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2015 Chromebook Pixel

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Re: 2015 Chromebook Pixel

#551

Post by nfoz »

nfoz wrote: post #499

I wonder how much Google makes on these devices in advertising per user.

This was a serious question, I'm legitimately curious. We can't pretend that isn't part of the product offering, and it's a unique aspect of the ChromeOS experience. I can only assume this could partially subsidize the hardware.

In the same line of thinking, I wonder how much a Macbook purchase can be offset by the expected revenue from iTunes and other integrated services. Or the pre-bundled spyware that comes with so many other laptops.

Re: 2015 Chromebook Pixel

#552

Post by mbillie1 »

Htsthbjig wrote: post #541
IkmoIkmo wrote: post #532

I don't really understand the appeal personally. At this price level you could get a dell xps. ChromeOS seems brilliant at a few hundred bucks, especially for kids & elders who get the browser/video/text experience, without the complexity, bloatware, viruses etc of a windows environment. But at $600 or $1000, there just seem to be better windows alternatives, to me at least. And above that you get into OS X range. Ch…

I believe that is exactly the idea. Google as the ecosystem provider (ChromeOS) does not really want to compete with the companies that are intended to use the OS. Google does not want to compete with Dell, HP, Lenovo or Acer, but to convince them to use ChromeOS. Google creates hardware as a reference for others to follow. This is very important, as there is a before an after the release of the Nexus phone. Google r…

> Google releases high quality hardware with their OS to prove that a good machine could be make with it, but at a price that does not compete with others.

That is a very interesting notion that I had not considered at all, but can that be entirely true? It must cost a small fortune to get a device like this ready for public consumption, even if they don't sell very many of them.

Re: 2015 Chromebook Pixel

#553

Post by derekp7 »

cjbprime wrote: post #506
chez17 wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has an SD card reader. You can double the storage for super cheap.

I have bad news -- the SD card reader on both the new and old Chromebook Pixel is hooked up over USB2 (i.e. max 20MB/sec transfer rate). There is no internal expansion via msata/pcie. And the SSD is soldered down.

Would it be worth putting a large SD card on it, and using a portion of the internal storage as high speed cache?

Re: 2015 Chromebook Pixel

#554

Post by nfoz »

MAGZine wrote: post #545
IkmoIkmo wrote: post #532

I don't really understand the appeal personally. At this price level you could get a dell xps. ChromeOS seems brilliant at a few hundred bucks, especially for kids & elders who get the browser/video/text experience, without the complexity, bloatware, viruses etc of a windows environment. But at $600 or $1000, there just seem to be better windows alternatives, to me at least. And above that you get into OS X range. Ch…

Writing this from my 2011 MBA. Looking at a replacement, and the CBP is a strong contender. If I swap out the storage for a 256 or 512 GB drive and throw linux or windows on it, then it's better hardware than a macbook air, for cheaper. In fact, it's impossible to build a MBA that stands up to CBP's hardware. the chromebook represents essentially what i wanted out of a macbook air refresh, instead the ipad-with-a-key…

But why wouldn't you get the Dell XPS 13 instead? (Linux edition coming out soon.) The Pixel is heavier than the MBA, while the XPS is lighter/slimmer and has a real harddrive. There are minor trade-offs here and there but it's the limitation of ChromeOS that really makes this a strange option.

I myself am debating both options, but I've ordered a Pixel specifically because I'm hoping the keyboard is a bit better than the XPS, and to see how well it will run Debian natively.

If only the US had ultraportable options like they have in Japan.

Re: 2015 Chromebook Pixel

#555

Post by krasin »

interpol_p wrote: post #483
krasin wrote: post #430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends on the user. The first-gen Pixel is my only laptop for the last 2 years.

Out of curiosity, is it also your only computer? (Aside from a phone / tablet)

I have a bunch of ARM boards around, as well as, a headless x86 server for personal media archive, plus some number of rented virtual servers in the cloud.

Basically, Chromebook is a terminal + a browser for me.

