4 ms·

"A Chromebook for everyone" (who wants to be tethered to the Google ecosystem and the preying telcos). A "laptop for everyone" is far easier. There are thousan

by meaty 14y ago

"A Chromebook for everyone" (who wants to be tethered to the Google ecosystem and the preying telcos). A "laptop for everyone" is far easier. There are thousands and thousands for $100 or less on eBay that are far more powerful, easier to repair, have local storage and don't tie you to an ecosystem or a telco. Grab a Lenovo T61, chuck Mint on it and you've got something several orders of magnitude more useful. They even work in space: http://www.wirefresh.com/images/space-station-10-years-thinkpad-1.jpg http://www.wirefresh.com/images/space-station-10-years-think... Sorry but I don't get it. It's a rather expensive (for the limitations) toaster.

ciupicri 14y ago
A T61 is more like at least $200, at least here in Romania. Though, buying a second hand or refurbished computer might be a good option.
steevdave 14y ago
I have a thinkbook. I love it to death, but I can't leave it on for more than 15-30 minutes before the sound of the fan going annoys me too much. Same with the MacBook Air for that matter. A friend of mine has one and as soon as he launched WoW on it, the fans kicked in and I was amazed at how loud the Air was. These have no fans. No moving parts to worry about. That is one of their biggest advantages. I can use an ARM netbook while my SO is sleeping next to me. Not so for an actual laptop.
- zarify 14y ago
  I don't think this is a fair comparison. You might as well compare a tablet running a web browser to a laptop running a 3D game. For anything other than gaming, I don't even notice my Air has a fan (I agree it's -very- noisy when it's running, but the point is for the stuff you're going to do on a Chromebook the fan isn't going to be noticeable on any other laptop either), and that's the same for most modern laptops I've used.
  - steevdave 14y ago
    That isn't what I'm comparing though. My use case is obviously different. For me, I'm working on software, I'm compiling software. On an ARM machine with no moving parts, this is a silent activity. On every other machine, this is far from silent. I brought up the Air mostly because I didn't know what the noise was when he started the game. I thought that the Air didn't have any moving parts. In fact, I'm still debating getting one, but a machine that's silent at 250 that can do what I want it to is a much faster decision than one that is ~1000. I know my use case isn't typical, but it is the one I rely on when deciding what to get for myself, and silent is good for my needs, and how much noise the computer makes when I've got all cores running on a compile is a factor, for your needs it may not be, or you may not do the same type of work. The point I'm getting at is that no matter what I do on a machine with no moving parts, it's going to be silent. An older laptop on eBay may be more useful for some people, and I'll never fully move away from a workhorse machine until ARM performance is on par, but it's still nice to have when she's sleeping and I'm still mulling over a fix.
    - eropple 14y ago
      The newest Air uses a different type of fan (as does the retina MBP). It's quieter (perceptibly so) and is nothing like the traditional "whining" fan; it sounds more like white noise. In my rMBP, I'll intentionally max out the fans when playing a game (to reduce heat on my hands) and the sound isn't really noticeable at all. It sounds like the ambient noise from my air conditioner or the highway near my house; in fact it's so close that I literally can't hear the laptop if I'm sitting on my balcony. That said, I think you're significantly overstating the noise of a modern Mac in the first place. Some of the non-retina MBPs run pretty warn, but my last-gen Air was silent unless I tried to play games on it. Even when writing code. I could build a ~500 file Java project in IntelliJ and it wouldn't even get warm, let alone kick on the fans.
      - steevdave 14y ago
        The only Mac experience I have personally is a core duo version (one of the first intel MacBook Pro) and then listening to the coworker's air. I'm glad to hear that newer ones are quieter, and that's definitely going to weigh in on my next "workhorse" laptop.
- kooshball 14y ago
  >These have no fans. No moving parts to worry about. That is one of their biggest advantages. I can use an ARM netbook while my SO is sleeping next to me. Not so for an actual laptop. That is a ridiculous statement. My mac air is silent under normal use for everything but 3d gaming.
- meaty 14y ago
  My t61 is silent. You probably need to replace the fan or add thermal grease.

by meaty 14y ago

ciupicri 14y ago

A T61 is more like at least $200, at least here in Romania. Though, buying a second hand or refurbished computer might be a good option.

steevdave 14y ago

I have a thinkbook. I love it to death, but I can't leave it on for more than 15-30 minutes before the sound of the fan going annoys me too much. Same with the MacBook Air for that matter. A friend of mine has one and as soon as he launched WoW on it, the fans kicked in and I was amazed at how loud the Air was. These have no fans. No moving parts to worry about. That is one of their biggest advantages. I can use an ARM netbook while my SO is sleeping next to me. Not so for an actual laptop.

zarify 14y ago
I don't think this is a fair comparison. You might as well compare a tablet running a web browser to a laptop running a 3D game. For anything other than gaming, I don't even notice my Air has a fan (I agree it's -very- noisy when it's running, but the point is for the stuff you're going to do on a Chromebook the fan isn't going to be noticeable on any other laptop either), and that's the same for most modern laptops I've used.
- steevdave 14y ago
  That isn't what I'm comparing though. My use case is obviously different. For me, I'm working on software, I'm compiling software. On an ARM machine with no moving parts, this is a silent activity. On every other machine, this is far from silent. I brought up the Air mostly because I didn't know what the noise was when he started the game. I thought that the Air didn't have any moving parts. In fact, I'm still debating getting one, but a machine that's silent at 250 that can do what I want it to is a much faster decision than one that is ~1000. I know my use case isn't typical, but it is the one I rely on when deciding what to get for myself, and silent is good for my needs, and how much noise the computer makes when I've got all cores running on a compile is a factor, for your needs it may not be, or you may not do the same type of work. The point I'm getting at is that no matter what I do on a machine with no moving parts, it's going to be silent. An older laptop on eBay may be more useful for some people, and I'll never fully move away from a workhorse machine until ARM performance is on par, but it's still nice to have when she's sleeping and I'm still mulling over a fix.
  - eropple 14y ago
    The newest Air uses a different type of fan (as does the retina MBP). It's quieter (perceptibly so) and is nothing like the traditional "whining" fan; it sounds more like white noise. In my rMBP, I'll intentionally max out the fans when playing a game (to reduce heat on my hands) and the sound isn't really noticeable at all. It sounds like the ambient noise from my air conditioner or the highway near my house; in fact it's so close that I literally can't hear the laptop if I'm sitting on my balcony. That said, I think you're significantly overstating the noise of a modern Mac in the first place. Some of the non-retina MBPs run pretty warn, but my last-gen Air was silent unless I tried to play games on it. Even when writing code. I could build a ~500 file Java project in IntelliJ and it wouldn't even get warm, let alone kick on the fans.
    - steevdave 14y ago
      The only Mac experience I have personally is a core duo version (one of the first intel MacBook Pro) and then listening to the coworker's air. I'm glad to hear that newer ones are quieter, and that's definitely going to weigh in on my next "workhorse" laptop.
kooshball 14y ago
>These have no fans. No moving parts to worry about. That is one of their biggest advantages. I can use an ARM netbook while my SO is sleeping next to me. Not so for an actual laptop. That is a ridiculous statement. My mac air is silent under normal use for everything but 3d gaming.
meaty 14y ago
My t61 is silent. You probably need to replace the fan or add thermal grease.