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Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

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Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#101

Post by pjmlp »

chasil wrote: post #69
rvz wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh dear, that is even more locked down than many expected and much more distant from the typical Linux distro that the many Linux Desktop fans have been used to. Either way, it doesn't matter, I'd expect whatever is running in ChromeOS (Linux Kernel) to be replaced by Fuchsia (Zircon kernel) underneath. They will more likely keep the 'ChromeOS' name to limit the confusion and that will be what these devices like that…

Microkernels have always been slower than monolithic kernels, never faster. There is zero chance that Zircon will be faster than Linux. The classic example is Mach from CMU: "When Mach was first being seriously used in the 2.x versions, performance was slower than traditional monolithic operating systems, perhaps as much as 25%... When Mach 3 attempted to move most of the operating system into user-space, the overhea…

Stuck in the past?

That is why QNX and INTEGRITY have no sales.

Linux performance is so beyond what everyone else can achieve that is why nowadays we run it virtualized and pack applications into containers.

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#102

Post by pjmlp »

agraddy wrote: post #54

I do all my work on an under $200 Chromebook. I have a VPS where I do all the actual work. I use Mosh and TMUX for connecting and saving my different projects (I'm a freelance developer who is often juggling multiple clients). Basically, the Chromebook is just an SSH client and a web browser (I can also boot into Linux if needed - slightly different than described in the Tweets). I've been doing this for years. The b…

Welcome to 1994, when I started doing that on IBM X Windows terminals or Hercules green phosphore terminals, depending on the availability on the compute center.

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#103

Post by robbintt »

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #49
public_defender wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is correct, but also a lot of these machines can native boot Linux if you enable developer mode. It's not the most frictionless experience in the world, but it can work pretty well.

Oh sure; x86 Chromebooks that support https://mrchromebox.tech firmware upgrades are actually some of the nicest Linux laptops on the market once they've been unlocked and flashed. I just want to call out that the author is precisely backwards and Crostini is a VM and a container and not bare Linux on hardware. Edit: There's also Crouton, for an intermediate option that does need developer mode.

I used mrchromebox with a 2018 pixelbook and compiling a kernel has been a serious pain, and I'm just copying others' hard work.

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#104

Post by ngcc_hk »

public_defender wrote: post #40
yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #21

> Like, real Linux, not some weird virtualized or translated environment. Ah, no. It is very much specifically in a container inside a VM. Now, full credit where it's due: You're unlikely to notice. Performance is good, they've done work integrating it (filesystem integration, forwarding windows to the host display servers through Sommelier). But native it is not. (Details: https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromiumo…

This is correct, but also a lot of these machines can native boot Linux if you enable developer mode. It's not the most frictionless experience in the world, but it can work pretty well.

Any guide and which is the better hardware to start and try, especially cheaper but reasonable performance for linux, lisp and chrome browser.

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#105

Post by lelanthran »

shrubble wrote: post #4

https://www.microcenter.com/product/649971/evolve-iii-maestr... On sale $59.99 ; regular price $79.99. Smallish keyboard however...

> On sale $59.99 ; regular price $79.99. Smallish keyboard however...

It may be small, but it has a proper inverted T for direction keys. That's already a better coding experience than many laptops that retail at 10x the price.

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#106

Post by rvdginste »

With these kinds of really cheap devices, it always makes me wonder whether you are not better off buying older used hardware instead... especially if you are looking for a cheap linux laptop.

For example, some time ago I got a Thinkpad X200 tablet in good condition off ebay for that price. I was mainly interested in the tablet functionality, but it's a nice little laptop that is still usable today.

Even if you are specifically interested in Chrome OS, Chrome OS Flex might be an option on used hardware.

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#107

Post by d3nj4l »

Mandatum wrote: post #11
saagarjha wrote: post #5

> It even has USB-C ports on BOTH sides of the device, which seems to be a Pro-level feature for Apple. Not trying to nitpick or anything but Apple used to offer USB ports on both sides of their non-Pro laptops, but in the new ones they offer Thunderbolt ports rather than USB C. My understanding is that they only offer ports on one side to let them only need to use one Thunderbolt controller. (The Pro machines with 3…

I’m pretty sure they did this for thermals. It’s a really common issue to resolve thermal throttling by changing your power cable from left to the right side so the power from energy draw doesn’t cause heat to dissipate internally.

That is largely an unverified urban legend. Every "article" about it cribs from the same StackExchange thread, which has one person say that that worked for their mac. I've owned multiple USB-C macbooks for years (in case you're wondering why, mostly due to laptop churn at work.) and none of them had any issues charging on either side.

The funny thing is, the last time I ran into this was at work, when a colleague mentioned they only charge on the left because of this issue. I pointed out that the original post said you should charge on the right and they were left pretty red faced after that. Clearly, they didn't have any issues with charging on either side.

If you need any more evidence, just consider the fact that the macbooks that only have ports on one side have them only on the gasp left!

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#108

Post by mongol »

agraddy wrote: post #54

I do all my work on an under $200 Chromebook. I have a VPS where I do all the actual work. I use Mosh and TMUX for connecting and saving my different projects (I'm a freelance developer who is often juggling multiple clients). Basically, the Chromebook is just an SSH client and a web browser (I can also boot into Linux if needed - slightly different than described in the Tweets). I've been doing this for years. The b…

What is the VPS if I may ask? Is it an EC2 instance..?

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#109

Post by fercircularbuf »

rwalle wrote: post #13
prvc wrote: post #12

That's nice, but Chromebooks are designed to become e-waste after a period of only a few years (updates stop after the device gets to be a few years old).

Most laptops become e-waste after a few years. Want an example? Macbooks before 2017 which no longer get any more major system updates and run as slow as turtle compared to the latest ones.

I'm still using my mid-2012 11-inch macbook air. My new M2 air is shipping this week, but my old one is still good for a lot of things.

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#110

Post by epakai »

TMWNN wrote: post #97
paulpauper wrote: post #65

'm not going to lie -- this screen really is quite hard on the eyes. It's a step down if your normal laptop costs 25X AS MUCH what does he mean. is is blurry or too bright? Yes, computers get way cheaper when you exclude windows and name brand parts.

He means too blurry. Any Chromebook under $200 will have a 1366x768 resolution display.

I bought the Lenovo 10e tablet for $100 ($90+case) and it has 1920x1200 display. Trade offs: 10.1 inch display, mediatek cpu, tablet (no stand/keyboard).

Not the normal price (seeing $334 now), but that was direct from Lenovo.

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