Earlier quoted context omitted.
Chrome OS comes with Linux VMs now. You can do most dev work with it
Do you have to enable developer mode, and if so, does it stay enabled between boots?
And yes it does stay enabled.
Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products
161–170 of 270 posts
Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products
#162The biggest issue that I have with google is product sustainability -- if something doesn't seem to have "Hockey stick" levels of growth and use, google kills it. Do I want to spend $500 on yet another google branded brick?
Does Google kill hardware often? What's the previous Google brick you can remember?
> Does Google kill hardware often?
Its killed several hardware projects (Nexus Q comes to mind immediately, though that only got into anyone's hands as a prerelease version at I/O 2012), but I don't know that any of those have involved bricking devices already sold (though cutting off software support and associated services may have reduced the potential lifespan for some, but that happens for old models from most makers even if the project isn't killed; Nexus Q, for instance, had support dropped in Google Play Music and Google Movies & TV in May and June of 2013.)
Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products
#163Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you looked at Thinkpad? You could run linux on Carbon X1 and have ultra-mobile package with i7. $1500 but you have one of the best laptops in the market in my view - keyboard, screen, size, weight, feel, specs, battery life, etc. I own the latest Macbook Pro 15 and Carbon X1 6th gen. I want to pick up my thinkpad more than the MacBook. I find Aluminum not a good material for laptops - it is uninviting, heavy and…
You are overstating the price differential. I'm seeing $2182 Thinkpad vs $2599 MacBook Pro--choices driven by WQHD display, 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD. Processor on the Pro is significantly faster, the display on the Mac has slightly higher resolution. Maybe not $400 worth of difference, but certainly almost $200 or so. And I still can't buy an i5 laptop with 32GB of RAM.
I have no intention of comparing MacBook Pro specs to Thinkpad specs. I was merely pointing out the build quality of Thinkpad vs MacBook Pro.
That was the extent of the reason why I talked about MacBook Pro.
Also I bought my Thinkpad refurbed almost fully specced our for $1499 on eBay. i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, HDR 2.5k display, etc.
Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure I understand what your issue with the Dell is. I mean I have a Dell XPS 15. It's... fine, I guess. As for the so-called "Apple tax", I just don't buy into this. I mean I miss the glory days of the 2011-2012 Macbook Airs. These were so cheaply priced they destroyed the competition because no one could produce a similar spec laptop at that price point. But then the numbers men decided dropping the average…
> I guarantee you that if Google produced the laptop that you and 22 other people would buy you'd hear nothing but complaints about it. Counterpoint: I know plenty of happy developers that own multiple Nexus and Pixel products, without bagging them. Engineers want good hardware and many are willing to pay for quality. > As for the so-called "Apple tax" For as close to equivalent as I could get (specification, reliabi…
> Paying for an unused Windows license for the XPS was unavoidable
The website gives you the option to save $90 if you have them install linux on the XPS 13. I suspect you may be able to call and get the same deal on the XPS 15. At least when I was buying from them 20 years ago you could do that...
Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the appeal of laptops for software engineering? Tiny screens and attached keyboards are a recipe for hand and spine problems.
I'm not following. OP asked for a linux based software engineering laptop. The ones available are not hitting the mark. Why?
You want a couple things for an engineering laptop: Linux support, good hardware (screen, keyboard, build, trackpad, etc), and enterprise guarantees.
XPS sort of does that, but you're still dealing with Dell which has it's own hiccups (variable build quality, archaic sales methods, etc.), also the XPS line isn't quite commercial grade. Thinkpads typically have good Linux support, but sometimes as with these last 6th gen X1's it takes some work to get it right.
The hard part is ultimately enterprise reliability. I want to confidence I can buy 2000 of these for my army of engineers and not overload IT with issues. This kind of support is common enough, but not necessarily for Linux laptops. Hell it'd probably be easier with Linux, the issue is more if the market is big enough to support the operational costs of enterprise support.
Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products
#166I'm looking forward to the upcoming announcement of a Google game console in 2019 [0], and the subsequent announcement that it has been discontinued in 2022. [0] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/03/all-signs-point-to-a...
Agreed. There's no way I'd buy a Google gaming console for this reason.
