26 ms·

2015 Chromebook Pixel

643 points by dannyr 12y ago

benologist 12y ago
A source that circumvents Google's decision to prevent non-US people from even reading about the device: http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/11/8190513/chromebook-pixel-2015-review http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/11/8190513/chromebook-pixel-2...
- TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago
  I can see the Store page here in the UK. I'm guessing it's UK, US and some other places, but not the rest of the world? I also assume it's not intentional: they just redirect the US store to local ones.
- TheHippo 12y ago
  This URL works from Germany: http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/ http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/
  - weinzierl 12y ago
    I can see the page from Germany, but the "BUY NOW" button gives me a 404 page in German: Die angeforderte URL wurde auf diesem Server nicht gefunden. Weitere Informationen liegen nicht vor.
    - z02d 12y ago
      $999 8 GB RAM, 32 GB SSD $1,299 16 GB RAM, 64GB SSD
    - flurpitude 12y ago
      Same here in Canada. Apple do that better.
    - timack 12y ago
      The 'Buy Now' is giving me a 404 in New Zealand.
- kuboa 12y ago
  I agree that it's really senseless that you can't even look at the product pages if you're outside US. Adding ?gl=US to the end of the URLs works, though.
  - spankalee 12y ago
    It's not the product page, it's the store. The product page is at http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/ http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/
    - kuboa 12y ago
      I meant the individual product pages in the Store. The "Visit the US site instead" link they provide works for the main page, but not the sub-pages for products. I don't know why I can't buy the devices and have them sent to a US address, anyway, for that matter.
- hoprocker 12y ago
  I'm not sure what you're getting at -- I can see both this link and the OP from Mexico.
hamhamed 12y ago
I get 404, from a canadian IP
- S4M 12y ago
  Same here, Spanish IP.
annoying_tech 12y ago
Error 404
glaberficken 12y ago
404
pmontra 12y ago
http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/ http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/ this works (Italian IP)
- dang 12y ago
  Thanks. We changed to that from https://store.google.com/product/chromebook_pixel_2015 https://store.google.com/product/chromebook_pixel_2015, which was 404ing.
cordite 12y ago
Works in the US for those that may claim 404 elsewhere. Perhaps it is a region release or the respective data centers have not been updated yet?
- MichaelGG 12y ago
  Google has absolutely no idea of how to run worldwide services w.r.t language/content. Their forcing of Chrome to change its UI language based on IP is one fantastic example of their absurdity. The idiocy of the store is another. Leading to security holes, too! Install app while in-region. App releases critical update. Click app to update, then find out "app does not exist". Bizarre. Not to mention they often (2/12 months) decide my Denver IP is in Poland or France. Or that my Azure (West-US) machines are in Hungary.
  - cordite 12y ago
    I recall that the US allocated IPv4 to be saturated, so Azure has been using IP addresses from Brazil and possibly others (such as Hungary?) As for a residential (I assume) in Denver, that's just whack.
GrandTheftR 12y ago
$999 (32G) and $1299(64G) I am not sure I would buy this, the spec looks ok
- gentlebend 12y ago
  $999 (2.2GHz i5, 8GB RAM, 32G SSD) and $1299 (2.g4GHz i7, 16GB RAM, 64G SSD), 2560x1700 12.85" touch screen, Intel 5500 graphics, 2 USB 3.0 ports, 2 USB Type-C ports, SD card, audio jack, 720p webcam, Bluetooth 4.0. Really a very nice machine; seems a little overpowered for the cloud-oriented ChromeOS. Stingy SSD can be fixed with a generous high-speed SD card. Presuming it's dual-bootable, I'd be tempted though. I'd been planning to spring for the new Macbook Air but now that Apple's declared war on ports, this looks more my style.
  - niche 12y ago
    I hear what you're saying and agree...trending towards the Pixel...touch screen !! derp
  - outworlder 12y ago
    The Air is unaffected by the 'port war'.
Theodores 12y ago
Loads okay in the UK. Maybe it is markets where the product will not be sold that are 'barred'. As for the device, it fixes the problem of all-day-battery which is a common feature on Chromebooks (e.g. Dell) but wasn't on the original Pixel. I am glad they are continuing the product. Initially everyone laughed but, as time goes by, Chromebook is quite acceptable for 'serious web surfers'.
- nandhp 12y ago
  It's interesting that this is on "Google Store", not "Google Play Devices". This may explain why it isn't working yet in all countries -- and maybe also why it works in the UK, since London is home to the first physical Google Store.
BenjaminDyer 12y ago
As a previous owner of a Pixel I have to say it was one of the most beautiful and well crafted laptops I've ever owned. The Pixel had some major flaws, the CPU and overheating was a killer. However the biggest problem here is the underdevelopment of ChromeOS, such promise but it seems to be going the way of most of Googles products.
