Chromebooks outsold Macs for the first time in the US • Hacker News Board

Re: Chromebooks outsold Macs for the first time in the US

#71

Post by pdpi » Fri, May 20, 2016, 8:05 PM UTC

grillvogel wrote: post #10

mamurphy wrote: post #5

Reddit[0] attributes this largely to Chromebooks snatching up most of the K-12 education market from iPads, with Google vaulting ahead while Apple was under-prioritizing that market. Motivations school districts might have for switching: (1) Cheaper, (2) Keyboards are nice for typing, (3), More resilient over time due to easy software updates, and (4) Easier to debug (similar to prior point; nothing is stored locally…

reddit comments are a source now?

Don't think of it as being an authoritative source. "While we're having this discussion over here, another group had a similar discussion and reached these conclusions" is valuable input just the same

Re: Chromebooks outsold Macs for the first time in the US

#72

Post by SyneRyder » Fri, May 20, 2016, 8:08 PM UTC

codingvelocity wrote: post #25

vox_mollis wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem there is that Google will likely release an updated Chromebook Pixel soon, also. With coreboot enabling installation of Linux on the Pixel for developers (And stock ChromeOS for regular users, of course), there is no reason to prefer MBP over the Pixel.

Requiring apple hardware to develop for ios is a pretty big reason to prefer mbp over pixel. Even if you aren't an ios developer, a development shop that does mobile will most likely deploy macs to their developers.

Similarly, if you develop cross-platform, having a MacBook Pro that can do Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & Linux development all from one device is really compelling.

Re: Chromebooks outsold Macs for the first time in the US

#73

Post by mixedmath » Fri, May 20, 2016, 8:08 PM UTC

Kluny wrote: post #66

mixedmath wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use a Chromebook. But I also put it in devmode, put on Crouton, and run a full-blown Ubuntu on it as well. Everyone I know with a Chromebook does the same thing. Then it becomes an inexpensive Linux Laptop that handles some things automatically.

Do you replace Chrome OS with Ubuntu, dual boot, or run it in a VM? Do you spend most of your time in Chrome OS or in Ubuntu?

I don't actually do any of those three. Underneath ChromeOS is a *nix variant. So Crouton actually allows one to change the root directory to something else [like away from the meaningless root that ChromeOS puts you in, essentially in a Downloads directory, and to the actual root of the machine].

In practice, this means that if I hit a three key chord, then I flip over to a regular xfce, and if I hit another three key chord I go back to ChromeOS.

I do all web-browsing in ChromeOS. I do all programming and textediting in xfce. Or rather in vim, using my standard vim setup. [I'm a mathematician, so I do somewhat minor programming and lots and lots of LaTeX writing].

Re: Chromebooks outsold Macs for the first time in the US

#74

Post by SwellJoe » Fri, May 20, 2016, 8:08 PM UTC

bluedino wrote: post #41

SwellJoe wrote: post #16

That's hard to believe (I believe it, but it struck me as incredible at first). I don't know anyone with a Chromebook, and it's such a different way of computing that it's hard to believe it's taken off so much in such a short time. I think it is reflective of a new generation whose first computing experience was with phones and tablets. The idea that nothing of importance lives on the device is a huge paradigm shift…

>> A Chromebook is so much more empowering than an iPad or tablet >> A keyboard opens up the door to really building and creating, USB ports allow expansion >> and Chrome OS is hackable in ways tablets are not. And a PC or Mac laptop is all of things, and so much more.

Yes, and I said I believe that Chromebooks are replacing tablets rather than laptops. If a kid is getting a "not-quite-a-computer", I'd much rather it be a Chromebook than an iPad.

Re: Chromebooks outsold Macs for the first time in the US

#75

Post by pavlov » Fri, May 20, 2016, 8:08 PM UTC

SwellJoe wrote: post #16

That's hard to believe (I believe it, but it struck me as incredible at first). I don't know anyone with a Chromebook, and it's such a different way of computing that it's hard to believe it's taken off so much in such a short time. I think it is reflective of a new generation whose first computing experience was with phones and tablets. The idea that nothing of importance lives on the device is a huge paradigm shift…

The idea that nothing of importance lives on the device is a huge paradigm shift ...

Rich vs. thin client is a pendulum that seems to swing about every 10-20 years.

In the mid-'70s, a computer was a big box by IBM or DEC with a number of thin terminals attached. These had enough power to display a screenful of interactive information without having to talk to the server constantly (sort of like an early version of HTML forms).

Then PCs happened, and suddenly you could have your very own device with a slice of the power of that DEC. The client was suddenly so rich but widely available connectivity so slow -- 300-1200 bps modems -- that most people never connected to a server (except for special national networks like France's Minitel).

By the mid-'90s, thin was in again. Sun and Oracle defined a "Network Computer" spec. Apple was planning to build devices for it, but then Jobs had better ideas and the NC never really took off.

