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You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

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Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#121

Post by tbyehl »

johnvaluk wrote: post #111
dfaigonio wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does the Chrome OS team do anything the Chrome OS team does? They decided the best idea for low-end hardware is to run everything as a web app. They decided to make it practically useless without an Internet connection because clearly no one will use an ultraportable somewhere without Internet access. They decided to develop their own distro mostly from scratch because contributing to an existing project would be…

On the other hand, Chrome OS has finally ended my nightmare as the family IT support specialist. I have to help people who don't know what a "mouse" is, what a "browser" is, or that you can read the same email on multiple devices. When I switch them to a ChromeBook, life is much easier. Do they still have problems? Yes, because they don't understand the underlying concepts and face an enormous learning curve. But the…

So much this.

Frankly, the more I use a ChromeBook myself, the less I want to use another mainstream OS for day-to-day computing. I don't game or do much photo / video editing so I go weeks at the time on the ChromeBook without reaching for something else. It's nice having a computer that I genuinely don't need to think about.

Next step is ditching my work-provided Windows laptop for a ChromeBook...

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#122

Post by tluyben2 »

youllknow wrote: post #54
terminalcommand wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On this price range, are there any advantages of using a Chromebook rather than purchasing an old refurbished business laptop such as x230? They seem to be going for the same price range.

because x230 is ugly pos, heavy, big while buttons still feel cramped and has bad battery life (compared to any new chromebooks)

With the 9 cell I get easily 15 hours while developing. Not sure which Chromebooks you are talking about. But I prefer the x220 over the 230. Haven't tried the 240 which is now starting to get cheap second hand here.

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#123

Post by grumdan »

mschuster91 wrote: post #82
lallysingh wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So a thinkpad.

Give me a Thinkpad with a full aluminium body, a touchpad with a size that's actually usable and we'll talk. Sorry but I have developed a real dislike for small touchpads incapable of reliable gestures and full plastic bodies.

This is pretty subjective, but I spend a lot more time typing than using the touchpad and while the MBPs touchpad may be nicer, I think the MacBook keyboards can't hold a candle to ThinkPad keyboards. I'm happy to trade a worse touchpad for that any day.

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#124

Post by grover_hartmann »

mattnewton wrote: post #110
willtim wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A metal body is heavy, prone to dents and attenuates radio. Why are you so keen on having one? The X1 Carbon is lighter, tougher and more serviceable than a MacBook Pro, in part because of a better choice of materials. As for trackpads, Apple keep making them larger and larger, so a ThinkPad trackpad is no smaller than a MacBook from a few years ago. The keyboard is surely the primary concern.

The trackpad is also terrible compared to modern MacBooks aside from the size. It flexes, feels worse and does not reliably track gestures. The whole thing feels stuck a decade ago.

> The whole thing feels stuck a decade ago.

Says the macOS user... did you even get a newer version of bash yet? I heard even Debian stable has a newer bash version than macOS.

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#126

Post by Volt »

chungy wrote: post #90
sp332 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's funny, but just because it says it's not an emulator... Well, see this page where it used to be short for Windows Emulator. http://www.faqs.org/faqs/windows-emulation/wine-faq/

There is a lot of confusion about what emulation means, and the name shifted to reflect that it will not, in fact, allow you to run your x86 Windows EXEs on a SPARC or PowerPC.

It's emulating the Windows libraries, not the CPU instructions.

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#127

Post by omeid2 »

pier25 wrote: post #105
tambourine_man wrote: post #70

You hear that Adobe? You now have a lot of potential costumers to sell your Creative Cloud package to. I bet those Chromebooks are selling like hot cakes and many schools would love to offer training for your tools. As a side benefit, you'd get a lot of neglected Pro Apple costumers (well, one at least), which would love to use some blessed by Adobe Linux distro. Also… >…meaning that even less powerful machines shoul…

I seriously doubt Adobe will release Linux apps, ever. They hardly can keep up with Mac and Windows...

The tide is shifting, I thought Microsoft would never endorser Linux, but here we are with at least two three version of Microsoft Linux.

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#128

Post by newnewpdro »

I assume the reason this is being abstracted behind a VM where the app must bring not just a userspace but its own kernel is because Chrome OS is about to become Fuchsia, and the only vestige of Linux on the future Chrome OS devices will be in a VM for niche applications.

Hooray.

This isn't more Linux, this is a compatibility step towards less Linux being spun as something else.

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#129

Post by Koshkin »

willtim wrote: post #97
mschuster91 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Give me a Thinkpad with a full aluminium body, a touchpad with a size that's actually usable and we'll talk. Sorry but I have developed a real dislike for small touchpads incapable of reliable gestures and full plastic bodies.

A metal body is heavy, prone to dents and attenuates radio. Why are you so keen on having one? The X1 Carbon is lighter, tougher and more serviceable than a MacBook Pro, in part because of a better choice of materials. As for trackpads, Apple keep making them larger and larger, so a ThinkPad trackpad is no smaller than a MacBook from a few years ago. The keyboard is surely the primary concern.

> A metal body is heavy

You are thinking of cast iron, probably.

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#130

Post by toast0 »

paultopia wrote: post #41

I think this is great. I bought a chromebook flip a couple of years ago, with the intention of putting Linux on it---only to find that the hardware is depressingly bad and the ARM processor makes the Linux experience terrible (had to install Arch, never did manage to make basic things like the JVM work right, eventually gave up on it). Since then, I've been very skeptical of the notion of buying chromebooks as cheap…

> Since then, I've been very skeptical of the notion of buying chromebooks as cheap and lightweight mobile working tools.

You have to be careful about which processor powers your Chromebook if you want to do non chrome os things. The processors from the mainstream core line (Haswell, Skylake) etc do pretty well, although they're usually fairly low clocked. The chromebooks with Atom or ARM processors usually have a harder time booting other things, and the ARM linux ecosystem is a lot trickier than the x86-64 ecosystem.

Avoiding Atom processors is harder than it looks, because Intel keeps changing the branding, probably to confuse users.

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