- objclxt 12y ago
  Personally, if overheating was a major flaw I probably wouldn't consider the laptop well crafted. Thermal management seems part of the overall design to me. I don't dispute it's a nice looking machine though!
  - nextos 12y ago
    Indeed. But it was a very nice machine. Hopefully this one won't overheat. Any idea if it's fanless? There's no specific info about the CPU, but it doesn't seem to be according to the clock frequency.
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
    - kuboa 12y ago
      Apparently it has two fans instead of one now and doesn't overheat like it used to: Another quirk of the first Pixel was that it could get quite noisy and warm while running. No more: Thanks to a revamped cooling system, which features two fans that spin at lower revolutions-per-minute than the original model's single-fan setup, the new Pixel stays near-silent and doesn't get hot while you use it. http://www.computerworld.com/article/2895014/new-chromebook-pixel.html http://www.computerworld.com/article/2895014/new-chromebook-...
- Crito 12y ago
  I've never had my Pixel overheat per-se, but it frequently gets hot enough that it is mildly painful to touch. My issue was the shit warranty. The sound card on mine completely shit itself (no working speakers, and no working headphone jack. Even while using ChromeOS on it) a few weeks after the warranty expired. I can't remember if they offered any sort of extended warranty at the time, but I think I would have got it if I had seen it, so I think they didn't? I am also starting to become concerned about the battery life. I googled around for battery replacement and did not find anything. Mine is okay so far, but probably won't be in a year or so. At least the price of this new iteration is more reasonable.
bodyfour 12y ago
Exciting that there's a 16GB RAM version; should be a good dev box if you can live with 64GB (max) SSD
- ovi256 12y ago
  I wonder if it could be made into a hackintosh. Probably not if it doesn't have the exact same hardware as some Macbook.
  - hrktb 12y ago
    Isn't the new Macbook or the MBP if you go with 16G of RAM pretty close in price? If it's not specially to have chromeOS or linux and use the touchscreen, I have a hard time understanding the appeal of this machine.
edgarvaldes 12y ago
>Google Store is not available in your country. The site has a link to the US version.
- miahi 12y ago
  Yes, it goes to the main US site, and then you click on the Chromebook and it shows the same "not available in your country" message.
rrggrr 12y ago
The first generation pixel ate up many hours of my time installing and reinstalling linux on it. Now I have Ubuntu running nicely on a Surface Pro and don't think I could be happier.
- gtk40 12y ago
  Do you think touchscreen support is up to par? I'm running a Windows tablet with similar specs (Acer Iconia W700P -- no pen support though) and I have really wanted to put Linux on it, but haven't tried. I've just been using a Debian VM for when I need Linux for now.
  - rrggrr 12y ago
    Its good enough for travel, which is what I use the SFPro for because I like to keep my travel bag weight to a minimum. For desktop work it would make me insane and stick with OSX.
chatmasta 12y ago
Can you boot linux on it?
- lsllc 12y ago
  Would be very interested to see how well Ubuntu runs on this. As a once die-hard Apple fan I'm so sick of the mess that is Mac OS X Yosemite that I'm willing to abandon Apple and try a Linux laptop, but only if: 1) The wifi and sound work out of the box 2) Battery life is better than 2hrs 3) Suspend/resume works
  - dman 12y ago
    I get around 6 hours on the old pixel after a few tweaks in Ubuntu. I dont use suspend / resume so cannot comment on that. Wifi and sound work beautifully.
  - dmitrygr 12y ago
    Toshiba R30-ASMBN22 I have mine configured with: 256GB SSD 2TB HDD MATTE 1080p screen 16GB ram 802.11ac 2x2 wifi has lenovo-like nub mouse cost me less than 1500 runs windows 7, linux mint, and OSX battery life browsing web at medium brightness over wifi is over 10 hours in windows, 8 in linux, 7 in OSX
    - notsony 12y ago
      A matte display is essential for a developer (imho) so the Pixel is a non-starter.
  - 27182818284 12y ago
    I was Fedora, Ubuntu, and Arch before making the jump to OS X. I agree with you that they've gone downhill, but because of your numbers 1 and especially 2-3 I've always been negative on a laptop that isn't made by Apple. I've just had so many terrible experiences with PC laptops in those areas. They all work, but they have never worked as well.
  - nfoz 12y ago
OoTheNigerian 12y ago
Si I cannot even look at the product because I do not live in the US? Who makes these decisions?
- fit2rule 12y ago
  >>Who makes these decisions? Americans.