So we got ever richer clients in even more personal form factors. The iPhone became the ultimate rich client: in the App Store model, each online service provider is expected to build a native binary and deliver it through Apple. Microsoft has been plotting along similar lines with the Universal Windows platform.

At the same time Google has been trying to push the pendulum back to the thin end. With the new "Instant Apps" model [1], even Android is being turned into a web-like platform of app fragments delivered on the fly. Will be interesting to see how far they can take this -- will the Android runtime be part of Chrome eventually?

[1] http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2016/05/android-insta...

Re: Chromebooks outsold Macs for the first time in the US

#76

Post by esturk » Fri, May 20, 2016, 8:13 PM UTC

jkot wrote: post #11

duaneb wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Somehow I don't think that their hardware is as much an issue as their price point. As a developer you'd still be a fool (or just loaded with elbow grease) to attempt developing with a chrome book.

Whats wrong with Pixel? 16GB RAM, i7 CPU... I was seriously considering it as my primary dev machine.

32GB and at most 64GB. Ok if you use it as advertised. But in this thread's context if you were to install Crouton/Ubuntu on it, that's small.

Re: Chromebooks outsold Macs for the first time in the US

#77

Post by catskull » Fri, May 20, 2016, 8:14 PM UTC

Kluny wrote: post #66

mixedmath wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use a Chromebook. But I also put it in devmode, put on Crouton, and run a full-blown Ubuntu on it as well. Everyone I know with a Chromebook does the same thing. Then it becomes an inexpensive Linux Laptop that handles some things automatically.

Do you replace Chrome OS with Ubuntu, dual boot, or run it in a VM? Do you spend most of your time in Chrome OS or in Ubuntu?

So with Crouton, you don't actually dual boot. It's more like a VM, but it uses the same kernel that Chrome OS uses, so it's more like Docker than Virtualbox.

I have a cheap 11" Acer C720 and I probably use it more than my Macbook Pro. I have command line only Ubuntu installed, and the result is a tab I can open to have a full linux shell, much like how you would use a macbook. For all intents and purposes, it's the same OS, but it's not.

A few things I particularly like are battery like (maybe 8 hours?), no fans, matte screen, and macbook like keyboard and trackpad. Also Chrome OS maps the F1/F2 keys to forward/backward keys in Chrome, which I use all the time surprisingly.

All in all, I would highly recommend a Chromebook. For development it's great. If you don't want to use Crouton, a linode server you can SSH into is just as good as a macbook really. Now that they will be able to run all Android apps, it's even more tempting.

Re: Chromebooks outsold Macs for the first time in the US

#78

Post by vilmosi » Fri, May 20, 2016, 8:40 PM UTC

azernik wrote: post #38

SwellJoe wrote: post #16

That's hard to believe (I believe it, but it struck me as incredible at first). I don't know anyone with a Chromebook, and it's such a different way of computing that it's hard to believe it's taken off so much in such a short time. I think it is reflective of a new generation whose first computing experience was with phones and tablets. The idea that nothing of importance lives on the device is a huge paradigm shift…

I'm in my mid-20s, and I'm not comfortable with nothing living on the device :-P

You're not the new generation though

Re: Chromebooks outsold Macs for the first time in the US

#79

Post by qubex » Fri, May 20, 2016, 8:44 PM UTC

matheweis wrote: post #2

Not surprised ... Apple hasn't put out a laptop with up-to-date specs for years. I'm a lifelong Mac user and I'm unhappy with their current specs.

I disagree. The early 2016 MacBook (just refreshed) with the maxed-out BTO m7/512GB config is entirely satisfying.

Re: Chromebooks outsold Macs for the first time in the US

#80

Post by yardie » Fri, May 20, 2016, 8:48 PM UTC

keithpeter wrote: post #70

yardie wrote: post #55

I'm curious, but is a Chromebook useful in offline mode? My family and I have been on sabbatical sailing half the planet so far. Internet has been a big headache as Iridium tops out at 2400bps. And data plans in developing countries and islands can be extremely expensive, up to $1/MB. I've found our android tablets to be more crashy offline as apps that can't get an internet connection go braindead, blank, or just ki…

"...on sabbatical sailing half the planet so far... Internet has been a big headache as Iridium tops out at 2400bps..." Interesting use case. How about a solid refurbished laptop (or rooted Chromebook) with a set of Debian stable DVDs (you can install thousands of packages offline) and a local install of Wikipedia[1] and a dump of Project Gutenberg[2]? Save that couple of kilobauds for email. [1] http://xowa.org/home…

I was really interested in ChromeOS. We have a loads of laptops and tablets onboard for entertainment, navigation, schooling, and boat management.

I saw that the Chromebooks were really popular and figure it might replace one or two of our laptops that are slowly dissolving in the salty air. But working offline for months at time is essential. This old battle axe of a Macbook Pro will have to keep on trucking. I've already lost the SD-card slot and glass is cracked (dropped from a motorbike)