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Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products

arstechnica.com

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Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products

#201

Post by Rebelgecko »

mkozlows wrote: post #188
Rebelgecko wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we look at Alphabet and not just Google, there's the Revolv hub that was bricked. However they assured us that it's not the end... just the beginning of a new wonderful chapter in the journey of home automation, and sorry that the hardware we sold you doesn't work any more http://revolv.com/

That's a product that was made by a failed company that Google acquihired people from. And Google supported it well past when that company would have if they had died on their own.

Did people that bought it know that their "lifetime subscriptions" would end in less than 2 years, and that they'd only get 1 month's notice before their houses stopped working? You'd think that a company like Google would have the resources to keep a single VM running to support them, or do what other companies have done and release a firmware update that allows limited offline capabilities.

Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products

#202

Post by robocat »

oceliker wrote: post #167
robocat wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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, co…

Sorry, I shouldn't have been inflammatory with "Apple tax". We spent more than $3000, and we are not particularly price sensitive (I was buying the maxed-out configuration, not mid-range). At the time I bought it, the XPS 15 has a better specification than what I could choose from Apple (in New Zealand).

I spent a few hours looking, and I did seriously consider buying the top-spec Apple available. I do use MacOS at work sometimes, although I prefer Linux, and I came from a Windows background.

The Dell appeared to have better drivers for Linux than the Macbook Pro, and the XPS has been a good purchase (rock solid so far, no issues).

Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products

#203

Post by Zigurd »

drdeadringer wrote: post #23

I may be soon in the market for a new Android tablet. Does anybody have suggestions?

I'm delaying a decision on an Android tablet:

1. This news plants doubt about whether the ChromeOS/Android hybrid in the Pixel Slate is The New Way or a dead end.

2. Google has botched the evolution of Android's tablet capabilities and tablet support in app frameworks so badly there may not be a future for Android tablets outside of Samsung's proprietary extensions to Android. Let that sink in: Samsung may be, by default, leading the Android tablet future.

3. I don't like what Samsung does to Android. This is a matter of taste. But I know I don't like it.

Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products

#204

Post by nl »

kamarg wrote: post #111
tannhaeuser wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Three gripes with my Dell XPS13. 1) The docking station is horribly buggy. If I unplug it to take my laptop somewhere and then plug it back in, I have to do a full reboot or none of the USB peripherals on the docking station get power. Monitors, power, ethernet all still work through the docking station after being plugged back in. Dell support took 4hrs of my time installing/uninstalling drivers and firmware updates…

This is all the stuff that puts me off trying (again) to get a Linux Laptop. I just don't want to bother with it!

I've (sadly) heard similar reports for Linux on Thinkpads (eg https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/9fos6i/x1_extreme... - and plenty of other reports on other models).

Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products

#205

Post by mehrdadn »

robocat wrote: post #87

Please 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…

Is the world filled with that many 15" i9 laptops nowadays m that your problem is really Linux compatibility and the price? I had a hard enough time finding a reasonable quad core a year ago.

Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products

#206

Post by DanCarvajal »

xvector wrote: post #172
pgeorgi wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They discontinue products too fast. Fashionable trope, but apparently this is more about unreleased products not being released? Every company has these, software, hardware or otherwise.

I'm sorry, but I definitely don't see this behavior from Apple or Microsoft.

What are you talking about? Microsoft courier never launched, Microsoft band was cancelled, Microsoft Kin phones were killed, Windows Phones were killed, plus their entertainment division has lots of cancellations. Microsoft cancels things all the time.

Apple's got its own cancellations, maybe less noticeable stuff like their routers and cinema displays. But the photography world still mourns Aperture.

Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products

#207

Post by bubblethink »

automathematics wrote: post #192
robocat wrote: post #87

Please 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…

Have you kept up with the Pixelbook development? Chrome OS is pretty great for general "cloud" work (AWS management for example). It runs containerized Android apps (which I use to run the native Gmail app to fly through my inbox). But that's nothing compared to the new stuff. It runs containerized linux with a great abstraction layer that connects GUI calls from linux into the beautiful hi-dpi Chrome OS desktop envi…

The main downsides are the wimpy processors, soldered ram, storage and wifi cards, poor repairability, non upstreamed code.

Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products

#208

Post by robocat »

automathematics wrote: post #192
robocat wrote: post #87

Please 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…

Have you kept up with the Pixelbook development? Chrome OS is pretty great for general "cloud" work (AWS management for example). It runs containerized Android apps (which I use to run the native Gmail app to fly through my inbox). But that's nothing compared to the new stuff. It runs containerized linux with a great abstraction layer that connects GUI calls from linux into the beautiful hi-dpi Chrome OS desktop envi…

As the article says "A report from Business Insider claims that Google has axed 'dozens' of employees from its laptop and tablet division."

I would love a Pixelbook, but I need a laptop if I want to work while travelling - I often end up with poor cellular data (or none at all!).

Does having both a laptop and a pixelbook make sense?

Work also bought a device to get satellite data - so that we can do operational support while in "remote" areas in New Zealand (plenty of areas we go to that lack mobile coverage) or when travelling overseas.

Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products

#209

Post by opan »

robocat wrote: post #87

Please 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…

https://mntre.com/reform/ You may like the sound of this.

Re: Google Hardware makes cuts to laptop and tablet development, cancels products

#210

Post by robocat »

nl wrote: post #204
kamarg wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Three gripes with my Dell XPS13. 1) The docking station is horribly buggy. If I unplug it to take my laptop somewhere and then plug it back in, I have to do a full reboot or none of the USB peripherals on the docking station get power. Monitors, power, ethernet all still work through the docking station after being plugged back in. Dell support took 4hrs of my time installing/uninstalling drivers and firmware updates…

This is all the stuff that puts me off trying (again) to get a Linux Laptop. I just don't want to bother with it! I've (sadly) heard similar reports for Linux on Thinkpads (eg https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/9fos6i/x1_extreme... - and plenty of other reports on other models).

Did you intend to answer someone that is having troubles with Windows on their XPS?

Ubuntu 18.04 has been rock solid for me on the XPS, and it has been getting BIOS updates (and Linux has been getting device driver updates if I want to reinstall).

Linux worked perfectly on the Toshiba I had for the previous 4 years (I didn't buy it with Linux in mind, it just worked).

In my experience, Windows laptops often get "driver rot" over time (amongst other issues). As a developer I can usually fix the Windows issues, but it certainly is not a painless task.

Dell's XPS Windows drivers were particularly bad considering the sticker price - Windows blue-screened two clicks into the install after opening the box - and I had some other blue-screen problems that took me a while to resolve when I first got the laptop. I haven't booted into Windows after installing Ubuntu, and Ubuntu has given me far less trouble than Windows (on this machine).

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