MarcScott 12y ago
My MBP was out of commission recently, with the video issue. I made do with an HP Chromebook for a month, using crouton to have ubuntu in a chroot. I was extremely pleased with the setup, and it barely affected my productivity at all. Emacs was a little slower to fire up and sift through my agenda files, but apart from that, I barely noticed the difference. When I wasn't working, it was great to use ChromeOS to surf or cast Netflix to the TV. I'd definitely consider getting a Pixel.
dferlemann 12y ago
I don't get it anymore... 8-16 GB RAM for what? I have not used Chromebook. Do you all use it for gaming? For serious computation? with only 32-64 GB SSD? For this price, it would be nice to be able to upgrade SSD though. Then I will also want to install a Linux distro or Windows on it.
- smackfu 12y ago
  It's made ONLY to use complex web apps, with the data stored on the server. So the SSD is essentially just for web caching / local web storage, and the RAM is for Chrome processes, basic OS use, and additional caching.
- skrowl 12y ago
  Did you not notice that it has a built in SD card slot if you want more storage? Also, ChromeOS will happily use 8-16GB of RAM if you have enough browser tabs open and stuff running in the background.
  - digi_owl 12y ago
    > Did you not notice that it has a built in SD card slot if you want more storage? Wish Google would adopt that attitude for their Nexus line as well...
  - SloopJon 12y ago
    I got a Toshiba Chromebook 2 (4 GB RAM, 32 GB storage, decent screen, but an anemic processor), thinking it could replace an old MacBook we use for web, email, and music. The email didn't work so well, because we couldn't easily see multiple accounts at once. I put in an SD card full of music, but the players I tried were all terrible. I can see wanting 8 GB of RAM, but I'd need Crouton to make use of 16 GB.
- pornel 12y ago
  > 8-16 GB RAM for what? For a ton of Chrome tabs. > only 32-64 GB SSD? You're expected to store all data on Google servers.
tolmasky 12y ago
I just bought one, I'm going to give it an honest shot at being my only computer. As the reviews say, most of what I do is web (and web dev), so I would really like it to work. The question is will I be able to do any sort of docker/node/server-sidey stuff. We'll see. I'll give it a fair shake and even try running that stuff remotely. The Android apps thing is an interesting stop gap, maybe it'll be easier to get a text editor running from that environment?
- rcarmo 12y ago
  You can try Caret, which is a very nice editor, and Zed, which works with Dropbox. However, you will not be able to do much (if anything) with Docker without going into developer mode, and even then it will depend a lot on whether this model will break Crouton in any way. I'd say the tiny amount of storage will make it really hard to do anything productive with containers...
  - Andrex 12y ago
    Caret has an absolutely horrible UI. :( I think Text is OK. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/text/mmfbcljfglbokpmkimbfghdkjmjhdgbg https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/text/mmfbcljfglbok... Personally though my favorite is Tailor, even though I never got the live reloading to work (for HTML/JS.) It can pull from GitHub repos, which is pretty useful. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tailor/mfakmogheanjhlgjhpijkhdjegllgenf https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tailor/mfakmoghean... Now that Polymer/Paper is out there I wish someone would use that for an editor, as it's likely it'll finally be the standardized UI for Chrome OS. Might be a fun weekend project...
- tdicola 12y ago
  I've had a Chromebook for over a year now and my best advice is to skip straight to installing a real Linux distribution (either using crouton or just natively). The reality of ChromeOS apps is much further off than the dream of some totally cloud connected digital worker. Throw Ubuntu on it, get Sublime Text, Atom, etc. and all your development tools, then go to town.
skrowl 12y ago
I'd take this over one of the new MacBooks any day. Better proc (with better video), multiple USB-C and USB-3 ports, MUCH cheaper.
nandhp 12y ago
> What's in the box: Chromebook Pixel; Universal Type-C Charger, 60W; Quick Start Guide So the new MacBook isn't the only USB-powered notebook anymore. It does, however, appear to have two type C ports, along with two type A ports (USB 3.0), headphone, and SD card. The type C port also supports display out (up to 4K). It also has a "regular" processor (Intel® Core™ i5 Processor, 2.2GHz or Intel® Core™ i7 processor, 2.4GHz) and "up to 12 hours" of battery life; but it weighs 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) to Apple's 2.1 lbs. You can buy Google's 60W USB-C charger for $60. https://store.google.com/product/universal_type_c_60w_charger https://store.google.com/product/universal_type_c_60w_charge... The C to A adapter (for your existing peripherals) is $13. https://store.google.com/product/usb_type_c_to_usb_standard_a_adapter https://store.google.com/product/usb_type_c_to_usb_standard_...
- pjmlp 12y ago
  At least the MacBook is a real computer, not a browser on steroids.
