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Any Chromebook Users here?
Any Chromebook users here? Any experiences to share?
I have just tried a Chromebook hands-on in a store and while it comes with an Intel Celeron processor and only 4GB RAM along with 64GB eMMC storage, I was quite impressed by how fast it would power on and perform in general. It was quite light-weigth (there were different models, though) and looked decent enough. ChromeOS comes over as simple and elegant, like a cheap version of MacBook perhaps. The app-store and simplicity certainly remind me of that (although Ubuntu/Debian also have an appstore ofc). Battery apparently is good enough and the display was fine, too. The tasks I'd use it for would probably be to work with Word/Office for Uni, code some, watch YouTube/Flix and perhaps take some notes. The PlayStore/Android-Like environment seems good enough for that.
I also tried using Divi WordPress Builder, editing WP sites, usig Canva and other SaaS tools and could work online without any noticeable lags/issues.
The price is really affordable, too (229€).
I do have a small Windows Tablet which is, technically, more performant. However, somehow I feel like this simplicity of a snappy laptop with ChromeOS could be something I'd really love.
The guy at the store mentioned it can only be used online , but googling this I found that it actually (as expected) also works offline. I assume what the dude meant was I can still use Word, Flix downloaded episodes or other offline supported apps, but some may not work? Does anyone know if Internet is required to start-up the Chromebook and login?
The Chromebook I was looking at was this one:
Comments
I have a Lenovo Duet and for the most part it's decent enough although I prefer to use a Mac/PC laptop most of the time.
I tend to use it docked to the keyboard for browsing the web, Although I do have a few android apps on it, it's handy to have on the edge of the desk to use as a 2nd machine.
Some of them can run debian in a container (crostini, can replace the debian with something else with a bit of work) - There's a couple of Apps I run that way but anything heavy will run pretty slowly.
Mines an ARM one rather than intel.
I have an HP x360 as my daily driver and I love it. 12 hours of battery, backlit keyboard, touchscreen, turns into a tablet, runs Android apps. It's awesome and it cost me like $250 when I bought it. It still performs like day 1 pretty much 2 years later. It's an 8th gen i3.
Thanks for the feedback! I also do have a PC rig and a Windows Tablet (Acer, too). That being said it would be very much what you describe as a "second machine" (or third in this case). I am thinking of this as an opportunity to boost creativity and work efficency (less distractions, clean & simple design) as well as having something to watch Flix/YT on.
I also do have some PlayStore Premium Apps (for e.g. Design), so I might use them on there, too (if available).
Can you tell me if turning on and using the chromebook works without internet? Or is internet required to actually log on your user when booting?
Damn, that one does certainly look really nice! Happy to hear you are happy with it
I already have a desktop pc and windows tablet but I feel like the Chromebook could improve my efficiency (clean & simple) and also for watching Flix/YT casually. Battery life is certainly something I have heard a lot about when it comes to chromebooks. Almost everyone I ask says it really lasts long (unlike my current windows tablet for example) and that the device ages really well (which is in line what you were saying as it appears to still be working well). I also like the idea that I can use playstore apps I already purchased and easily sync stuff back and forth. Pricing also seems to be super affordable!
Same question for you:
Can you tell me if turning on and using the chromebook works without internet? Or is internet required to actually log on your user when booting? What apps (like e.g. Word) are still usable offline?
Also: Looking at the 64GB storage, how much does the OS occupy at your Chromebook?
You don't really log out so much as lock the the thing, If it's a new login to an account that's not been used on the chromebook before then I'd imagine it would need the internet.
Normal Login just asks for a Pin a bit like unlocking an ipad.
Mine claims to be using 50GB of storage with 28GB for system, 16GB for the linux container, 3.5GB for Apps, the rest is userdata/chrome cache
Gotcha! Seems good enough! Thanks for the quick reply
Tried one for a few months. Just too limited. The remote desktop app wasn't very good, and I missed a better ssh client, emacs, etc. I wasn't going to use it for media consumption because I find an iPad or iPhone easier for that, so its only role was creation-type tasks (coding, writing, etc.) and it was too limited.
I saw no advantage to the thing. If price is the only consideration, then maybe. But otherwise, a regular laptop can do everything a chromebook can do and 100x more, so why buy a chromebook?
There are advantages in the enterprise where you want to lock down what people can do (and what viruses can do) but for the home user, it didn't appeal to me. YMMV.
