Microsoft goes after Chromebooks with Windows 11 SE and the $249 Surface Laptop SE

10 November 2021
A Windows OS and laptop made for elementary and middle school kids.

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • K1L
  • 11 Nov 2021

With very few people are interested on using Linux, this definitely sounds like a worthy contender to Chromebook. I see loads of Chromebooks with similar spec as that Surface Laptop SE with way higher price.

    • S
    • Skalamanga
    • nw}
    • 10 Nov 2021

    The only reason to use windows is for the applications that aren't available on other platforms. Take that away and there's nothing left except a price tag.

      dbjungle, 10 Nov 2021If you think Chromebooks are "dogwater" you shoul... moreeven in cheap notebook windows has more marketshare, in fact over 70% every quarter.

        dbjungle, 10 Nov 2021If you think Chromebooks are "dogwater" you shoul... more"If you think Chromebooks are "dogwater" you should try using one. That's a mighty strong opinion."

        I have a Chromebook, they are utter trash. I have a decent one as well. The software is pretty sht and honestly isn't well built. The apps for Google office is just a chrome tab. It's not a legit built in app.

        " I haven't seen one of these Surface SE devices in person yet, but every other time Microsoft has tried Windows on low specs it's been an awful one program at a time type of affair. "

        They are just being released, they're supposedly optimized for low-end specs, while regular windows isn't. This should be more suited for Chromebook replacements.

        "We'll have to see if these can replace Chromebooks in education based on sales numbers."

        You're right tho, we just gotta see.

          SuuperBaka, 10 Nov 2021Chromebooks are complete dogwater, also this is apparently ... moreIf you think Chromebooks are "dogwater" you should try using one. That's a mighty strong opinion. I haven't seen one of these Surface SE devices in person yet, but every other time Microsoft has tried Windows on low specs it's been an awful one program at a time type of affair. We'll have to see if these can replace Chromebooks in education based on sales numbers.

            Hemedans, 10 Nov 2021the thing is why buy chromebook at all? with windows laptop... moreI've had one or another Chromebook since 2014. I got it at a time where netbooks were already dead, but any decent 11" or 13.3" Windows laptop was still quite expensive. When you use a Chromebook you realize that despite all its limitations, there are a lot of very convenient things. But yea I agree, you can run a Linux distro on a Windows laptop.

              • s
              • s1mp
              • neV
              • 10 Nov 2021

              i could not agree more

                dbjungle, 10 Nov 2021This is not the worst thing, but I can't think of any ... moreChromebooks are complete dogwater, also this is apparently stripped down to be able to work on low-end specs, it's not the regular windows so it should be fine.

                MS Office is much superior to Google's version, and this would be a much better option to use at schools.

                  Anonymous, 10 Nov 2021For the same price you get second hand Lenovo Thinkpad lapt... morewhere do they sell second hand laptop in bulk for school?

                    dbjungle, 10 Nov 2021This is not the worst thing, but I can't think of any ... morethe thing is why buy chromebook at all? with windows laptop you can install any os you want, there are hundreds of linux distro which are lighter and has more features, you can run windows and limit your usage as chromebook, install android etc.
                    chromebook is only popular in North america, other parts of the world they dont even care.

                      This is for schools to buy. Not for general public. For general public Microsoft have Surface Go and Surface Laptop Go.

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                        • PocoFairRedmi
                        • 7$h
                        • 10 Nov 2021

                        Wouldn't it be great if students came back to school with Linux installed on these machines?
                        Seriously, most linux desktop environments will work very nicely with this sort of resources.
                        Besides, why government bodies make huge deals with these corporations when they could rely on open source. They could chose to donate half the Microsoft contract to the Linux Foundation or Debian, for instance. Even Canonical's Ubuntu seems a better choice, and would not bind people to proprietary systems.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • kvH
                          • 10 Nov 2021

                          not bad. looks like a good deal.

                            Anonymous, 10 Nov 2021For the same price you get second hand Lenovo Thinkpad lapt... moreCan't agree more. T440P and X260 here. I am selling them both and replace them by T460P quad core.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • mxf
                              • 10 Nov 2021

                              Chrome OS won't lose any sleep over this. Windows have had their day. Modern computing now expects to be served through a modern OS. I love my Chromebook and will never be forced back to the old world of Windows.

                                This is not the worst thing, but I can't think of any reason you would buy this over a Chromebook. We've seen numerous times that Windows runs very poorly on low end specs. The 8GB RAM SKU one should be ok. But that's ok at best.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • TX{
                                  • 10 Nov 2021

                                  mawlki, 10 Nov 2021768p is a horror to work with even only doing light office ... moreFor the same price you get second hand Lenovo Thinkpad laptops that have i5 and 8gb ram. Old generation of i5 but who cares when it will do the job well enough. You dont need even windows 11 for them as they be doing good enough with windows 10

                                  2 years ago my friend bough 300 euro laptop to do just work and the laptop had i5, 8gb ram and 256gb ssd with 1080p matte screen. And still working well and will probably last him more 5 years no problems. Like he had older version that he used for 15 years when Thinkpad was still IBM

                                    This is definitely gonna sell well. Chromebooks are complete dogwater and should be taken off the market. Windows is much more reliable as well, unless Microsoft messes up, they should be able to damage chromebooks.

                                      • B
                                      • Bindows
                                      • dWA
                                      • 10 Nov 2021

                                      Solun1, 10 Nov 2021So it's the same version like Windows S which also has... moreWell I think it's not, Windows 10 S was simply a restricted version of the base OS which you could easily disable S mode, with Windows 11 SE they mention that the optimized the OS for low end hardware.
                                      *Well if I'm not mistaken, they didn't mention what are these optimizations but let's hope they are effective!

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                                        • Invy
                                        • S3c
                                        • 10 Nov 2021

                                        Your average school IT departement will not have BGA soldering stations or capability to replace the eMMC once it's worn out. This computer is built like a consumption item.

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