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I'm using a Chromebook 100% of the time. It's a great experience. The primary limitation is that the dev environment is a bit quirky - it's not running directly

I'm using a Chromebook 100% of the time. It's a great experience. The primary limitation is that the dev environment is a bit quirky - it's not running directly on the virtual machine, instead it's in a container. This can lead to some weird stuff when you're trying to do other containery things or if you need to run a nested virtual machine. I've created a script to set up an EC2 instance, rsync changes from my project directories over to it, and manage the instance state to save money. This pretty much solves any issues. I really like a couple of things: 1. It is the only OS that "just works" for me. It's the only non-Windows that I can actually plug multiple monitors into and not have it flip out and freeze for minutes. 2. It keeps risky stuff (code development) isolated from sensitive stuff (web browsing). If I SSO in my web browse and install malware in my devbox I'm actually pretty safe. 3. I get to use debian, which works well for me. 4. It's the only OS that feels truly multiuser. I can `ctrl + alt + .` to switch desktops to a totally different user and users are completely isolated with distinctly encrypted directories so if one person is logged in and another isn't you can't just access their stuff. This worked really well when I was using ChromeOS for work since my work profile was very isolated from my personal environment - I could follow 'work profile' stuff like "only install these extensions" while doing whatever I wanted in my personal profile. Basically it's everything I want in a laptop and nothing I don't want. The main limitation is the VM, but the limitations are sorta niche - I doubt many people need to run Firecracker.

