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The Chromebook Pixel (2015) Review

anandtech.com

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Re: The Chromebook Pixel (2015) Review

#11

Post by fit2rule »

guylhem wrote: post #8

My only question: can you physically have a 512Gb ssd inside that thing? Anything else is irrelevant to me. The previous Chromebook pixel had the mini PCIe port used by the WWAN modem wired with only the USB lines, meaning you couldn't do that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0_u8bjQFzg I won't buy a chromebook pixel until I can at least get a decent storage. It doesn't have to be sold with this storage. The motherb…

I have the same opinion that you do - 64Gigs is just too minimal.

But if I can use that 64-gigs for OS/Apps, and mount my home directory on an SD card, I'm happy with that solution .. assuming that the SD card slot can hold a very fast SD (128Gigs or so) without physically protruding out of the case. Its not clear to me that this is so .. anyone know?

I actually think that the ability to host a larger SD partition is a good feature - it makes for backups and opsec in ways that my current rMBP, with its soldered-in Flash drive, cannot deliver. So that aspect is kind of intriguing to me ..

Re: The Chromebook Pixel (2015) Review

#13

Post by cjbprime »

guylhem wrote: post #8

My only question: can you physically have a 512Gb ssd inside that thing? Anything else is irrelevant to me. The previous Chromebook pixel had the mini PCIe port used by the WWAN modem wired with only the USB lines, meaning you couldn't do that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0_u8bjQFzg I won't buy a chromebook pixel until I can at least get a decent storage. It doesn't have to be sold with this storage. The motherb…

Same. No, the SSD is soldered down, and the SD card slot is hooked up (again) via USB2, limiting it to ~20MB/sec.

Re: The Chromebook Pixel (2015) Review

#14

Post by [deleted] »

sombremesa wrote: post #3
resoluteteeth wrote: post #2

The real review here seems to be by BittenRottenApple in the comments, rather than the actual anandtech article. In particular I think this part sums up the main issue I have with the Chromebook Pixel: The entire conceit of Chrome OS is that it's sort of a diet computer. It does the basics, and just the basics. Chrome OS will give you internet, basic word processing through Google Docs, video via YouTube, and the res…

You don't need to replace the OS with linux, it is already linux based. If you enable developer mode you can get to the terminal, and if your linux-foo is strong that should be all you need (and you'll still be able to use ChromeOS). This is what made my (free) Cr-48 awesome. Does it make the (expensive) Chromebook Pixel awesome? I don't know.

[deleted]

Re: The Chromebook Pixel (2015) Review

#15

Post by krillinetc »

Google needs to develop and release their own IDE. I shouldn't need to mess around with the terminal on what is supposed to be a developer's notebook. Android, Java, Chrome/web apps, Go etc, if Google is serious about winning developer mindshare from Apple then creating the proper tools is necessary

Re: The Chromebook Pixel (2015) Review

#16

Post by dman »

fit2rule wrote: post #11
guylhem wrote: post #8

My only question: can you physically have a 512Gb ssd inside that thing? Anything else is irrelevant to me. The previous Chromebook pixel had the mini PCIe port used by the WWAN modem wired with only the USB lines, meaning you couldn't do that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0_u8bjQFzg I won't buy a chromebook pixel until I can at least get a decent storage. It doesn't have to be sold with this storage. The motherb…

I have the same opinion that you do - 64Gigs is just too minimal. But if I can use that 64-gigs for OS/Apps, and mount my home directory on an SD card, I'm happy with that solution .. assuming that the SD card slot can hold a very fast SD (128Gigs or so) without physically protruding out of the case. Its not clear to me that this is so .. anyone know? I actually think that the ability to host a larger SD partition is…

Am curious about what fills up the storage for you. Could you comment a bit on that?

Re: The Chromebook Pixel (2015) Review

#17

Post by DrPsion »

krillinetc wrote: post #15

Google needs to develop and release their own IDE. I shouldn't need to mess around with the terminal on what is supposed to be a developer's notebook. Android, Java, Chrome/web apps, Go etc, if Google is serious about winning developer mindshare from Apple then creating the proper tools is necessary

Well they have Android Studio although it doesn't run on any Chromebook out of the box.

Re: The Chromebook Pixel (2015) Review

#18

Post by nextos »

It's really irritating that:

* It's difficult to open/service so you can't flip the switch which allows flashing Coreboot that easily

* You can't upgrade it's minimal storage, and there's no LTE

* The keyboard is non-standard: no super key (great for WM) and no dedicated home/end

Re: The Chromebook Pixel (2015) Review

#19

Post by dagw »

I get the feeling that these Chromebook Pixels aren't made for the public. My theory is that they're the result of an internal Google compromise between ChromeOS managers who want their team to dog food Chromebooks and ChromeOS developers who replied "Get me a compromise free, top of the line chormebook, and I might consider it". The only real customers they care about are Google developers and they don't care about price.

Re: The Chromebook Pixel (2015) Review

#20

Post by DrPsion »

I wish Google had an official way of putting a Linux distribution on these machines. I know they want people working in Chrome OS but for me it just isn't enough.

If I could buy the Pixel and have an official way of putting Debian or something on it to make it a proper laptop I probably would buy one. I love the design, the specs are very decent and the display is beautiful.

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