4 ms·

There is still a bit of a gap in the market for small 10-12" laptops, but Chromebooks are eating those customers pretty quickly. IMO, tablets are still a decen

There is still a bit of a gap in the market for small 10-12" laptops, but Chromebooks are eating those customers pretty quickly. IMO, tablets are still a decent choice for people who think that 13" is too big for a laptop, although iPads may not work well for that because you're stuck with the default OS.

tonyedgecombe 7y ago
I always liked the look of the 11" MacBook Air although I must admit I never tried it.
- alistairSH 7y ago
  I own one and it's ok. The overall size is nice for portability, but the only thing it has over my iPad is a keyboard. For actual laptop use cases (doing work), I much prefer my 13" MBP (and when I was a developer, it was a 15" MBP).
taude 7y ago
I replied above to the wrong parent, but I wanted to say that I like the idea of an 11" ipad-clamshell. I use a Brydge keyboard now, and would like to see how well Apple could do that integration. I'm also a former 11" MB Air person who did a lot of development on that little one.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
levythe 7y ago
I honestly don't think a chromebook accomplishes much I would want a computer in that form factor to do. Guess that goes to show I'm perpetually not the target audience.
- leggomylibro 7y ago
  You can install GalliumOS for a full Ubuntu installation if you get an x86 one, and the ARM ones can still run Linux chroots behind ChromeOS. Most of my Chromebooks don't have Chrome installed, and I say 'most' because you can buy like 3 or 4 of them for the price of a more fully-featured machine. ChromeOS isn't great, but the hardware offers a great mix of performance with low size and cost. The push to get them into educational environments also means that they often prioritize things like spill-proof keyboards and shock-proof chasses. And they also usually have fairly good physical security; most of them have a screw on the motherboard that you have to open the device and remove to reflash the boot firmware. Like I said, the main difficulty with iPads is that you don't get many options for what you run on them. And as for performance, I use mine for development and EDA, and speed has never been a huge concern over the years. I even get a reasonable 40fps when I'm working on my toy 3D game engine. Just because they ship with bloatware doesn't mean they aren't real computers... https://wiki.galliumos.org/ https://wiki.galliumos.org/
  - levythe 7y ago
    I'd rather just pay the little bit extra for a 2-in-1 of that size.
pjmlp 7y ago
Not in Europe they aren't. You hardly see a Chromebook anywhere in most consumer shops, and when they appear, it looks like testing waters, followed by endless promotions to try to get rid of them. It is all about Windows 10 over here.
- leggomylibro 7y ago
  Exactly, it's like that over here too and that's the best part! They get discounted all the time because people think they only run a web browser and google docs, so you can get them for a pittance. If you're willing to pretend like it's 2000 and tinker a bit, they make fantastic general-purpose Linux laptops. I like the $200 10" Asus ones with 360-degree hinges; the ARM ones have amazing battery life. And some of the ones that are designed for schools are almost indestructible.

tonyedgecombe 7y ago

I always liked the look of the 11" MacBook Air although I must admit I never tried it.

alistairSH 7y ago
I own one and it's ok. The overall size is nice for portability, but the only thing it has over my iPad is a keyboard. For actual laptop use cases (doing work), I much prefer my 13" MBP (and when I was a developer, it was a 15" MBP).

taude 7y ago

I replied above to the wrong parent, but I wanted to say that I like the idea of an 11" ipad-clamshell. I use a Brydge keyboard now, and would like to see how well Apple could do that integration. I'm also a former 11" MB Air person who did a lot of development on that little one.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

levythe 7y ago

I honestly don't think a chromebook accomplishes much I would want a computer in that form factor to do. Guess that goes to show I'm perpetually not the target audience.

leggomylibro 7y ago
You can install GalliumOS for a full Ubuntu installation if you get an x86 one, and the ARM ones can still run Linux chroots behind ChromeOS. Most of my Chromebooks don't have Chrome installed, and I say 'most' because you can buy like 3 or 4 of them for the price of a more fully-featured machine. ChromeOS isn't great, but the hardware offers a great mix of performance with low size and cost. The push to get them into educational environments also means that they often prioritize things like spill-proof keyboards and shock-proof chasses. And they also usually have fairly good physical security; most of them have a screw on the motherboard that you have to open the device and remove to reflash the boot firmware. Like I said, the main difficulty with iPads is that you don't get many options for what you run on them. And as for performance, I use mine for development and EDA, and speed has never been a huge concern over the years. I even get a reasonable 40fps when I'm working on my toy 3D game engine. Just because they ship with bloatware doesn't mean they aren't real computers... https://wiki.galliumos.org/ https://wiki.galliumos.org/
- levythe 7y ago
  I'd rather just pay the little bit extra for a 2-in-1 of that size.

pjmlp 7y ago

Not in Europe they aren't. You hardly see a Chromebook anywhere in most consumer shops, and when they appear, it looks like testing waters, followed by endless promotions to try to get rid of them. It is all about Windows 10 over here.

leggomylibro 7y ago
Exactly, it's like that over here too and that's the best part! They get discounted all the time because people think they only run a web browser and google docs, so you can get them for a pittance. If you're willing to pretend like it's 2000 and tinker a bit, they make fantastic general-purpose Linux laptops. I like the $200 10" Asus ones with 360-degree hinges; the ARM ones have amazing battery life. And some of the ones that are designed for schools are almost indestructible.