6 ms·

Googler, opinions are my own. Google definitely has not lost interest. The Chromebook team at Google is actually involved in almost (all?) Chromebooks made.

by kyrra 4y ago

Googler, opinions are my own. Google definitely has not lost interest. The Chromebook team at Google is actually involved in almost (all?) Chromebooks made. Since Google is responsible for all firmware/software updates for the life of that Chromebook, they are involved in that way. As well, the hardware/firmware teams here do a lot of the core engineering to getting the core parts of the hardware working (motherboard/cpu at a minimum). And all BSP's end up living in the ChromeOS source tree I believe: https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/external-bsp-hosting/ https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/external-bsp-hosting/ If you are looking for a spiritual successor to the Pixelbook, I'd check out the HP Elite Dragonfly: https://9to5google.com/2022/09/15/hp-elite-dragonfly-chromebook-review/ https://9to5google.com/2022/09/15/hp-elite-dragonfly-chromeb...

turtlebits 4y ago
Sorry, I'm not sure I believe this. I have a Pixelbook that still gets ChromeOS updates regularly- the Android and "Linux on ChromeOS" features are still half baked. After wakeup - Android apps hang or show empty windows, Terminal takes minutes to work, and a reboot usually fixes everything. (This is after a powerwash and being on the stable channel)
- kyrra 4y ago
  I think the hard thing here is that they want to keep the Linux VMs totally isolated from ChromeOS itself, so that they aren't opening up users to attacks. This is taking a lot of effort to get right. I will say, the Pixelbook was super underpowered. They use the ultra-portable Intel CPUs that have a TDP of 7W, which makes them super slow with anything CPU intensive. The Dragonfly chrombook has a 15W base power usage, and can boost up to 55W, which allows for way more CPU intensive operations. Yeah, they are half-baked in that they are trying to be a VM for Android and Linux apps, and neither are perfect yet. As far as I can tell, both are still receiving attention.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - turtlebits 4y ago
    You might be thinking of the Pixelbook Go with the Intel m3? My Pixelbook (from 2018) is an i5, and performs fine.
    - xd1936 4y ago
      They're right. I loved my Pixelbook (non-Go), but the Core i5[1] and i7[2] used pretty underpowered 7W CPUs. 1. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/97461/intel-core-i57y57-processor-4m-cache-up-to-3-30-ghz/specifications.html https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/97461/i... 2. https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/95441/intel-core-i77y75-processor-4m-cache-up-to-3-60-ghz.html https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/95441/i...
      - NavinF 4y ago
        Yep, this is why saying "an i5" is meaningless. It covers everything from "weaker than a modern phone" to desktop CPUs that pull 150W and perform as such.
        toast0 4y ago
        It also covers models introduced from 2009 through today. It gives you an idea of how it was placed in the product lineup when it was launched, but not which product lineup, so... not very helpful.
      - turtlebits 4y ago
        I've never heard of anyone complaining that the OG Pixelbook was underpowered. Even today, it runs Chrome just fine.
        fomine3 4y ago
        it says running VM for Android is heavy
- abawany 4y ago
  I agree - some of the updates I've received have been so half baked, including the Android apps forever-hang, that I wondered if anyone real was involved in this release. I finally got rid of my chromebook for a pittance because I just got tired of the mess.
madeofpalk 4y ago
Google just killed the Pixelbook division https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/09/google-hardware-reportedly-quits-the-laptop-market/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/09/google-hardware-repo...
- nightpool 4y ago
  I think that makes sense though—partnering with companies like Framework and HP to get the hardware right while refocusing on the software experiencing in-house doesn't mean they don't believe in the market fit for the Pixelbook or the technologies that powered it, it just means that there was enough interest externally that Google doesn't need to take on the hardware complexity/supply chain risk/etc. Partnering with other companies that are already experts in that seems better then trying to get everything right themselves from scratch (Disclaimer: I have not been following the Pixelbook news or really even considered the device before today, but people on this forum seem to like it)
  - jeffbee 4y ago
    - hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
      Your comment is exactly the kind of false dichotomy that isn't really helpful in a discussion.
    - paulcarroty 4y ago
      > If you're a paranoid weirdo Sometimes it's better to be paranoid (c). Guess Google isn't a bad case for.
intrasight 4y ago
The Dragonfly is indeed a nice, albeit pricey, Chromebook. Great to have what looks like a comparable machine for much less.
hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
Thanks for your response, it's very helpful. I'll check out the HP Elite Dragonfly too. As the sibling commenter mentioned, though, Google did just shut down their Pixelbook division, which is what I was referring to. And as a corollary, if you can forward this to anyone that matters, Google's product marketing is the absolute worst. And I say this as a big fan of Google's developer-focused products. Case in point, I'm a giant Pixelbook fan. If Google is shutting down Pixelbook development, why can't Google just put something on their store to point to alternatives, like you have? As another example, I am heavily invested in GCP, and I'm a big Firebase fan. Yet I can hardly think of any other company that sells to enterprises that is so loath to even show a hint of what's on their roadmap. I get it, priorities can change, and you don't want to put something out there that is (incorrectly) taken as a promise. But tons of other companies have to deal with this problem, and with Google it's almost impossible to get any status about important bug fixes or feature requests.
- jorvi 4y ago
  > Google's product marketing is the absolute worst As long as ‘killed by Google’ continues to be a well-known meme, they could have the best marketing department in the universe and it wouldn’t make a lick of difference..
  - spicybright 4y ago
    That's pretty silly. I know you're exaggerating a bit, but marketing is in the business of public perception. If google took steps to reverse the trend, and the marketing department could highlight that, that would kill the meme.
    - jorvi 4y ago
      Hence > As long as ‘killed by Google’ continues to be a well-known meme
      - DoctorOW 4y ago
        As long as the fire continues to burn, the best firefighters in the world couldn't extinguish it.
sfvegandude 4y ago
I’m seriously tempted by this. I’m not a chrome user today; I have heard that when MV3 comes out, I won’t be able to use adblockers in Chrome. Is that right?
HereBeBeasties 4y ago
After spending £2k on a high end HP x360 only three years ago, and suffering since from horrid thermal throttling, crazy loud constant fans, terrible battery life (2.5 hours at almost idle light web browsing usage) and a spicy pillow battery, followed by being ghosted by their tech support (three attempts to contact) and finally discovering via YouTube that they don't even supply battery replacements for this model, I can only recommend you stay as far away from HP as possible.

