5 ms·

Google's Goals with Chromebook Pixel

30 points by chaz 14y ago

t0 14y ago
Price = Quality When something is $1299, you don't even need to read the specs. You just know it will be worth it. But when something is $249, hmm better check the specs to see why it's so horrible. It's just basic human nature. Google isn't wrong to capitalize on this principle the same way Apple has been doing from the start.
- Wingman4l7 14y ago
  Except that's not true at all. Plenty of people check out the specs and build quality of expensive items. If anything, some people are more picky, because they're spending more and they want to make sure they're getting their money's worth.
- rayiner 14y ago
  Yes, that's Apple's big secret. Just price something high and it'll fly off the shelves!
- jmillikin 14y ago
  Blindly looking for a higher price is almost never worth it; high-priced products tend to be priced as luxury or status items. If someone goes shopping for a laptop with the metric of "pricier = better", they'll end up with some 15-pound plastic monstrosity from Dell.
- lotso 14y ago
  That's not necessarily true. I think you'll find a lot of $1300 laptops from Dell, HP, etc that are all of questionable quality.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
suyash 14y ago
Whatever Google's Goals might be, I won't buy it since you can run native apps. I need my IDE, my server setup and want to install and remove native apps as and when I want. That is why developers are not impressed with Chromebooks, agree?
- myko 14y ago
  I love my highly portable Chromebook for ssh'ing into a dev machine and doing real work via vim and whatnot. But I don't see myself paying $1,299 for what essentially is a thin client.
- dragonwriter 14y ago
  > Whatever Google's Goals might be, I won't buy it since you can run native apps. I think you mean "can't" (though that's arguably inaccurate, given Native Client), unless you are saying that having Native Client is the reason you don't want it, which doesn't make a lot of sense. > I need my IDE, my server setup and want to install and remove native apps as and when I want. Okay. > That is why developers are not impressed with Chromebooks, agree? I would say that that's why people who are attached to traditional desktop environments aren't impressed with Chromebooks, but I don't think that has much to do with "developers". Some developers are interested in cloud IDEs and apps running on cloud-based servers, and I would suspect that they would be well-served by Chromebooks.
- garindra 14y ago
  Nope, I'm a developer and I fully see getting a Chromebook in the near future as I develop some of my applications through SSH on my remote EC2 instance anyways. The reason why I didn't get it just yet is because I wasn't too impressed with the 3G connection of the Google CR48 that I got a while ago. Once I see good 3G/LTE connection reviews of Chromebook, there's a high chance I'm getting it.
programminggeek 14y ago
Google's goal with the Chromebook Pixel - to make money.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- ebiester 14y ago
  But is it a direct or indirect goal? If they're using ChromeOS as an indirect way to make more money through something such as user feedback in some way... then it might make sense. Or, it's a long term initiative.
randomfool 14y ago
My guess- Google's goal is to replace all of the MacBooks that their employees use internally. That's 40,000 sales right there. They know that they need a high quality machine- no one wants to be sitting in meetings with chintzy hardware. Furthermore, with the recent Java-based Facebook & Apple attacks it's becoming apparent that OSX is becoming a significant hacking target. Google already ditched Windows for security concerns (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d2f3f04e-6ccf-11df-91c8-00144feab49a.html#axzz2La6ZRVoz http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d2f3f04e-6ccf-11df-91c8-00144feab4...). In short- this is a Google Employee computer, that they happen to be selling to the public.
- jrajav 14y ago
  Perhaps a Chromebook would work great for a Javascript or Dart developer, but what about C++, Java, or Android? Or even Go? I'm curious how well Google dogfooding Chromebooks would work out.
  - esrauch 14y ago
    Google developers are not allowed to ever have any code copied to laptops due to security concerns. The laptops that they give devs are mainly for ssh, remote desktop and browser usage already.
    - rodolphoarruda 14y ago
      don't they use Eclipse IDE or alikes? (honest question)
      - hamax 14y ago
        Yes, on workstations. Not on laptops.
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
    - bryne 14y ago
      This (and the top parent) are the only reasoned, insightful comments I've seen about the Pixel all day. If you have to be on a laptop, the screens on the new Macbook Pros are simply a joy to use - as long as you aren't mucking with bitmaps too much, the clarity of web and code is really unmatched, eyestrain is greatly reduced. Within the above restrictions (laptop, must be a locked/stripped-down OS), the Chromebook Pixel begins to make a lot more sense as an attractive laptop option.
pasbesoin 14y ago
If they really are going with those stores (I have no idea), they need something better to show off, and to sell to those with the dollars (leaving aside the "more dollars than sense" debate), than the current line up. Picture a Mac store and a Google store side by side. (Not that this is going to happen.) Where are people going to hang out, given the current line ups?
- rkuykendall-com 14y ago
  Just a note, but this is actually very likely to happen, at least somewhere. They built a new Microsoft store at La Canterra mall in San Antonio directly across from the Apple store. I think it used to be a Victoria's Secret.
cageface 14y ago
I really wish they'd focus all their energy on Android instead. They've come a long way in the last few years but there are still a lot of holes to stop up and I don't see why Android couldn't be adapted to run well on hardware like this too.