IE6 3y ago
> 1. It is the only OS that "just works" for me. It's the only non-Windows that I can actually plug multiple monitors into and not have it flip out and freeze for minutes. This sums up my experience completely - I used linux for over a decade and finally got tired of the little annoyances that no desktop environments seemed to solve. ChromeOS wraps it all up (presumably because the hardware is known and the OS is built against that hardware). And then Crostini allows me to do all the fun full stack development things (like k8s, minikube, docker, etc.)
ufmace 3y ago
I pretty much agree. I'd only add that container stuff seems to work fine for me, including everything I've tried with docker and docker-compose, and I haven't felt the need to do anything on a remote instance. The only thing I haven't been able to get working locally (yet) is minikube, but I can live with that for now.
- insanitybit 3y ago
  Yeah actually most container stuff should handle it well, it's really nested VMs that are tricky, or if you're manually working with user namespaces.
malkia 3y ago
Same here, I'm happy Google Eve user since 2017 or was it 2018. The little beast has 16GB of RAM, and initially I was using crouton, but one crostini got better I switched to it. There are little things that are missing: - No idea how to compile/link/load kernel modules. This is rarely needed, but can happen. - No Vulkan support yet, OpenGL / ES seems to be fine. Mmm.. that's pretty much it... And yes, Bonuses: - Android! - As posted above said - web browsing, NetFlix (DRM support) And lately, since I've returned to the office and left my Windows machine at home while waiting for beefier at the office, started using Chrome Remote Desktop and that works super well with additional huge monitor and first time noticed how well the laptop also supports multiple monitors. As last bonus: It can flip around and become an "iPad". Perfect when we were visiting our niece and I gave their 2 year old to watch youtube kinds on it.
- malkia 3y ago
  I have only one real complaint: - I can't find any newer chromebook laptop with 32GB of RAM (or even 16GB, apart from mine). Feel like 32GB is going to make it a lot better to use for development.
  - seized 3y ago
    Then you'll love the Framework Chromebook, up to 64GB RAM: https://frame.work/laptop-chromebook-12-gen-intel https://frame.work/laptop-chromebook-12-gen-intel
    - malkia 3y ago
      Oh thanks a lot! Awesome!
    - NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
      > Then you'll love the Framework Chromebook, up to 64GB RAM: No, the Chromebook has 8GiB RAM and this is not a configurable option. The Windows/Linux editions are more configurable than this.
  - insanitybit 3y ago
linsomniac 3y ago
I tried using a Chromebook as my primary home machine (so browsing, plus remote access to my work Linux machine for work stuff like programming or fixing production issues, ansible, etc)... It worked great for 95% of things. The remaining 5% were mostly small things EXCEPT for one: I'd occasionally like to do some video editing (cutting up work screen recordings, making youtube videos, family videos). And to solve that, I ended up getting my first Mac. It totally solves the video editing problem, even allowing me to make videos on a laptop rather than being tied to a desktop (the only previous option that even half-way worked). One thing that really irks me about MacOS, that ChromeOS has down is updates: ChromeOS it takes <30s to do a full system update and be back in business. For MacOS, I can count on my machine being out of commission for an hour.
- insanitybit 3y ago
  Yeah I think part of the problem is that ChromeOS relies on the Android SDK for apps. I'd rather Android provide a native SDK for apps that really require fine tuned performance - something like video editing is a good example.
xmonkee 3y ago
Please, I need more details. - which chromebook do you have? - how do you run your dev stack? - Can it handle developing a node + react app?
- insanitybit 3y ago
  My Chromebook is not available for purchase anymore but it's just some Dell laptop. 4 cores, 32GB of RAM, SSD. I run my development stack in the debian VM provided by ChromeOS. Absolutely handles developing node/react.
  - xmonkee 3y ago
    So you installed ChromeOS on a non-chromebook, yeah? That's a wild alternative to a linux laptop. I will try this out
    - insanitybit 3y ago
      Nope, I bought the Chromebook from Dell. I'd link it to you but they haven't sold it for a few years - it was the only option with 32GB of RAM. Now there's Framework laptops though.
      - NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
        Framework Chromebooks feature 8GiB RAM. Chromebooks, in general, require less RAM to operate than a PC or Mac. So don't overestimate the gobs of RAM you'll need. By the same token, it is much less common for vendors to build Chromebooks with large amounts of RAM. Mine is a cloud gaming machine!
- IE6 3y ago
  Any chromebook that supports crostini will allow you to run linux (debian by default) and allow you to use many dev tools. I build node stuff all the time on chromeos. I have a Framework Chromebook.
NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
> It's the only OS that feels truly multiuser. I can `ctrl + alt + .` to switch desktops to a totally different user You can try, but you won't get Linux or Android subsystems. I found out early on that if you have multiple logged-in users on a Chromebook, only the first one gets to run Linux/Android. Those apps will crash and fail silently for the other users. Acer Support and Google Support were absolutely stumped by this, and they wanted me to RMA my device. https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/06/20/how-to-use-multiple-google-accounts-on-a-chromebook/ https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/06/20/how-to-use-multiple... But no, it is a design limitation. (Note that article's 3 years old and it's still design-limited.) Also, there are limitations around "Enterprise" controlled accounts. You can create them as a user without the device itself becoming "Enrolled", but be careful, because the first user you create on a Chromebook becomes the administrator forever (like an Android phone). So I had to Powerwash a couple of times after finding these things out.

IE6 3y ago

> 1. It is the only OS that "just works" for me. It's the only non-Windows that I can actually plug multiple monitors into and not have it flip out and freeze for minutes. This sums up my experience completely - I used linux for over a decade and finally got tired of the little annoyances that no desktop environments seemed to solve. ChromeOS wraps it all up (presumably because the hardware is known and the OS is built against that hardware). And then Crostini allows me to do all the fun full stack development things (like k8s, minikube, docker, etc.)

ufmace 3y ago

I pretty much agree. I'd only add that container stuff seems to work fine for me, including everything I've tried with docker and docker-compose, and I haven't felt the need to do anything on a remote instance. The only thing I haven't been able to get working locally (yet) is minikube, but I can live with that for now.

insanitybit 3y ago
Yeah actually most container stuff should handle it well, it's really nested VMs that are tricky, or if you're manually working with user namespaces.

malkia 3y ago

Same here, I'm happy Google Eve user since 2017 or was it 2018. The little beast has 16GB of RAM, and initially I was using crouton, but one crostini got better I switched to it. There are little things that are missing: - No idea how to compile/link/load kernel modules. This is rarely needed, but can happen. - No Vulkan support yet, OpenGL / ES seems to be fine. Mmm.. that's pretty much it... And yes, Bonuses: - Android! - As posted above said - web browsing, NetFlix (DRM support) And lately, since I've returned to the office and left my Windows machine at home while waiting for beefier at the office, started using Chrome Remote Desktop and that works super well with additional huge monitor and first time noticed how well the laptop also supports multiple monitors. As last bonus: It can flip around and become an "iPad". Perfect when we were visiting our niece and I gave their 2 year old to watch youtube kinds on it.

