I am very happy with ChromeOS and the whole idea of cloud computing. <rant>Honestly I am happy that there are still computers that boot quickly and are not constantly updating. Nothing frustrates me as much as turning on my computer to do something, but having to wait because an update or virus scan is eating up all the CPU cycles.</rant>
It is easy to do most of what I expect a computer to do in ChromeOS. With a few exceptions I can word process and other office type functions easily using the MS 365 or Google online apps. Online cloud storage and email apps are full featured and easy to use.
Some people might object to the subscription model of software that cloud computing requires. I don’t mind a reasonable subscription fee. Your mileage may vary. If you don’t want to subscribe there are free versions of productivity apps, and if you are entirely opposed to subscriptions there are excellent open source desktop apps, such as LibreOffice. Linux is a very good OS and a very viable option. I will say it is very hard to do any computing without getting caught up in at least one of the large commercial software ecosystems.
There are limitations to cloud based apps. I can’t use macros in Word online. Graphic production and gaming are somewhat limited. If either of those tasks is your primary reason for computing look elsewhere than a Chromebook / ChromeOS device. I do have a Windows 11 device and it has many useful abilities and apps. I will continue to us it. All that being said when I remember how I used a computer when I was a student I would have to say the Chromebook perfectly fills those needs.
As I said I will continue to use my Windows device, but if it was hit by lightning I would have to seriously consider my options about how, or if I would replace it.