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The thing is, you can get a Windows laptop with a bigger SSD, more RAM and ports for the same price as a decent Chromebook. Instead of jumping through hoops to
by monkmartinez 9y ago
The thing is, you can get a Windows laptop with a bigger SSD, more RAM and ports for the same price as a decent Chromebook. Instead of jumping through hoops to run linux on chromeos, you can just install the distro of your choice as a windows replacement. My opinion: Developing on a chromebook is like typing with a hand behind your back; You can do it... but it doesn't make a lot of objective sense unless you have bizarre constraints that force you to make such concessions.
- bpye 9y ago"Okay" Chromebooks seem to cost less than the equivalent Windows laptop. The CPU and memory is often fine but I agree, they are all too often limited by the size of eMMMC storage. I managed to get a HP Chromebook 13 G1 for 250$, 3200*1800 IPS display, 4GB RAM, Core m3 CPU but 32GB eMMC. Even playing around with a compressed filesystem it's limited, especially since 4GB RAM basically mandates I have some swap space. Ultimately I'm left with about 16GB free. There is a micro SD slot but that isn't very fast.
- sharmajai 9y agoThat's an amazing price given it's retailing for more than twice that. One option to expand storage is have an always-inserted, low-profile USB 3 flash drive like SanDisk Ultra Fit, providing read speeds upto 150 MB/s.
- leggomylibro 9y agoHardKernel makes ODroid boards which offer board-mounted eMMC as an alternative storage medium; you can choose between a normal microSD card, or a small custom eMMC PCB with a mezzanine connector: http://www.vesalia.de/pic/odroidc1emmc.jpg http://www.vesalia.de/pic/odroidc1emmc.jpg It'd be cool to see flash memory slots put on ARM laptop boards like you see DRAM slots today. "16GB expandable to 2x 128GB!"
- kevin_thibedeau 9y agoM.2 SSDs are the solution. Many low end laptops support them without listing it on the spec sheet. Look around for service manuals with mobo pictures to determine what one supports before making a purchase.
- leggomylibro 9y agoYeah, good point. There's no way a custom flash chip could beat the combination of cost, density, speed, endurance, and industry-standard footprint.
- danjoc 9y ago>unless you have bizarre constraints that force you to make such concessions Like true software freedom? An ARM chromebook with Coreboot and Linux puts me squarely in Richard Stallman approved territory. Living the dream; No binary blobs on modern hardware. Freedom software for everything. I'm watching industry slowly boil the rest of you with firmware blobs, locked bootloaders, and curated app stores.
- BoorishBears 9y agoI'll take my 5GHz i7 and Intel Management Engine over software freedom and an ARM processor any day. I don't think it's living the dream unless your dream fits in the constraints of its limitations
- danjoc 9y agoIf ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom — go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! — Samuel Adams
- BoorishBears 9y agoI've never got why people bring up these 1700s quotes which have such drastically different meanings when you consider context. Like the context of this one being US independence, not a better but less open mousetrap.
- rxhernandez 9y agoJust because a certain algorithm was created to handle a very difficult problem doesn't mean it can't be used to handle much smaller problems.
- BoorishBears 9y ago
- z3t4 9y agoThe idea with ChromeOS is that you should use web apps, web IDE's ...
- riku_iki 9y agoChromebooks are usually very handy, portable and have decent battery life. What exactly Windows models are competitive in this area and still in the same price range?