by kyrra 4y ago

turtlebits 4y ago

Sorry, I'm not sure I believe this. I have a Pixelbook that still gets ChromeOS updates regularly- the Android and "Linux on ChromeOS" features are still half baked. After wakeup - Android apps hang or show empty windows, Terminal takes minutes to work, and a reboot usually fixes everything. (This is after a powerwash and being on the stable channel)

kyrra 4y ago
I think the hard thing here is that they want to keep the Linux VMs totally isolated from ChromeOS itself, so that they aren't opening up users to attacks. This is taking a lot of effort to get right. I will say, the Pixelbook was super underpowered. They use the ultra-portable Intel CPUs that have a TDP of 7W, which makes them super slow with anything CPU intensive. The Dragonfly chrombook has a 15W base power usage, and can boost up to 55W, which allows for way more CPU intensive operations. Yeah, they are half-baked in that they are trying to be a VM for Android and Linux apps, and neither are perfect yet. As far as I can tell, both are still receiving attention.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- turtlebits 4y ago
  You might be thinking of the Pixelbook Go with the Intel m3? My Pixelbook (from 2018) is an i5, and performs fine.
  - xd1936 4y ago
    They're right. I loved my Pixelbook (non-Go), but the Core i5[1] and i7[2] used pretty underpowered 7W CPUs. 1. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/97461/intel-core-i57y57-processor-4m-cache-up-to-3-30-ghz/specifications.html https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/97461/i... 2. https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/95441/intel-core-i77y75-processor-4m-cache-up-to-3-60-ghz.html https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/95441/i...
    - NavinF 4y ago
      Yep, this is why saying "an i5" is meaningless. It covers everything from "weaker than a modern phone" to desktop CPUs that pull 150W and perform as such.
      - toast0 4y ago
        It also covers models introduced from 2009 through today. It gives you an idea of how it was placed in the product lineup when it was launched, but not which product lineup, so... not very helpful.
    - turtlebits 4y ago
      I've never heard of anyone complaining that the OG Pixelbook was underpowered. Even today, it runs Chrome just fine.
      - fomine3 4y ago
        it says running VM for Android is heavy
abawany 4y ago
I agree - some of the updates I've received have been so half baked, including the Android apps forever-hang, that I wondered if anyone real was involved in this release. I finally got rid of my chromebook for a pittance because I just got tired of the mess.