I have purposedly bought a Asus C201, now running libreboot and debian. While the performance as you can guess is not great, web browsing overall is ok, software Widevine mostly works, has 10 hours battery life, plenty of software and almost everything I need to work when traveling lightly. Furthermore, due to the low cost and the support for encryption, I feel like it is not somewhat that I have to 'protect' or be especially attached to.
I guess that my go to now would be a Pinebook Pro for the same price range and better CPU and features.
I find my chromebook is perfect for cloud work.
I just click on the commmand prompt icon and have a working linux environment which I can install pretty much anything on (including GUI x-windows applications).
As far as ssh - it is the standard linux ssh so all options available.
I can also run a number of Android apps.
If I need Word/Powerpoint etc then office365 or just use Google services.
Remote drives (via sshfs / nfs) mount automatically or when required.
Chromebook is Lenovo and it has a good size touch screen and as mentioned battery life is 10+ hours.
I stopped using a Windows computer about 7 years ago and although I do have a native linux laptop, the chromebook does everything it can and more.
As in you open a terminal window and fire up /usr/bin/ssh?
When I had a Chrome book a couple years ago, the ssh client (like everything else) was a Chrome extension.
Had the original Pinebook. Absolute garbage. I realize the Pro isn't the same (the original Pinebook was RPi-based) but the build quality was so hideous that I would never buy something from that company again. They keyboard was bad, internal connectors were poorly coupled, mousepad was awful, and the screen cracked while riding inside a laptop case in the back seat of my car.
Modern Chromebooks open a 'real' terminal window with full shell access. You still have the app for use in browser url.
I can't tell about the original one, but the Pro, while it still feels a bit 'light' overall, is totally a decent shot for the buck.
Why
Thanks for chiming in, mate. Yeah, I can definitely see why it can make you feel "limited" or "restricted". For my purposes, though, I don't feel that's too bad but rather a "feature" to let me (force me) focus on getting certain tasks done.
Also interesting to hear about Pinebook, but that's not an option for me atm.
Remember which code editor you did use?
I'm never going back to a regular laptop, too used to opening the Chromebook and being ready to go in 5 seconds even from a cold boot. Bunch of premium features for lunch money and super light make it a no brainer if your workload allows it. I use ssh every day, the client is fine and it's gotten way better in the past year.
If it's one that supports Crostini then it will be a Debian container (Unless you replace it with something else, I have one based on Arch running). Therefore you can run most apps that would run in a Debian container providing they've been compiled for whichever architecture your processor is.
You can even run a Full Desktop, although you'd probably need to use VNC/RDP to access it as the display integration doesn't handle that very well.
The only problem I've had running Linux apps is they don't support tablet mode, so you'd have to do the Full DE/VNC route if you wanted to try and use one without the keyboard docked (Mines a lenovo Duet so can be used as a tablet)
Edit: If your chromebook supports crostini there should be an option in settings to enable the linux development environment.
Edit2: Anything released later than 2019 should support Crostini, The list of older devices that support it can be found at https://sites.google.com/a/chromium.org/dev/chromium-os/chrome-os-systems-supporting-linux
I think Chromebooks are very good as long as you are going to buy them with the expectation that they are mainly a web browser.
Or -- if you want to install a different operating system on them, they can be fairly nice depending on how much you spend on them. They often end up at clearance prices and are fairly nice low power machines at that point -- they aren't super performant but that also means longer battery lives.
I got a very small Chromebook (some Acer model) a few years back for <£80. It is some form of Celeron and it sits under my sofa and is useful for the odd internet browsing/opening a terminal to do something. I had run Debian on it for a little while and that was very unremarkable.
I use my iPad about 1000x more though. I just tend to keep my iPad in my office/in its case when I'm walking out the door. Idgaf if I accidentally boot my Chromebook across the room.
The only chromebook i'd buy is the c201.
If any have one new unused pm i'll buy it.
I'd just install Linux mint on it, at least that way you can limit google spying on you.
Perhaps an interesting FAQ about end of updates for those considering to get a Chromebook
I'd rather go for a Mac for a much better performance and support.
Finally pulled the trigger on a Chromebook
Got the Acer CB315 on sale (it has been a bit cheaper in the past, but this is still fine).
Acer Chromebook 15 inch (CB315-3HT-C47Q) (ChromeOS, laptop, FHD touch display, battery life: up to 12.5 hours, 4 GB LPDDR4 RAM / 64 GB eMMC, 1.63 kg light, 20.3 mm thin ).
My dad also has the CB315, so I have been able to give it enough of a test-ride by now.