  - dman 12y ago
    You can install linux on it. I own the previous version of the Pixel and I run ubuntu on it and its close to perfect. Two things I would change are 1. Improve thermal cooling or move to a underpowered cpu. I have worked around it by rate limiting my CPU to not go over 800 MHz. With a few tweaks, it sips ~8.8W and gives me > 6 hrs of battery life. 2. Make the hinge a bit stiffer. My only other complaint is that it refuses to install FreeBSD.
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
    - fit2rule 12y ago
      Did you get touch features working on your older Pixel? I'm very curious about whether the Pixel series would be a good machine for Ubuntu .. care to share your experiences?
      - 12y ago
rexf 12y ago
Nice work Google. It has two 2 USB Type-C (vs 1 on the new Macbook) and 2 USB 3.0 ports. This is the way to introduce USB-C and provide practical value to the customer (vs selling $79 adapters).
- rimantas 12y ago
  Yup, and if it had 5 ports value vould be five times as much, right? For some value is not in the ports.
chambo622 12y ago
My main issues with my first gen Chromebook Pixel that I received at Google I/O in 2013: 1) Poor battery life (~4 hours) 2) Lots of heat 3) Instability of Linux environment (with Crouton) made it a poor dev machine. They seem to have fixed 1) and 2), I'm still nervous about making this a primary machine due to 3). I would have situations where the system would force shut down when closing the lid instead of sleeping/resuming properly. That, and two years ago, no Linux desktop environment supported high DPI screens properly. Maybe this has changed. Other than that, this looks like an amazing machine. Love that 16GB of RAM is an option - XPS 13, which I'm also eyeing, only goes up to 8GB. 64GB max SSD is a bit of a problem though.
- dman 12y ago
  Have they released data about heat for the new machine?
  - chambo622 12y ago
    Initial review from TC claims that heat is no longer an issue.
- pimlottc 12y ago
  I think you mean 2011, that was when gave out the first Chromebooks. It was not a bad little device but the CPU was woefully underpowered.
  - chambo622 12y ago
    Nope, definitely 2013.
    - pimlottc 12y ago
      Ah, I misread your post, I thought you just said "Chromebook". My bad.
  - bluedino 12y ago
    Chromebook Pixel, not Chromebook.
okasaki 12y ago
The page sends me into a loop. "The Chrome store in not available in your country". Then it shows the option of looking at the US store page. I click on the Chromebook there and it goes back to saying it's not available in my country.
andrepd 12y ago
Funny how the superfluous Caps Lock key gets replaced with a search key.
- nfoz 12y ago
  Whatever it says it is, I'll always remap it to Control :)
- nine_k 12y ago
  And has been for years on Chromebooks.
pjmlp 12y ago
$999 for a browser on steroids?! I get why we cannot see the link in Europe, as hardly anyone is buying them over here, so why bother.
nfoz 12y ago
How well did non-ChromeOS linux work on the last Pixel?
- dman 12y ago
  Fantastic. Everything works out of the box on ubuntu and fedora.
  - stusmall 12y ago
    Is it still done through that chroot wonkery?
    - dman 12y ago
      I am old school in the sense that I like to run my os as a native install directly on the machine without any chroot / vm / hypervisor trickery. This guide walks you through how to do a native linux install and blow chromeos away on the pixel. http://vger.kernel.org/~davem/chromebook_pixel_linux.txt http://vger.kernel.org/~davem/chromebook_pixel_linux.txt
      - nfoz 12y ago
        Whoaaaaa this seems waaaayy hackier than I expected. Will this void the warranty? I just ordered... I will be returning the thing if I can't get Debian installed and given a thorough trial run. Edit: Nevermind it's really not that bad, just replacing the BIOS, that should be fine. I see little risk of "bricking" a machine here, I'm sure I can get Debian running with these instructions and return the product if it doesn't work well enough.
        darcyparker 12y ago
        Start with creating a chroot. chroots are easy and can be wiped/recreated quickly if you mess them up. I run Debian Jessie in a chroot and have a simple bash script that provisions the additional stuff I want (apt-get, etc..) and edits a few config files.
skizm 12y ago
Can I put ubuntu or windows on this? Or even make it a hackintosh?
- kkamperschroer 12y ago
  Linux with Crouton: https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton
forrestthewoods 12y ago
can you install windows on it?
- dman 12y ago
  On the last pixel I was unable to install Windows 8. Dont know about this one.
forrestthewoods 12y ago
can you install windows on it?
state 12y ago
I really wish this didn't look like a bad imitation of an Apple product. Surely it's possible to build a nice looking laptop that doesn't look so similar to a MacBook. If you're going to do something different, just be different. I think these things are actually kind of sweet, but I can't stand the way they look.
- fit2rule 12y ago
  There's something to be said, though, for the standard that Apple have set with the unibody design of the Macbooks .. its a very functional design and can take a beating. I wish more manufacturers would just copy this feature, personally .. the only reason I persist with the Macbook is that its not at all a creaky, plasticy slab .. but rather a more functional, industrial-strength product.
