4 ms·

I got a chance to use one this weekend and if it didn't have a cripplingly small SSD I'd swap out my 17" MBP for one.

by ktsmith 14y ago

windsurfer 14y ago
What do you need to store on the built-in drive that you couldn't store elsewhere?
- Nux 14y ago
  I could move, squeeze and compress my sh*t to fit in the tiny SSD, but not for this price, thank you. Are we going back in time?
  - ktsmith 14y ago
    Part of the price is paying for the google drive allotment. That's great but I would rather have the local storage which I can get access to anywhere vs the cloud storage that I might not be able to reach.
- johne20 14y ago
  For me the one thing that eats up space is my virtual machines for software testing. The other big driver is iMovie for editing videos, but I am sure I could do that elsewhere.
- ktsmith 14y ago
  Anything I might want to work on. My dev tools and repos + assets from other team members exceed 64GB of space. The only place I have enough bandwidth to work over the network is at home. A device that's primary function is a network device doesn't work where I'm at due to limited connectivity, data caps etc.
jevinskie 14y ago
What kind of SSD does it use? It is a standard 2.5" format that could be swapped out or is it a proprietary interface like some of Apple's SSDs?
- dmm 14y ago
  The SSD is soldered to the board and non-replaceable.
  - archon 14y ago
    I was interested in getting a Pixel until I learned this.
    - rcknr 14y ago
      Non-LTE version should have a free PCI-e slot where you can install additional SSD disk. http://goo.gl/WkXX2 http://goo.gl/WkXX2
      - cjbprime 14y ago
        Are you sure that the connector for the PCI-e slot is going to be populated on the non-LTE model? Is there enough space for an SSD there?
        rcknr 14y ago
        Of course not since I don't have one to check. All I have is this pic and my experience modding laptops.
  - meaty 14y ago
    So basically it's a ticking bomb waiting to go in the trash. At that price, no way. SSD's do fail, sometimes by accident, sometimes by software bugs. Some muppet added a swap partition to one of our build servers with a Samsung 830 and the cells were all worn out dead in 3 months from swapping.
- pasbesoin 14y ago
  I speculate to what extent this is a deliberate feature. You are forced to keep proprietary resources (data, code, etc.) in "the cloud". Which is precisely what many businesses want. They don't want information floating around on individual machines, potentially un-backed-up and inaccessible to the business. Replacing the occasional machine with a bad SSD is a minor inconvenience, by comparison. See it from the business's perspective, not the individual's. P.S. Yes, there is a contrary fear of relying on a third party for storage and security (and continued accessibility). But... Google doesn't have that concern WRT deploying this to their own workforce. And... giving it too much consideration doesn't sell their own services (Google Apps, Drive, etc.). And I still don't think Google really wants to be in the hardware business as a primary product and revenue stream. Oh, and... have your own "cloud", to whatever degree. Google can sell that, too. (It has already, to various agencies of the U.S. Federal government.)
Nursie 14y ago
I know you shouldn't have to on a laptop with that price - but Sandisk Extreme Pro SD cards are pretty damn quick and would make a decent expansion. Assuming you don't need the slot for other reasons.
- ktsmith 14y ago
  Having expansion via an SD card is nice but it's really just too small for what they are charging. I get that it comes with a big chunk of google drive space for three years but it's just not convenient/realistic for me or anyone I know to be tied to cloud storage.

I got a chance to use one this weekend and if it didn't have a cripplingly small SSD I'd swap out my 17" MBP for one.

by ktsmith 14y ago

I got a chance to use one this weekend and if it didn't have a cripplingly small SSD I'd swap out my 17" MBP for one.

windsurfer 14y ago

What do you need to store on the built-in drive that you couldn't store elsewhere?

Nux 14y ago
I could move, squeeze and compress my sh*t to fit in the tiny SSD, but not for this price, thank you. Are we going back in time?
- ktsmith 14y ago
  Part of the price is paying for the google drive allotment. That's great but I would rather have the local storage which I can get access to anywhere vs the cloud storage that I might not be able to reach.
johne20 14y ago
For me the one thing that eats up space is my virtual machines for software testing. The other big driver is iMovie for editing videos, but I am sure I could do that elsewhere.
ktsmith 14y ago
Anything I might want to work on. My dev tools and repos + assets from other team members exceed 64GB of space. The only place I have enough bandwidth to work over the network is at home. A device that's primary function is a network device doesn't work where I'm at due to limited connectivity, data caps etc.

jevinskie 14y ago

What kind of SSD does it use? It is a standard 2.5" format that could be swapped out or is it a proprietary interface like some of Apple's SSDs?

dmm 14y ago
The SSD is soldered to the board and non-replaceable.
- archon 14y ago
  I was interested in getting a Pixel until I learned this.
  - rcknr 14y ago
    Non-LTE version should have a free PCI-e slot where you can install additional SSD disk. http://goo.gl/WkXX2 http://goo.gl/WkXX2
    - cjbprime 14y ago
      Are you sure that the connector for the PCI-e slot is going to be populated on the non-LTE model? Is there enough space for an SSD there?
      - rcknr 14y ago
        Of course not since I don't have one to check. All I have is this pic and my experience modding laptops.
- meaty 14y ago
  So basically it's a ticking bomb waiting to go in the trash. At that price, no way. SSD's do fail, sometimes by accident, sometimes by software bugs. Some muppet added a swap partition to one of our build servers with a Samsung 830 and the cells were all worn out dead in 3 months from swapping.
pasbesoin 14y ago
I speculate to what extent this is a deliberate feature. You are forced to keep proprietary resources (data, code, etc.) in "the cloud". Which is precisely what many businesses want. They don't want information floating around on individual machines, potentially un-backed-up and inaccessible to the business. Replacing the occasional machine with a bad SSD is a minor inconvenience, by comparison. See it from the business's perspective, not the individual's. P.S. Yes, there is a contrary fear of relying on a third party for storage and security (and continued accessibility). But... Google doesn't have that concern WRT deploying this to their own workforce. And... giving it too much consideration doesn't sell their own services (Google Apps, Drive, etc.). And I still don't think Google really wants to be in the hardware business as a primary product and revenue stream. Oh, and... have your own "cloud", to whatever degree. Google can sell that, too. (It has already, to various agencies of the U.S. Federal government.)

Nursie 14y ago

I know you shouldn't have to on a laptop with that price - but Sandisk Extreme Pro SD cards are pretty damn quick and would make a decent expansion. Assuming you don't need the slot for other reasons.

ktsmith 14y ago
Having expansion via an SD card is nice but it's really just too small for what they are charging. I get that it comes with a big chunk of google drive space for three years but it's just not convenient/realistic for me or anyone I know to be tied to cloud storage.