Re: 2015 Chromebook Pixel

#556

Post by nfoz »

fragmede wrote: post #414
gknoy wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My biggest worry is the ease with which one can accidentally wipe out everything and reset it to factory settings every time you boot up. I might be super careful, but all I need is for my four or seven year old to turn it on wrong, and suddenly I fear I'd have a several hour fix-it session. If it came with a setting that would let me make changes more permanent (e.g., a BIOS setting), I'd want one in a heartbeat.

That 'setting' exists in the form of opening it up, unscrewing a screw to enable flashing, and then flashing the BIOS.

Sounds like that would void the warranty? I've never had to do something like that to install Linux on a laptop before.

Re: 2015 Chromebook Pixel

#557

Post by superuser2 »

revelation wrote: post #148

Jesus, designing a usable ultrabook must be very difficult. We have one contender from California, but their ideology has them offer just a single USB-C port. Now we get the competitor from Mountain View, who have rightly recognized the need for more than one fucking port when that's how you charge the damn thing, and what do they decide? Oh yeah, we'll top out storage at 64GiB.

I see this as a slightly more flexible docking station. I don't mind having a hub on my desk. Connecting one cable when I return the laptop to my desk would be amazing - currently it takes 3. I need peripherals frequently - but only at my desk.

Re: 2015 Chromebook Pixel

#558

Post by tacticus »

zanny wrote: post #181
revelation wrote: post #148

Jesus, designing a usable ultrabook must be very difficult. We have one contender from California, but their ideology has them offer just a single USB-C port. Now we get the competitor from Mountain View, who have rightly recognized the need for more than one fucking port when that's how you charge the damn thing, and what do they decide? Oh yeah, we'll top out storage at 64GiB.

I thought this years XPS 13 from Dell looked really slick. When it comes out in Sputnik mode it will definitely be the Linux notebook of the year.

Shame about the price and the inability to put more than 8GB in it. (and the fact that dell are still stupid about global availability)

Re: 2015 Chromebook Pixel

#559

Post by mkozlows »

nfoz wrote: post #554
MAGZine wrote: post #545

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Writing this from my 2011 MBA. Looking at a replacement, and the CBP is a strong contender. If I swap out the storage for a 256 or 512 GB drive and throw linux or windows on it, then it's better hardware than a macbook air, for cheaper. In fact, it's impossible to build a MBA that stands up to CBP's hardware. the chromebook represents essentially what i wanted out of a macbook air refresh, instead the ipad-with-a-key…

But why wouldn't you get the Dell XPS 13 instead? (Linux edition coming out soon.) The Pixel is heavier than the MBA, while the XPS is lighter/slimmer and has a real harddrive. There are minor trade-offs here and there but it's the limitation of ChromeOS that really makes this a strange option. I myself am debating both options, but I've ordered a Pixel specifically because I'm hoping the keyboard is a bit better tha…

As someone who runs Linux and ChromeOS on my personal laptops, was looking at the XPS, and just ordered a Pixel, I can answer that:

1. Chromebook is zero-hassle. It's great that Dell is putting native Ubuntu on their laptops, but fundamentally those are still machines that were designed for Windows first and awkwardly adapted to Linux. They'll always have a few niggling issues that a designed-for-ChromeOS machine won't have.

2. I prefer ChromeOS to Linux. The ultra-minimalist ChromeOS UI is just amazingly clean and elegant, in a way that none of the Linux desktops are (and I say that as a huge fan of GNOME 3).

3. The high-DPI version of the XPS 13 is more expensive than the Pixel (and might not be the one that gets released with Linux, they haven't announced it); high-DPI is a mandatory thing on an expensive laptop now for me.

4. 3:2 screen is the perfect aspect ratio, and the XPS isn't that.

5. USB-C charger is sweet.

But the XPS 13 looks like it'll be a nice laptop when the Linux version comes out. Still, I wish Dell would design Linux-first laptops rather than trying to awkwardly retrofit Linux onto designed-for-Windows machines.

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