- calbear81 12y ago
  It looks heavier than it's spec'ed for (3.3lbs). I'm not sure what it is but it just looks really thick, like a 2011-era Macbook Pro. I too wish they went a different direction with their industrial design.
- jonathantm 12y ago
  #fanboy4life Show me a good looking laptop and I'll show you a laptop that somebody will say looks like something Apple made first. There are many ways this does not look like an Apple laptop. But you know what? It doesn't fucking matter. Buy it, don't buy it. Like it, don't like it. Whatever. Just - for the love of Ullr - please don't dirty this otherwise wonderful website with such fucking banal commentary. Say something meaningful, say something funny, but please don't say something that sounds like a failed (or ironic) attempt at trolling.
  - dntrkv 12y ago
    Examples of beautiful laptops that don't look like MacBooks: https://brooksreview.net/imgs/sony_vaio_505.jpg https://brooksreview.net/imgs/sony_vaio_505.jpg http://www.sony.co.in/product/resources/en_IN/images/hubpages/vaio/Hub-Child-Feature/feature10/p13_11/ultrabook_0.jpg http://www.sony.co.in/product/resources/en_IN/images/hubpage... http://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/voodoo-envy-white_-flat-view-02.jpg http://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/voodoo-env... http://blog.laptopmag.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/sony-x505.jpg http://blog.laptopmag.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/... http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/img_lib/530x430/x1.jpg http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/img_lib/530x430/... Believe it or not, it is possible to design great looking products without being called an Apple-clone. Most companies just try to stick with what works.
deleted 12y ago
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deleted 12y ago
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aikah 12y ago
Could anybody archive the the bloody page so people can see ? stupid google.
mcantelon 12y ago
How much does this thing cost? I clicked on the purchase link and got a 404 (badly implemented regional restriction maybe)?
- reportingsjr 12y ago
  Looks like it starts at $999 for the 8GB RAM and 32GB SSD and $1299 for 16GB ram and 64GB SSD.
halosghost 12y ago
I always see these spec lists and can't help but think that if I replaced the SSD with a much larger one and installed a real OS on it that this would actually be a tolerable machine; though I remain unconvinced that it is worth the price…
- aikah 12y ago
  The machine looks good,no question. But 16GB ? 32GB ? 64GB SSDs? frankly, it's a no Go for the price ($999). For half the price one can get a better computer. I don't buy the "but you're supposed to be always connected and store files in the cloud" bullshit. I bought a $500 laptop with better specs ,that runs linux without driver and issues and yes, I can surf the web with it. I'm no fan of Apple but even the latest 13' macbook air at $999 makes way more sense that this product. And yes,it has a browser and Yes you can run Linux on it.
jrockway 12y ago
Probably want to link to the blog, which I think is available in every country: http://chrome.blogspot.com/2015/03/for-whats-next-new-chromebook-pixel-and.html http://chrome.blogspot.com/2015/03/for-whats-next-new-chrome...
MatthewWilkes 12y ago
"we don’t recommend trying to taste or smell your Pixel"
jkot 12y ago
3:2 high res screen, i7 CPU, 16GB RAM, 64 GB storage... I will seriously consider this as my next Linux laptop.
lsaferite 12y ago
If the specs* they list are correct, it charges fully in 1.5 hours, which, at 60W, is 90Wh of storage. 90Wh over 12 hours is 7.5W of power usage. That's a nice small number. It's 50% more than the new MB, but significantly more computer as well. *: They claim to charge enough for 2 hours in 15 minutes. The charger is a 60W charger.
- boobsbr 12y ago
  this article claims it's a 72 watt-hour battery: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2894970/hands-on-googles-new-chromebook-pixel-makes-big-changes-under-the-hood.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/2894970/hands-on-googles-new-...
  - lsaferite 12y ago
    That would put it at running at roughly 6W and the 60W charger is only being used at 48W.
nfoz 12y ago
"To place an order, you must have a Google Wallet account." Ugh, really? Can't I just buy the product? Will these be sold in stores, or outside of Google's ecosystem? Just curious. Andyes, I want one specifically for the hardware, and will be replacing the OS.
lytedev 12y ago
I'm sure it's a fantastic machine, I just can't understand what niche this is aiming for... there seems to me to be a better alternative to this machine for anybody... Chrome OS developers?
- ripter 12y ago
  I recently bought a ChromeBook for development (The $199 one). It's a super light linux machine that lasts for days. So I have all my dev tools and I can easily work on any git repo. I don't do any Chrome OS development. I tried using a tablet for this, but as an emacs users, I have very specific keyboard bindings that the tablets always had issues with.
