Pixel Chromebook 2015 edition

[lparsons21]

Being a tech tinkerer and liking slick hardware I just got a Google Pixel Chromebook 2015 edition. I got the base model with an i5, 8Gb RAM, 32Gb SSD, HiDPI IPS screen w/touch, backlit keyboard. Base edition is $999 direct from Google. They have a 2nd version that is i7, 16Gb RAM, 64Gb SSD and all the rest and it is $1399 I think.

Both are definitely overkill for a Chromebook and are priced pretty high though the price on the base is about $300 less than the base used to be. But it is great to run the ChromeOS and Linux in a tab on. I've got Elementary OS which is Ubuntu Linux with pantheon desktop. Very similar to earlier versions of OSX's UI.

The box is very fast and with the 100/10 internet service I have at home, it is a joy to use. I've got 9 tabs open all the time, Linux running and a couple of actual ChromeOS apps and the machine is very responsive. Even threw wine on inside the Linux and it is very useable for those things that wine supports. Others have loaded Virtual Box and a full Windows on theirs and are pretty pleased too.

I spent a lot of time with this during the first 15 days to ensure I could live with it and find it valuable. It more than met my expectations and works extremely well. Linux in a tab or even running in the other mode isn't trouble free but the glitches are more minor irritants that issues. The biggest one I see when running in a tab is that after sleep, Linux is non-responsive. Just a quick windowed-full screen click or two and things are back to normal.

I put Linux on to run a real usenet client, in this case pan; and also to run Skype and Moneydance. All of those run with no issues. Printing is set up using Google Cloud Print for Linux and of course that also works from the other tabs. The only issue with Google Cloud Print if you have a 'classic' printer that doesn't directly support it is that you need Chrome running on a Windows or Mac box that has the 'classic' printer connected or is using a wireless printer as I am. The problem comes from when that computer goes to sleep, then the printer is 'offline' as far as Google Cloud Print is concerned. The solution is to get a Google Cloud Print compatible printer and fortunately you can find them starting at $60 or so.

 

[navychop]

Hmmm. I'll stick with the iPad, even if the cell data part is dying. Maybe get an Air 2 when the next model comes out and the price drops.

 

[lparsons21]

Well, the Pixel IS pricey!

But I've also got a Toshiba Chromebook 2. i3 based, 4Gb RAM, 16Gb SSD and a 16:9 full 1080p IPS screen for about $300?? Works very well and Linux runs on it quite well too. No backlit keyboard and no touch, but otherwise a fine contender in the chromebook arena.

 

[navychop]

Well I have hopes for Chromebook but they don't seem to have it quite all together yet.

I look forward to your comments as you fiddle over the months.

I feel about the printer. I finally gave up and got my MiL a MFC J870DW for her LG 7 and laptop. Still need to get it to her.

Last Linux I used was Mint. I'd love to have the time to mess with it again- but I'd rather keep my job.

 

[lparsons21]

They are getting there. They've found a welcome home in education because you can get cheap ones and boogering one is almost impossible. Apps are still an issue but most of that can be overcome with the online versions of many of them. I use Office online apps and they are more than good enough for anything I want to do with them. Primarily Excel with a little Word thrown in.

Also I can use Apple's iCloud online apps though they bitch about the Chrome browser currently. I don't actually have that need since I prefer the MS stuff a bit more. I use OneNote extensively and can 'send to OneNote' from just about anywhere.

The major downside is most of what you can do needs to be online though there is ongoing work to get more 'offline' apps out there. Also there is ongoing work to get Android apps working on them though that isn't very good right now. What got me thinking about fiddling with this was the fact that about 90% of what I do these days are all online things. Hell even all my data on my Mac or Windows boxes is saved in the cloud somewhere with some backups locally to external drives. Makes for easy 'virginizing' an OS install since the data is already not local. I've switched OS's on the Surface Pro lots of time and never lose a bit of data just a little bit of reloading software.