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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 thi

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.

Kluny 10y ago
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?
- mixedmath 10y ago
  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].
- catskull 10y ago
  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.
  - phamilton 10y ago
    > 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'm amused by this explanation, because I grew up doing chroot before virtualization took off and obviously before Docker. Feeling old.
    - lotyrin 10y ago
      I don't know if it's age really. I've explained, to developers well older than me things like "well, this practice is bad because <reasons> here's an article from <before I was born>" or having to translate old fundamental concepts into their latest hip implementations. "this use calls less for virtualization and more for something like a Chroot..." "what?" "Sorry I mean like a Jail... cgroups...? LXC...? sigh Docker." "Oh! Yeah, that makes sense. nods as if they understand"
      - phamilton 10y ago
        The funny thing is, I'm not old. I'm under 30. I just started young, on my own, and fell in with some more experienced sysadmin crowds.
  - tbirdz 10y ago
    >No fans I think you must be mistaken on this. I own a C720, and there is a fan in it. You can see it in the upper left of this picture: https://www.chromium.org/_/rsrc/1381990807648/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices/acer-c720-chromebook/c720-chromebook-annotated-innards.png https://www.chromium.org/_/rsrc/1381990807648/chromium-os/de...
notacoward 10y ago
Same here. Anybody who repeats the "Chromebooks are for kids who don't do anything sophisticated with their computers" schtick is just showing off their ignorance. A decent Chromebook (e.g. a Pixel or soon one of the HP/Acer models) plus Crouton is a more real development machine than anything Apple ever made, because it's more like the server where you'll eventually deploy. Then, unlike any of the other dozen Linux laptops I've had, it works and continues to work without requiring constant technically-proficient care just to keep things like wifi or suspend/resume from breaking. Mine replaced both an MBA and a Zenbook running Fedora. Haven't looked back since I got it.
- millstone 10y ago
  > Crouton is a more real development machine than anything Apple ever made, because it's more like the server where you'll eventually deploy Well, this assumes one particular type of development! I would not choose a Chromebook to develop, say, Chrome! I tried Crouton a few years ago, wanting to run xbmc. Audio didn't work, because it required a newer version of the Linux kernel. It turns out you can't just install a stock Linux kernel: you have to use a patched device-specific kernel that Google provides, and for my device, the Google-provided kernel was too old. Perhaps I could have built some frankenkernel, but instead I gave up and got a real Linux box. I would not try to use Crouton again for a general Linux box, because you become dependent on Google for updating core software.
  - notacoward 10y ago
    Yes, and it would be fantastic to use a Mac or Windows box to debug something involving Linux kernel drivers, right? There will always be special cases. Sometimes there's only one solution, and you take what you can get within those parameters. I've worked on "one of this exists in the world" kinds of hardware a few times myself. Nonetheless, the "Chromebooks are for n00bs" meme is still BS. For the majority of people who are in love with their Macbooks, a high-end Chromebook is a more than adequate alternative. The fact that it didn't suit your special needs doesn't change that.
    - 10y ago
curt15 10y ago
Do you find the anemic storage limiting?
- 1st_throwaway 10y ago
  A 128gb usb drive costs very little now.
  - ralmidani 10y ago
    I have the Samsung Chromebook 2 (Exynos CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage). I tried using a Class 10 MicroSD card to hold an Ember-CLI project, and running commands on it was intolerably slow.
  - khedoros 10y ago
    A drive 4-8x that size would be nice (and not hanging off the side of the computer).
- Pinckney 10y ago
  I have a similar setup, and ran into storage problems pretty quickly. Eventually I reflashed it and installed Linux natively, and got a fast 64GB SD card for my home partition.

Kluny 10y ago

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?

mixedmath 10y ago
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].
catskull 10y ago
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.
- phamilton 10y ago
  > 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'm amused by this explanation, because I grew up doing chroot before virtualization took off and obviously before Docker. Feeling old.
  - lotyrin 10y ago
    I don't know if it's age really. I've explained, to developers well older than me things like "well, this practice is bad because <reasons> here's an article from <before I was born>" or having to translate old fundamental concepts into their latest hip implementations. "this use calls less for virtualization and more for something like a Chroot..." "what?" "Sorry I mean like a Jail... cgroups...? LXC...? sigh Docker." "Oh! Yeah, that makes sense. nods as if they understand"
    - phamilton 10y ago
      The funny thing is, I'm not old. I'm under 30. I just started young, on my own, and fell in with some more experienced sysadmin crowds.
- tbirdz 10y ago
  >No fans I think you must be mistaken on this. I own a C720, and there is a fan in it. You can see it in the upper left of this picture: https://www.chromium.org/_/rsrc/1381990807648/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices/acer-c720-chromebook/c720-chromebook-annotated-innards.png https://www.chromium.org/_/rsrc/1381990807648/chromium-os/de...

notacoward 10y ago

Same here. Anybody who repeats the "Chromebooks are for kids who don't do anything sophisticated with their computers" schtick is just showing off their ignorance. A decent Chromebook (e.g. a Pixel or soon one of the HP/Acer models) plus Crouton is a more real development machine than anything Apple ever made, because it's more like the server where you'll eventually deploy. Then, unlike any of the other dozen Linux laptops I've had, it works and continues to work without requiring constant technically-proficient care just to keep things like wifi or suspend/resume from breaking. Mine replaced both an MBA and a Zenbook running Fedora. Haven't looked back since I got it.

millstone 10y ago
> Crouton is a more real development machine than anything Apple ever made, because it's more like the server where you'll eventually deploy Well, this assumes one particular type of development! I would not choose a Chromebook to develop, say, Chrome! I tried Crouton a few years ago, wanting to run xbmc. Audio didn't work, because it required a newer version of the Linux kernel. It turns out you can't just install a stock Linux kernel: you have to use a patched device-specific kernel that Google provides, and for my device, the Google-provided kernel was too old. Perhaps I could have built some frankenkernel, but instead I gave up and got a real Linux box. I would not try to use Crouton again for a general Linux box, because you become dependent on Google for updating core software.
- notacoward 10y ago
  Yes, and it would be fantastic to use a Mac or Windows box to debug something involving Linux kernel drivers, right? There will always be special cases. Sometimes there's only one solution, and you take what you can get within those parameters. I've worked on "one of this exists in the world" kinds of hardware a few times myself. Nonetheless, the "Chromebooks are for n00bs" meme is still BS. For the majority of people who are in love with their Macbooks, a high-end Chromebook is a more than adequate alternative. The fact that it didn't suit your special needs doesn't change that.
  - 10y ago

curt15 10y ago

Do you find the anemic storage limiting?

1st_throwaway 10y ago
A 128gb usb drive costs very little now.
- ralmidani 10y ago
  I have the Samsung Chromebook 2 (Exynos CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage). I tried using a Class 10 MicroSD card to hold an Ember-CLI project, and running commands on it was intolerably slow.
- khedoros 10y ago
  A drive 4-8x that size would be nice (and not hanging off the side of the computer).
Pinckney 10y ago
I have a similar setup, and ran into storage problems pretty quickly. Eventually I reflashed it and installed Linux natively, and got a fast 64GB SD card for my home partition.