  - eertami 12y ago
    Which Chromebook if you don't mind me asking? I've been using an old Thinkpad T61 but it just seems a little bit underpowered/dated/inefficient now - considering jumping to something new.
    - ripter 12y ago
      ASUS Chromebook 13-Inch HD with Gigabit WiFi, 16GB Storage & 2GB RAM (Yellow) [http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O5VX2AA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O5VX2AA/ref=oh_aui_det...] I've been really surprised at how smooth the experience has been, especially since I'm running ubuntu in chroot. It's not quite powerful enough to play minecraft, it runs but really slowly.
  - atmosx 12y ago
    Yes, you bought it and you 'hacked it' in order to make it 'usable'. Most developers will buy a MBA which is an order of magnitude faster with more powerful CPU and feautures MacOSX which has tons of software to enhance development (especially for CLI users). So definately no, developers are not a niche market for this toy-device althoguh I admit that I like my Samsung Chromebook (and Iinstalled xubuntu too on it...).
zongitsrinzler 12y ago
What is the price. Cannot see it where I live.
- egonschiele 12y ago
  Starting at $999.
funkiee 12y ago
After digging around the store and url jumping, it looks like Google no longer sells the Nexus 5 nor 7 anymore. Interesting...
rdtsc 12y ago
Can it run Ubuntu? That is the first thing I would do to it. I've done it with Acer C720 with i3 processor. Initially got it as a portable light machine used for travel. But now it kind of became my default. I used to lug around my trusty old Thinkpad T60.
- AdmiralAsshat 12y ago
  Owner of a previous Pixel here. It runs Ubuntu just fine under Crouton. If you're trying to completely wipe out ChromeOS and boot directly into Ubuntu, I believe it's possible. Personally, however, I find ChromeOS to be decent, and I prefer simply popping open Crouton whenever I need a linux-only app. The fact that Crouton can now run in a single tab instead of having to do an environment switch makes it even more useful.
ansgri 12y ago
FYI the time-lapse movie playing on the screen is TimeScapes (http://timescapes.org/ http://timescapes.org/), which is fascinating on big HD screens.
revelation 12y ago
Jesus, designing a usable ultrabook must be very difficult. We have one contender from California, but their ideology has them offer just a single USB-C port. Now we get the competitor from Mountain View, who have rightly recognized the need for more than one fucking port when that's how you charge the damn thing, and what do they decide? Oh yeah, we'll top out storage at 64GiB.
- jedmeyers 12y ago
  Mountain View is also in California, by the way. Apple and Google are 15 minutes drive apart.
- egonschiele 12y ago
  The whole point of a chromebook is that the storage is in the cloud. I was surprised they offered so much storage.
  - revelation 12y ago
    That's great, but even at 1GBit over Google Fiber that has still less bandwidth than an actual SSD. And of course the most important part of why you use an SSD in the first place is latency, where cloud storage is significantly slower than 1995 spinning platter hard disks. So even if I accept that the storage is in the cloud, it doesn't make sense since the hardware is clearly not there, but the software isn't either. I can't tell VMWare to use Google Drive for storage. It's a propietary data-dump, not an actual drive.
    - knodi123 12y ago
      can you use VMWare on a chromebook?
      - darcyparker 12y ago
        Inside a chroot - yes. See https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton
nsnick 12y ago
The new macbook in your link looks thicker than the old ones.
ChuckMcM 12y ago
Pretty neat. And caveat the port issue[1] pretty nice. I wonder what the battery life is like with Linux installed (probably not 12 hours :-) Now if they added a wireless charging option so that when I set it upon my desk it was powered/charging wirelessly that would be pretty neat. I'm amazed as how closely it tracks the macbook 13. They could be twins. [1] The whole one port to rule them all which is fine except that it becomes a single point of failure for the device, I would be totally ok if it came with two C connectors and either could be power or data or whatever, then if one failed or got gunked up it would still be usable until I got it repaired.
- Buge 12y ago
  Doesn't this have 2 USB C ports?
  - krasin 12y ago
    It does. Two USB-C ports and two USB 3.0 ports.
- platinum1 12y ago
  It does have two Type C connectors
  - ChuckMcM 12y ago
    Odd, I read their weirdly scrolling site twice and came away with the impression it had only one. I sit corrected, now I guess I'll have to buy it. :-)
- emidln 12y ago
  Well, it does come with Linux on it...
blfr 12y ago
How is ChromeOS? Can you get a decent terminal or terminal app? Install and keep up to date the basic terminal utilities (ssh, tmux, vim, rsync, etc)? What about other software? Is the browser like the regular Chrome? Can you play regular media files (flac, x264 mkv)? Are there any unpleasant surprises?
