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The Chromebook Pixel

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Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#201
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you develop on this? I'm used to using Linux, command line, text editors, local installs of the product I'm developing for, virtual machines, etc... Are you simply forced into using ALL websites to actually develop and unable to use anything else? Seems strange to pay $1250+ to develop on a machine that cannot even run or test the code you write.

Chrome has a wonderful SSH client [0], and with a $5/mo Digital Ocean [1] (or other [2]) VPS for all your UNIX work, it's a perfectly capable dev machine. [0]: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-shell/pnhec... [1]: https://www.digitalocean.com/ [2]: http://www.lowendbox.com/

I regularly use the SSH client. I wouldn't call it wonderful; it works, but that's about it. Highlight a wrapped line? GNOME Terminal will Do The Right Thing, Chrome's SSH client won't and gives you a newline. See a URL? GNOME Terminal will let you click to open; Chrome's SSH client won't.

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#202
post #143
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I am just used to hardware lagging the demands of software. This just seems, odd. Especially considering how much more this computer can do with something other than chrome os. (Correct me if I'm forgetting something, but is there anything chrome os can do that another OS can not already do?)

is there anything chrome os can do that another OS can not already do? Stay maintenance and virus free?

This feels as vacuous as when the linux crowd used to proclaim it. Hell, just within the webapp realm that Google is good at, they haven't exactly been stellar with long term support of some products. I mean, I never worried about maintenance or viruses in Google Buzz, either. Luckily, I also didn't worry about it sticking around. :)

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#203

There are only three meaningful things you can do with a computer with specs like this: development, design, or gaming. And yet ChromeOS can't do any of these things. Perhaps this is a vanity product for the wealthy. But wealthy people are going to just surf the web on an iPad. I really don't get this product.

"And yet ChromeOS can't do any of these things...I really don't get this product."

I completely agree. If I pay $1300 for a laptop, I expect to be able to do some serious graphics work or video editing. Instead Chrome Pixel gives you powerful hardware coupled to an internet-connected OS with basic, limited apps like Google Docs. (As an example, Google Docs is so basic it can't even span table cells. Worperfect 5.0 could do this over 20 years ago. Pay $1300 for an OS so lacking in features or capable software? Is this progress?).

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've got a Chromebook sitting to the right of my keyboard, and routinely use it as an SSH terminal (that and the keyboard is exactly why I have it). Remote is sufficient, but not always desirable (not just offline, latency can get in the way as well); and crouton and such are kludges vs. having a proper *nix environment within CrOS (not to mention losing verified boot, which I see as a plus overall but glad it can be…

Yeah, I agree that Crouton and the like are "cheating" a little bit, and I don't use them personally. I think you're being a little unfair here, though. You want verified boot and a full *NIX offline toolchain. Aren't those incompatible things? Probably the closest thing you can get to local development without cheating is if something like VirtualBox were ported to NaCl, which I don't believe exists, yet.

Not a full environment; just enough of one for average web development (meaning vim/emacs, git, ruby/nodejs/etc, NaCl compiler, and associated debuggers), a small enough set to be vetted by Google and run at low privilege while still letting an average developer get started out of the box w/o needing to figure out hosting or such right away.

Hell, just adding some project management to the inspector to act as a psuedo-IDE for Chrome apps would be a start. I've got personal attachment to *nix from using so much of it, some 12-year old that stumbled into the devtools has no such attachment.

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#205
post #57
post #14

So, it is real! It looks awesome, but at $1,299, I don't think it's priced well. That's $100 more than a 13" MacBook. I just don't see that much value in a Chromebook at this point in time.

> That's $100 more than a 13" MacBook. Some will see that as "So Chromebook is better than a MacBook then? They wouldn't have priced it that high if it wasn't. I want one". Kind of how some expensive wine is sold. Sell it for $15 / bottle and it gets lost on the shelves among others. Put it in a special glass case and sell it for $120 / bottle and surprise people will buy, taste it and think it is really the best one…

>>Kind of how some expensive wine is sold.

I don't think computers are comparable to wine.

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#207
post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagSafe Apple exclusively owns US Patent No. 7311526 ("Magnetic connector for electronic device", issued in 2007) and does not license the MagSafe connector or the patent.

And yet Microsoft has magnetic power connectors on the Surface tablets.

Doesn't Microsoft and Apple have a cross-licensing agreement?

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#209
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you develop on this? I'm used to using Linux, command line, text editors, local installs of the product I'm developing for, virtual machines, etc... Are you simply forced into using ALL websites to actually develop and unable to use anything else? Seems strange to pay $1250+ to develop on a machine that cannot even run or test the code you write.

Action.IO... Cloud9... Koding...

Totally dig hosted IDEs. I think it's the way of the future. But why do you need a powerful computer to use them? How does it help? I'm genuinely asking.

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#210

Some years from now, people will refer to this (Chromebooks and everything related to Chrome OS) as Google's biggest strategic mistake. Google's second biggest strategic mistake will be Glass. I just hope Google would recover.

I'm curious as to why you think these products won't succeed, and particularly what opportunity they're missing by focusing on these.
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