This is the issue with most Google products/services, period.
Literally nothing outside of Google's core services is trustworthy. Even their mail isn't entirely trustworthy! I've come to rely on Inbox and it's being killed for an inferior product.
Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products
#167Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you need a fast laptop? No one I know actually does (although I’m sure some people do). Text editing and web browsing don’t require much horsepower. In my opinion, compiling shouldn’t happen on a laptop in the first place: this is why one of my friends has a mega-sized server than he just runs builds and trains ML models on. An old laptop will run any Linux distro flawlessly and be equally snappy (as in, low-laten…
It is simply that my time is expensive. For the $1000 it costs for a faster laptop, work gets many thousands of dollars back due to more efficient development. I could waste time optimising disk space, waiting for compiles (the developer tools we use need single-core CPU performance), enchancing the performance of development tools, waiting for VMs to boot, waiting for Windows VM to update, waste time shutting down t…
> For the $1000 it costs for a faster laptop, work gets many thousands of dollars back due to more efficient development.
In that case, why are you looking for a “reasonably priced” laptop? The Apple tax is indeed 50% or more, but it should be a straightforward decision if it fits your other requirements.
Sure, there are diminishing returns; but I don’t see why you wouldn’t spring up $3000 for a maxed out Macbook, considering the cost is still orders of magnitude less than what your business brings in. Unless you really hate the touch bar?
Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products
#168Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you looked at Thinkpad? You could run linux on Carbon X1 and have ultra-mobile package with i7. $1500 but you have one of the best laptops in the market in my view - keyboard, screen, size, weight, feel, specs, battery life, etc. I own the latest Macbook Pro 15 and Carbon X1 6th gen. I want to pick up my thinkpad more than the MacBook. I find Aluminum not a good material for laptops - it is uninviting, heavy and…
You are overstating the price differential. I'm seeing $2182 Thinkpad vs $2599 MacBook Pro--choices driven by WQHD display, 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD. Processor on the Pro is significantly faster, the display on the Mac has slightly higher resolution. Maybe not $400 worth of difference, but certainly almost $200 or so. And I still can't buy an i5 laptop with 32GB of RAM.
Lenovo, like Apple, charges a ridiculous markup on SSDs. However, unlike with a Macbook Pro their laptops are user serviceable.
If you want a 1TB SSD and know how to use a screwdriver, you can save $250 by buying the SSD yourself. If you're willing to start with a 256GB SSD and hold off on upgrading until you actually outgrow your storage space, you could save even more.
Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products
#169Please build me a Linux laptop for software engineering, Google. For engineers only. No software support beyond ensuring the BIOS and the drivers work and are updated. I hate Dell, but I got a Dell XPS 15 because it was the only laptop I knew would: boot Linux reliably; last two Ubuntu LTS upgrades (4 years); have a high spec (i9 etc); and was reasonably priced (Apple tax was 50% higher for worse hardware). Is it imp…
What is it about Dell that you hate? Anyways, Thinkpads are also held in high esteem for running Linux. I'm currently using a Dell XPS (2016 model) at home and a Thinkpad at my current customer project, both running Ubuntu 16.04, and I can recommend both. I chose the Thinkpad over a MacBook Pro, and would do again, but the display and touchpad is no match to Dell's, much less Apple's; that's however no problem becaus…
^+1 for Thinkpads running Linux. Switched from MBPs to these a year ago, never going back.
Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products
#170Earlier quoted context omitted.
The only thing they have going for them is: * They have the most popular operating system in the world * They have the most popular browser in the world * They have the most popular search engine in the world * They have the most popular advertising network in the world * They have the most popular video platform in the world * They have the most popular mapping software in the world * They have the third most popula…
Some devil's advocate: 1) They bought Android - they didn't build it in-house. 2) They bought Double Click - they didn't build it in-house 3) They bought YouTube- they didn't build it in-house 4) Third most popular cloud platform is a bit disingenuous; it's like saying Apple Maps is a top mapping platform: sure, you're kind of right, but the gap at the top is fairly wide. (You might even make the case that the best p…
Are they still third in cloud if you don't count Microsoft's Office revenue?