- krasin 12y ago
  re: terminal. I very like the Secure Shell app: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-shell/pnhechapfaindjhompbnflcldabbghjo?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-shell/pnhec...
- jakebasile 12y ago
  I've used Chrome OS off and on since it released. There is a terminal that you can get to, but it isn't great. The best solution I used was to use the Secure Shell [1] app to SSH to a Linux box. This actually works quite well. The other solution is to just install a flavor of Linux on it. Ubuntu worked well, and you can even install it to a chroot and run both at once. The browser itself is pretty much regular Chrome, but I have no idea about the media files. [1]: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-shell/pnhechapfaindjhompbnflcldabbghjo?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-shell/pnhec...
- dublinben 12y ago
  It's completely simple to get a real terminal/SSH running with Crouton.[0] ChromeOS supports every common media format you'll come across.[1] [0]https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton [1]http://www.chromium.org/audio-video http://www.chromium.org/audio-video
  - blfr 12y ago
    You can install only the command line tools[1]. Does this work as a nice terminal window within ChromeOS? I can't find that kind of setup on Youtube. [1] https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton#i-dont-always-use-linux-but-when-i-do-i-use-cli https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton#i-dont-always-use-linux...
egonschiele 12y ago
I'm not sure why this is better than the cheapest macbook air?Similar battery life, similar processor. 4gb more memory, smaller hard drive. And the cheapest pixel is $100 more. What do I get for that $100? For me the downsides are: can only use apps from the chrome web store, no unix command line (maybe it exists and I don't know?). I'm really happy someone is trying to compete, but not sure why I would buy this.
- vlunkr 12y ago
  Hmm, this is a great point. In my mind, the only reason to get anything running ChromeOS is if it's dirt cheap. You would get so much more value out of something that can run OSX.
- friendcomputer 12y ago
  If you want a full featured local linux command line, you can switch to developer mode and install one in a chroot via something like https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton This does sidestep some of the security features of the device, but it's fine if you really want it. Or you can just ssh somewhere.
  - rbanffy 12y ago
    I found OSX with MacPorts to be quite enough most of the time. I can run editors and such on the Mac side and test the application from within a small VM.
    - darcyparker 12y ago
      Not homebrew?
      - hutattedonmyarm 12y ago
        both is possible
      - rbanffy 12y ago
daemonza 12y ago
and google makes it look like a 4 year old macbook pro.
spdegabrielle 12y ago
>*Yes, we know there are five senses, but we don’t >recommend trying to taste or smell your Pixel. You should ALWAYS smell your laptop. The Surface Pro 3 smells WEIRD.
sspiff 12y ago
Well, nice that they put a viable amount of memory in this iteration. I can't see the specs or price of this machine in my country. For anyone in the same situation, here's the price and specs left out of their landing page: $999 model: - 2.2GHz (2.7GHz Turbo) dual-core Intel Core i5-5200U - 8GB RAM and 32GB storage $1299 model: - 2.6GHz (3.2GHz Turbo) dual-core Core i7-5600U - 16GB RAM and 64GB storage
deleted 12y ago
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joering2 12y ago
Current Chromebooks have a major flaw because they tend to be "locked" by Google. Without any magical hacks, you won't install Skype. There is no normal file navigation Explorer, and DropBox won't run either. Of course Drive and Hangouts work. Price is very good, but until Skype is accepted and better file tools provided, this is once again a turn off.
frade33 12y ago
Google is doing, what a $300 Billion enterprise can do., than a billion people need. Most enterprises of their scale are focused on the later. I meant, Glass and Chromebook are 'awesome'., but did or does it make sense, theverge repeatedly said, it does not make sense to buy it. I like the notion of 'web' based OS, but I guess, for time being, that's for our tablets or phones only, a Laptop is multi-purpose machine and will remain so for perhaps ever, I meant its ridiculous to have one laptop for 'web' and other for 'work'., when most of them can do both at once.
eibrahim 12y ago
I hope I can use that port to charge my other laptop. The one that I can actually use with practical ports and can run real apps and not just websites.
dschiptsov 12y ago
It is only me, or Dell XPS 13 9343 is simply better?
- nfoz 12y ago
  If you compare the new Dell XPS 13 or even a Vaio Pro 13 (sadly not sold in the US anymore), it's pretty surprising to compare them to the Pixel. They both have much more connectivity options, 16:9 13" screens while being a full pound lighter. The Sony's keyboard was great. There's not much of a selling point in favour of the Pixel given that it's heavier and doesn't have a real disk drive or many ports / connectivity. Unfortunately I returned my new Dell XPS13 because I was so disappointed by the keyboard. But it's really not that bad, I was going to get it again when the Linux version is launched. But now I'm going to try a Pixel out instead. If I could still get a Vaio Pro, or a Panasonic Let's Note, or many of the other Japanese high-end ultrabooks in the US, I would gladly do that instead of the Pixel.
