap off of many websites. It also filters things like videos in some places, but you can flip it on and off for specific sites.