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Ask HN: Do you use a Chromebook or Pixelbook as your primary machine?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you use a Chromebook or Pixelbook as your primary machine?

#81

Post by robgibbons »

I used to run a Samsung Chromebook 2 13" with Crouton, so I could run XFCE Linux next to Chrome OS. It was an excellent setup for the money, aside from a few drawbacks:

- ARM processor (excellent power efficiency and battery, but you can't run certain Linux packages, or programs such as Sublime Text) - Limited storage space (so you must use USB volumes, or server/cloud storage) - Physical security (chroot runs somewhat at a compromise to security)

Other than those, it really was a surprisingly great little Linux machine. Very lightweight, outstanding battery life, and capable of 99% of what I need as a web developer and for casual entertainment.

Re: Ask HN: Do you use a Chromebook or Pixelbook as your primary machine?

#82

Post by schmrz »

grepthisab wrote: post #78
notacoward wrote: post #50

I used to. I had the second-gen Pixel that has apparently become the third-gen Pixelbook because Google couldn't even resist stealing the name of their own product for something completely different. I loved it. I could have run Linux natively, but I've spent too much of my life already fighting all the familiar recurring sound/video and suspend/resume and wifi issues on Linux laptops. No, it's not because I'm bad at…

I have a Dell XPS13 Dev Edition. I run Ubuntu on it natively, but really hitting the same things you describe. Ubuntu is usually a joy to use, but having to debug random things at random times while at work or on the road really stinks. I'm really on the fence at this point about just getting a Macbook. My work laptop is a Macbook and really polished for development.

I'm also using Dell XPS 13 (model 9360, non-touch, 1080p screen) with Fedora 26, and I haven't had any issues. This is by far the best linux laptop I've had. Just another data point in case someone is looking into buying these.

Re: Ask HN: Do you use a Chromebook or Pixelbook as your primary machine?

#83

Post by notacoward »

schmrz wrote: post #82
grepthisab wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a Dell XPS13 Dev Edition. I run Ubuntu on it natively, but really hitting the same things you describe. Ubuntu is usually a joy to use, but having to debug random things at random times while at work or on the road really stinks. I'm really on the fence at this point about just getting a Macbook. My work laptop is a Macbook and really polished for development.

I'm also using Dell XPS 13 (model 9360, non-touch, 1080p screen) with Fedora 26, and I haven't had any issues. This is by far the best linux laptop I've had. Just another data point in case someone is looking into buying these.

Linux on laptops is like a disease. It's rare that everyone gets sick, but it's bad enough that many do. Even at Red Hat, where the employees collectively know more than anyone about making Linux run on laptops, internal mailing lists were often full of gripes about issues. If it wasn't the Big Three that I already mentioned, it was fans running constantly and batteries being sucked dry, switching monitor resolutions or dis/connecting a second monitor leaving things in a weird state, the utter impossibility of getting trackpads to work as well as they did under Windows/MacOS, international keyboard layouts not behaving properly, camera remaining locked when it shouldn't, and so on and so on ad nauseam. If you never hit any of these then good for you, but I can say with absolute confidence that such an experience is exceptional.

Re: Ask HN: Do you use a Chromebook or Pixelbook as your primary machine?

#84

Post by usaphp »

fortes wrote: post #64

Yes, been using it as my primary development machine for the last two years. I work on a large Node / React codebase, and occasionally do design work. My setup: * Chromebook Pixel 2 in dev mode * Crouton ( https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton/ ) running CLI-only Debian stretch * Google's SSH app ( https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-shell/pnhec... ) * Tmux running with NeoVim, cmus for music My dotfiles…

> Overall, I like this better than the old mac setup I have.

What exactly do you like more than a Mac setup? I just find it hard to justify the new pricetag of google laptop, for almost the same money I can get a macbook and don’t sacrifice my choice of software for work, but I am wondering what exactly are you liking it more on chrome book apart from a price.

Re: Ask HN: Do you use a Chromebook or Pixelbook as your primary machine?

#85

Post by fortes »

usaphp wrote: post #84
fortes wrote: post #64

Yes, been using it as my primary development machine for the last two years. I work on a large Node / React codebase, and occasionally do design work. My setup: * Chromebook Pixel 2 in dev mode * Crouton ( https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton/ ) running CLI-only Debian stretch * Google's SSH app ( https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-shell/pnhec... ) * Tmux running with NeoVim, cmus for music My dotfiles…

> Overall, I like this better than the old mac setup I have. What exactly do you like more than a Mac setup? I just find it hard to justify the new pricetag of google laptop, for almost the same money I can get a macbook and don’t sacrifice my choice of software for work, but I am wondering what exactly are you liking it more on chrome book apart from a price.