30 points by chaz 14y ago

t0 14y ago

Price = Quality When something is $1299, you don't even need to read the specs. You just know it will be worth it. But when something is $249, hmm better check the specs to see why it's so horrible. It's just basic human nature. Google isn't wrong to capitalize on this principle the same way Apple has been doing from the start.

Wingman4l7 14y ago
Except that's not true at all. Plenty of people check out the specs and build quality of expensive items. If anything, some people are more picky, because they're spending more and they want to make sure they're getting their money's worth.
rayiner 14y ago
Yes, that's Apple's big secret. Just price something high and it'll fly off the shelves!
jmillikin 14y ago
Blindly looking for a higher price is almost never worth it; high-priced products tend to be priced as luxury or status items. If someone goes shopping for a laptop with the metric of "pricier = better", they'll end up with some 15-pound plastic monstrosity from Dell.
lotso 14y ago
That's not necessarily true. I think you'll find a lot of $1300 laptops from Dell, HP, etc that are all of questionable quality.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

suyash 14y ago

Whatever Google's Goals might be, I won't buy it since you can run native apps. I need my IDE, my server setup and want to install and remove native apps as and when I want. That is why developers are not impressed with Chromebooks, agree?

myko 14y ago
I love my highly portable Chromebook for ssh'ing into a dev machine and doing real work via vim and whatnot. But I don't see myself paying $1,299 for what essentially is a thin client.
dragonwriter 14y ago
> Whatever Google's Goals might be, I won't buy it since you can run native apps. I think you mean "can't" (though that's arguably inaccurate, given Native Client), unless you are saying that having Native Client is the reason you don't want it, which doesn't make a lot of sense. > I need my IDE, my server setup and want to install and remove native apps as and when I want. Okay. > That is why developers are not impressed with Chromebooks, agree? I would say that that's why people who are attached to traditional desktop environments aren't impressed with Chromebooks, but I don't think that has much to do with "developers". Some developers are interested in cloud IDEs and apps running on cloud-based servers, and I would suspect that they would be well-served by Chromebooks.
garindra 14y ago
Nope, I'm a developer and I fully see getting a Chromebook in the near future as I develop some of my applications through SSH on my remote EC2 instance anyways. The reason why I didn't get it just yet is because I wasn't too impressed with the 3G connection of the Google CR48 that I got a while ago. Once I see good 3G/LTE connection reviews of Chromebook, there's a high chance I'm getting it.

programminggeek 14y ago

Google's goal with the Chromebook Pixel - to make money.

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
ebiester 14y ago
But is it a direct or indirect goal? If they're using ChromeOS as an indirect way to make more money through something such as user feedback in some way... then it might make sense. Or, it's a long term initiative.

randomfool 14y ago

My guess- Google's goal is to replace all of the MacBooks that their employees use internally. That's 40,000 sales right there. They know that they need a high quality machine- no one wants to be sitting in meetings with chintzy hardware. Furthermore, with the recent Java-based Facebook & Apple attacks it's becoming apparent that OSX is becoming a significant hacking target. Google already ditched Windows for security concerns (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d2f3f04e-6ccf-11df-91c8-00144feab49a.html#axzz2La6ZRVoz http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d2f3f04e-6ccf-11df-91c8-00144feab4...). In short- this is a Google Employee computer, that they happen to be selling to the public.

jrajav 14y ago
Perhaps a Chromebook would work great for a Javascript or Dart developer, but what about C++, Java, or Android? Or even Go? I'm curious how well Google dogfooding Chromebooks would work out.
- esrauch 14y ago
  Google developers are not allowed to ever have any code copied to laptops due to security concerns. The laptops that they give devs are mainly for ssh, remote desktop and browser usage already.
  - rodolphoarruda 14y ago
    don't they use Eclipse IDE or alikes? (honest question)
    - hamax 14y ago
      Yes, on workstations. Not on laptops.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
  - bryne 14y ago
    This (and the top parent) are the only reasoned, insightful comments I've seen about the Pixel all day. If you have to be on a laptop, the screens on the new Macbook Pros are simply a joy to use - as long as you aren't mucking with bitmaps too much, the clarity of web and code is really unmatched, eyestrain is greatly reduced. Within the above restrictions (laptop, must be a locked/stripped-down OS), the Chromebook Pixel begins to make a lot more sense as an attractive laptop option.

pasbesoin 14y ago

If they really are going with those stores (I have no idea), they need something better to show off, and to sell to those with the dollars (leaving aside the "more dollars than sense" debate), than the current line up. Picture a Mac store and a Google store side by side. (Not that this is going to happen.) Where are people going to hang out, given the current line ups?

rkuykendall-com 14y ago
Just a note, but this is actually very likely to happen, at least somewhere. They built a new Microsoft store at La Canterra mall in San Antonio directly across from the Apple store. I think it used to be a Victoria's Secret.

cageface 14y ago

I really wish they'd focus all their energy on Android instead. They've come a long way in the last few years but there are still a lot of holes to stop up and I don't see why Android couldn't be adapted to run well on hardware like this too.