malkia 3y ago
I have only one real complaint: - I can't find any newer chromebook laptop with 32GB of RAM (or even 16GB, apart from mine). Feel like 32GB is going to make it a lot better to use for development.
- seized 3y ago
  Then you'll love the Framework Chromebook, up to 64GB RAM: https://frame.work/laptop-chromebook-12-gen-intel https://frame.work/laptop-chromebook-12-gen-intel
  - malkia 3y ago
    Oh thanks a lot! Awesome!
  - NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
    > Then you'll love the Framework Chromebook, up to 64GB RAM: No, the Chromebook has 8GiB RAM and this is not a configurable option. The Windows/Linux editions are more configurable than this.
- insanitybit 3y ago

linsomniac 3y ago

I tried using a Chromebook as my primary home machine (so browsing, plus remote access to my work Linux machine for work stuff like programming or fixing production issues, ansible, etc)... It worked great for 95% of things. The remaining 5% were mostly small things EXCEPT for one: I'd occasionally like to do some video editing (cutting up work screen recordings, making youtube videos, family videos). And to solve that, I ended up getting my first Mac. It totally solves the video editing problem, even allowing me to make videos on a laptop rather than being tied to a desktop (the only previous option that even half-way worked). One thing that really irks me about MacOS, that ChromeOS has down is updates: ChromeOS it takes <30s to do a full system update and be back in business. For MacOS, I can count on my machine being out of commission for an hour.

insanitybit 3y ago
Yeah I think part of the problem is that ChromeOS relies on the Android SDK for apps. I'd rather Android provide a native SDK for apps that really require fine tuned performance - something like video editing is a good example.

xmonkee 3y ago

Please, I need more details. - which chromebook do you have? - how do you run your dev stack? - Can it handle developing a node + react app?

insanitybit 3y ago
My Chromebook is not available for purchase anymore but it's just some Dell laptop. 4 cores, 32GB of RAM, SSD. I run my development stack in the debian VM provided by ChromeOS. Absolutely handles developing node/react.
- xmonkee 3y ago
  So you installed ChromeOS on a non-chromebook, yeah? That's a wild alternative to a linux laptop. I will try this out
  - insanitybit 3y ago
    Nope, I bought the Chromebook from Dell. I'd link it to you but they haven't sold it for a few years - it was the only option with 32GB of RAM. Now there's Framework laptops though.
    - NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
      Framework Chromebooks feature 8GiB RAM. Chromebooks, in general, require less RAM to operate than a PC or Mac. So don't overestimate the gobs of RAM you'll need. By the same token, it is much less common for vendors to build Chromebooks with large amounts of RAM. Mine is a cloud gaming machine!
IE6 3y ago
Any chromebook that supports crostini will allow you to run linux (debian by default) and allow you to use many dev tools. I build node stuff all the time on chromeos. I have a Framework Chromebook.

NoZebra120vClip 3y ago

> It's the only OS that feels truly multiuser. I can `ctrl + alt + .` to switch desktops to a totally different user You can try, but you won't get Linux or Android subsystems. I found out early on that if you have multiple logged-in users on a Chromebook, only the first one gets to run Linux/Android. Those apps will crash and fail silently for the other users. Acer Support and Google Support were absolutely stumped by this, and they wanted me to RMA my device. https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/06/20/how-to-use-multiple-google-accounts-on-a-chromebook/ https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/06/20/how-to-use-multiple... But no, it is a design limitation. (Note that article's 3 years old and it's still design-limited.) Also, there are limitations around "Enterprise" controlled accounts. You can create them as a user without the device itself becoming "Enrolled", but be careful, because the first user you create on a Chromebook becomes the administrator forever (like an Android phone). So I had to Powerwash a couple of times after finding these things out.