I'm primarily needing a laptop for use in class, the library, or coffee shops/parks, and occasionally at home where I have an Asus external monitor. I like the idea of the chromebook, but I don't think I can guarantee I'll be on reliable wifi all the time (despite all those places above typically having wifi - I don't want to count on it). I don't have a desktop.
Portability, battery life, quick performance (can handle multitasking), decent amount of memory (I don't have much music, but I have a ton of pictures) are my priorities. I'm going with the recommendation of 4GB RAM, but now I'm deciding between i3 and i5 5th gen processors, and between 1TB 5400rpm HDD or 128GB SSD. Basically, Dell XPS 13 vs the Inspiron 15 5000...
The XPS 13 doesn't have an ethernet port, but I guess that's not much of a concern. I haven't used an ethernet connection since freshman year (wifi was technically not allowed).