Chromebook Good for Kids?

from what i have read, the chromebooks are really only good for surfing the web. and you only get "cloud" storage for a year, after that you have to pay, not sure how much. I am now looking at an ACER laptop with windows 8. I have an ACER tablet but mobile web and regular web are diffrent, a lot of sites for homework (in my opinion) work best on a regular web page. If i were you, I'd go to Best Buy and explain what i am looking for and see if they can match you with something.

Our school uses google drive/docs for all their communications and homework. At school they use the school computers, and at home they use their laptops. I am right now typing on a 3 year old netbook from Toshiba (that they unfortunately do not make anymore because it is great ). Others still make netbooks that are laptops without a CD drive but with USB ports. Just be aware that a Chromebook cannot run regular computer programs like Word and Excell, you can only create documents and spreadsheets using Google Docs. For me that would not work since I need all the features of Excel daily. But my kids find Google Docs sufficient for their homework. I am sticking with a full computer that I can run programs on.

We just bought refurb computers. That might be one way to go to get a cheap laptop.

How old are your kids?

I would also research, if the programs/websites they use at or for school, can also be used on that Chromebook? And if it has the same software or can have the same software on it etc. If not, it will not be very practical.

And if everything is on the Cloud, can you also back up it on your own external hard drive or thumb drive etc.?
Is there, on that Chromebook... a drive to insert a thumb drive on it? Or any "USB" ports or any ports at all???? Or a DVD drive etc.?
I would also wonder about that.

Then, per my kids, all I know is, that the schools use Apple computers. Thus, the software/programs the kids use and learn on, are Mac computer type programs. And that is also what they do their projects on etc. And schools may also have certain programs, which are thus run on certain operating systems etc.

My 10 year old and 15 yo each have one. They love it and use it for school. The save everything to google docs and they can access their docs at school without using a flash drive.