I transitioned from a Macbook Air to the Pixel 2 and got the following at the time:

+ 16GB of RAM instead of 8GB

+ Touch screen

+ Retina display

+ USB-C charger which is the same as my phone now, having a single charger is a convenience I probably overvalue.

+ Very fast startup time

- Slightly more weight

- Severe restrictions on software used

I'm an odd duck in some of my choices though, so I wouldn't recommend my setup blindly.

Re: Ask HN: Do you use a Chromebook or Pixelbook as your primary machine?

#86

Post by shawabawa3 »

hellofunk wrote: post #49
dx034 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least for desktop chrome you can set location access. Most websites geolocate using ip addresses if location is disabled. Works quite well, unless you use a VPN.

I cannot find any option to disable geolocation in my current Chrome version on Mac, and when I use a VPN and connect via a different country, sites I visit in Safari are in that country's language, but sites I visit in Chrome, even when private browsing, know the language to use based on my actual country location.

That could just be because chrome is sending language headers based on your installation language.

afaik, chrome asks whenever a site requests location information

(if you go to chrome://settings you can change language preferences)

Re: Ask HN: Do you use a Chromebook or Pixelbook as your primary machine?

#87

Post by leephillips »

hellofunk wrote: post #61
leephillips wrote: post #25

They're fine machines once you install real Linux on them. The hardware is excellent and they make great laptops for doing real work. Here are some notes about installing Xubuntu on the 2013 model. I hope some of this transfers to newer models: https://lee-phillips.org/pxsetup/

> The hardware is excellent Is there a particular model you recommend? Seems like there are a variety of chromebooks, I wouldn't expect them to all be the same quality, but perhaps they are?

I was writing about the Google Pixel models in particular - great hardware. Don't have experience with other makes, except Toshiba, which I bought for my children. I don't recommend those, despite the low price and good specs, because they don't honor their warranties.

Re: Ask HN: Do you use a Chromebook or Pixelbook as your primary machine?

#88

Post by sigi45 »

notacoward wrote: post #83
schmrz wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm also using Dell XPS 13 (model 9360, non-touch, 1080p screen) with Fedora 26, and I haven't had any issues. This is by far the best linux laptop I've had. Just another data point in case someone is looking into buying these.

Linux on laptops is like a disease. It's rare that everyone gets sick, but it's bad enough that many do. Even at Red Hat, where the employees collectively know more than anyone about making Linux run on laptops, internal mailing lists were often full of gripes about issues. If it wasn't the Big Three that I already mentioned, it was fans running constantly and batteries being sucked dry, switching monitor resolutions…

Had arch linux running on an Samsung ativ book 9. No real/relevant issues.

Re: Ask HN: Do you use a Chromebook or Pixelbook as your primary machine?

#89

Post by whyagaindavid »

atheiste wrote: post #69
hellofunk wrote: post #32

Is anyone concerned about privacy using a Google laptop? I noticed recently that for years I've relied on Chrome's private browsing feature only to learn that it does not disable geolocation (unlike Safari) and websites always know where I am located even when browsing privately. And turning this off can change depending on the version of Chrome (in fact I cannot figure out how to turn it off in my current version).…

My company uses Chromebooks as primary computers with our own fork of ChromiumOS. Our build excludes Google keys thus hypothetically offers reinforced privacy. Our fork is called NayuOS ( https://nayuos.nexedi.com ) and is a true system for hackers. It erases user folders on every restart and no extensions are allowed. It is very hard to track and since the Chromebooks are very cheap it is easy to exchange devices of…

Thanks for your wonderful info. I will bring this in our next meeting to our CTO. BTW, link is not working: https://nayuos.nexedi.com/build-your-own-image

Re: Ask HN: Do you use a Chromebook or Pixelbook as your primary machine?

#90

Post by mattbgates »

I've been using a Chromebook as my primary laptop for the past 3 or 4 years... I do my programming, my blogging, and even photo editing on there. I have one Chromebook that has Linux on it as an alternative, just in case I need SSH or FTP access. But primarily, I'm doing everything on the Internet. There's a website or Chrome extension for just about everything.

Since most of my coding happens in PHP and MySQL.. I don't really need an official platform for that... I just use whatever tools my host provides and thats good enough.

I love it because I don't have to deal with "loading times" or viruses or anything like that. The worst thing that happens is that I open up too many tabs at once and it might crash every so often, warranting a restart, and while most devs might not recommend it, I do recommend it. I'll never go back!

Another advantage is that I only buy Chromebooks with T-Mobile SIMM card adaptions built in, as I can connect it and be wireless no matter where I go. So I won't buy any Chromebook that is not capable of that.

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