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I'm looking into Chromebooks. I'm happy with my MacBook except that if I'm traveling with it and it breaks or gets stolen, I don't have a lot of options if I'm

I'm looking into Chromebooks. I'm happy with my MacBook except that if I'm traveling with it and it breaks or gets stolen, I don't have a lot of options if I'm dependent on expensive Mac hardware. If I can switch to developing on a Chromebook, picking up a new one in an emergency is a lot more feasible, plus they're very secure and low maintenance. Has anyone tried moving from Mac to ChromeOS?

yRetsyM 7y ago
I'm curious about this as well, I'm more in a hybrid role now where less and less coding effort and I'm living in Chrome anyway for most of my tasks...
skunkpocalypse 7y ago
My "daily driver" is a chromebook running linux: Samsung Chromebook Plus RK3399. Keyboard feel is identical to the good old macbooks. Also: feather-light magnesium casing, gorgeous 300nit 2500x1600 screen, and 100% open-source: no blobs, no IME, no PSP. Coreboot, baby. No stupid Google G-chip. Even recompiled the Embedded Controller firmware -- and not just for geek points. I customized the charging+wake behavior so it will wake immediately when AC power is applied even if the lid is closed -- never could get my mac to do that reliably, despite lots of third-party hacks claiming to make it happen. So now when I get home all I have to do is plug in AC power and I can access files on the laptop over the network -- no need to log in to the laptop, open the lid, or connect an external display. If it's got AC power it's awake and on the network. Bonus: they're so cheap I bought several, and don't have to worry about damage. They take abuse amazingly well due to the alloy casing and the fact that they weigh so little. I expect to use these laptops for the next 6-8 years.
atrilumen 7y ago
I've been using a Pixelbook for the past year or so. I do like the look and feel of the hardware: nice screen, decent keyboard and touch pad, and a thin metal body which feels really solid. The silicone palm rests start to yellow a bit, but really increase comfort. Overall, I'm happy with the hardware. The software is an interesting concept, and actually the reason I bought it. I like the idea of a minimal, verified Linux that only runs Chrome, and (WIP) Linux containers for everything else. I've had many issues that disrupted my work, and required switching to different release channels. Obviously this is on me for choosing to use the "Beta" container support feature, but I am still annoyed by it often because somehow bugs make their way through all those channels: Canary -> Dev -> Beta -> and even down to Stable. Several times I was forced to move to a higher channel to escape a serious / disruptive issue, only to encounter different issues. And then moving back down again requires a "powerwash", wiping all your data. So I feel like I'm just being chased around by issues that should have been resolved in a higher channel. As a result, there tends to be nothing on this machine that isn't in the cloud somewhere. I suppose that's a good thing. Trust is another issue, entirely. I'm looking for something else. I may install an alt OS like Gallium.

yRetsyM 7y ago

I'm curious about this as well, I'm more in a hybrid role now where less and less coding effort and I'm living in Chrome anyway for most of my tasks...

skunkpocalypse 7y ago

My "daily driver" is a chromebook running linux: Samsung Chromebook Plus RK3399. Keyboard feel is identical to the good old macbooks. Also: feather-light magnesium casing, gorgeous 300nit 2500x1600 screen, and 100% open-source: no blobs, no IME, no PSP. Coreboot, baby. No stupid Google G-chip. Even recompiled the Embedded Controller firmware -- and not just for geek points. I customized the charging+wake behavior so it will wake immediately when AC power is applied even if the lid is closed -- never could get my mac to do that reliably, despite lots of third-party hacks claiming to make it happen. So now when I get home all I have to do is plug in AC power and I can access files on the laptop over the network -- no need to log in to the laptop, open the lid, or connect an external display. If it's got AC power it's awake and on the network. Bonus: they're so cheap I bought several, and don't have to worry about damage. They take abuse amazingly well due to the alloy casing and the fact that they weigh so little. I expect to use these laptops for the next 6-8 years.

atrilumen 7y ago

I've been using a Pixelbook for the past year or so. I do like the look and feel of the hardware: nice screen, decent keyboard and touch pad, and a thin metal body which feels really solid. The silicone palm rests start to yellow a bit, but really increase comfort. Overall, I'm happy with the hardware. The software is an interesting concept, and actually the reason I bought it. I like the idea of a minimal, verified Linux that only runs Chrome, and (WIP) Linux containers for everything else. I've had many issues that disrupted my work, and required switching to different release channels. Obviously this is on me for choosing to use the "Beta" container support feature, but I am still annoyed by it often because somehow bugs make their way through all those channels: Canary -> Dev -> Beta -> and even down to Stable. Several times I was forced to move to a higher channel to escape a serious / disruptive issue, only to encounter different issues. And then moving back down again requires a "powerwash", wiping all your data. So I feel like I'm just being chased around by issues that should have been resolved in a higher channel. As a result, there tends to be nothing on this machine that isn't in the cloud somewhere. I suppose that's a good thing. Trust is another issue, entirely. I'm looking for something else. I may install an alt OS like Gallium.