madeofpalk 4y ago

Google just killed the Pixelbook division https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/09/google-hardware-reportedly-quits-the-laptop-market/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/09/google-hardware-repo...

nightpool 4y ago
I think that makes sense though—partnering with companies like Framework and HP to get the hardware right while refocusing on the software experiencing in-house doesn't mean they don't believe in the market fit for the Pixelbook or the technologies that powered it, it just means that there was enough interest externally that Google doesn't need to take on the hardware complexity/supply chain risk/etc. Partnering with other companies that are already experts in that seems better then trying to get everything right themselves from scratch (Disclaimer: I have not been following the Pixelbook news or really even considered the device before today, but people on this forum seem to like it)
- jeffbee 4y ago
  - hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
    Your comment is exactly the kind of false dichotomy that isn't really helpful in a discussion.
  - paulcarroty 4y ago
    > If you're a paranoid weirdo Sometimes it's better to be paranoid (c). Guess Google isn't a bad case for.

intrasight 4y ago

The Dragonfly is indeed a nice, albeit pricey, Chromebook. Great to have what looks like a comparable machine for much less.

hn_throwaway_99 4y ago

Thanks for your response, it's very helpful. I'll check out the HP Elite Dragonfly too. As the sibling commenter mentioned, though, Google did just shut down their Pixelbook division, which is what I was referring to. And as a corollary, if you can forward this to anyone that matters, Google's product marketing is the absolute worst. And I say this as a big fan of Google's developer-focused products. Case in point, I'm a giant Pixelbook fan. If Google is shutting down Pixelbook development, why can't Google just put something on their store to point to alternatives, like you have? As another example, I am heavily invested in GCP, and I'm a big Firebase fan. Yet I can hardly think of any other company that sells to enterprises that is so loath to even show a hint of what's on their roadmap. I get it, priorities can change, and you don't want to put something out there that is (incorrectly) taken as a promise. But tons of other companies have to deal with this problem, and with Google it's almost impossible to get any status about important bug fixes or feature requests.

jorvi 4y ago
> Google's product marketing is the absolute worst As long as ‘killed by Google’ continues to be a well-known meme, they could have the best marketing department in the universe and it wouldn’t make a lick of difference..
- spicybright 4y ago
  That's pretty silly. I know you're exaggerating a bit, but marketing is in the business of public perception. If google took steps to reverse the trend, and the marketing department could highlight that, that would kill the meme.
  - jorvi 4y ago
    Hence > As long as ‘killed by Google’ continues to be a well-known meme
    - DoctorOW 4y ago
      As long as the fire continues to burn, the best firefighters in the world couldn't extinguish it.

sfvegandude 4y ago

I’m seriously tempted by this. I’m not a chrome user today; I have heard that when MV3 comes out, I won’t be able to use adblockers in Chrome. Is that right?

HereBeBeasties 4y ago

After spending £2k on a high end HP x360 only three years ago, and suffering since from horrid thermal throttling, crazy loud constant fans, terrible battery life (2.5 hours at almost idle light web browsing usage) and a spicy pillow battery, followed by being ghosted by their tech support (three attempts to contact) and finally discovering via YouTube that they don't even supply battery replacements for this model, I can only recommend you stay as far away from HP as possible.