AdmiralAsshat 12y ago
Owner of a last-gen Pixel here. I don't see myself upgrading any time soon, but as far as refreshes go, this one seems to address most of my complaints, namely: - More RAM - Better battery life / charge time - USB-C ports Here's what I'm not sure if it will fix: - Overheating (original Pixel gets HOT on the top-left corner where I'm guessing the CPU resides) - OpenVPN support (ChromeOS does not support simply loading a .ovpn profile--I have to do some hacking from the command-line to get it to work) - Longer warranty (1-year limited is all that is provided with the previous model--and since these are directly from Google, you can't get an extended warranty through the retailer) - Weight (Love the metal slate look, could be lighter, however; based on the specs it seems like not so much) And finally, the things that Google will never fix, and you should simply be aware of ChromeOS's limitations: - Lack of apps I will say, however, that in the past year, Crouton, which allows you to sideload a linux partition onto the device, has come a long way, to the point that you can actually have an Ubuntu chroot running in a tab inside ChromeOS as though it were just another window/app. It has proved incredibly useful for running things like Sublime or Eclipse without having to do the complete environment-shift that was required some time ago. Price is still a little high, however. I feel like those looking for a high-quality Linux laptop could probably get an Acer Aspire for cheaper.
- aceperry 12y ago
  I have 4 chromebooks, the original pilot program, 1st Gen Samsung, Acer c720, and the Pixel. Totally love the pixel, pilot book and Acer, hate the 1st gen. AdmiralAsshat's criticisms are valid about the pixel but it works well for me since it has a lot more memory than the other chromebooks. Crouton linux makes even the smaller chromebooks quite useable for most situations. Sometimes I have a hard time deciding which chromebook to use. Mostly it's come down to the Acer for travel, and the Pixel for home. The Pixel has poor battery life compared to the other chromebooks though, but glad to hear that's been taken care of.
- ortusdux 12y ago
  I always recommend getting a warranty through your insurance company. My wife got a surface pro, and in her hands I give it a 2 year half-life. We got a personal articles policy on it that is about 45$ a year, and it covers any situation except terrorism or government/cdc seizure. Those policies are a good read. Squaretrade was over 100$ a year and did not cover theft etc. Oh and no deductible. She broke the 60$ charger a few weeks ago and got a new one fully covered.
cphuntington97 12y ago
Am I the only person who was interested in LTE? Yes I have a phone, but I'd rather not tether, if only to save phone battery.
baconhigh 12y ago
BUY link goes to a 404.
ericfrederich 12y ago
How useful is a ChromeOS? Can you use it yet to develop either ChromeOS apps Chromium itself? Can you use it develop Android apps or Android itself?
- dragonwriter 12y ago
  > How useful is a ChromeOS? Can you use it yet to develop either ChromeOS apps Chromium itself? ChromeOS apps are just web apps. There are web-based IDEs which work in Chrome that can be used to develop web apps. So, ChromeOS can be used to develop ChromeOS apps.
billconan 12y ago
if this runs ubuntu 15 and the ssd can be easily replaced, I would consider. $1299 is too expensive for a chrome book. what chrome book app could use 16gb memory!
eumenides1 12y ago
Anybody know if you can upgrade the HD or is it some kind of soddered on nonsense?
- darcyparker 12y ago
  I haven't seen enough details about the pixel. But other chromebooks are easy to upgrade. Just a few screws... Look on amazon for NGFF drives. You'll see in the reviews that many people talk about their experience upgrading their chromebooks.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- cjbprime 12y ago
  It's soldered down.
Sodman 12y ago
Owner of a 2013 Chromebook Pixel here - This new model definitely excites me. I've switched between running Debian natively on boot and running Ubuntu in crouton. As a Java/Web developer, my main gripes with the original Pixel are: -4GB RAM is uncomfortable. Usable, but you need to manage what's running -Battery life isn't great... I was seeing ~3-3.5 hrs during my 'real use'. -Overheating - Gets very hot when doing cpu-intense tasks -Charging time feels like it takes forever. -Hinge is a little loose and the F-keys are weird, but neither are a deal breaker. This 2015 model seems to fix almost all of this, with the possible exception of overheating... I guess time will tell. Chances seem high that these will be given out at I/O 2015, but if I can't get a ticket for that I'll still buy one of these immediately. Crouton has come a long way since 2013, but I'm hoping they keep the 'legacy boot' option from the first model - That way you can boot into native linux with ctrl+L or ChromeOS (and later crouton, if needed) with ctrl+D. If this laptop was 15", it would literally be my dream laptop, however it still checks enough boxes to guarantee that I'll buy one.
- jrochkind1 12y ago
  As an actual owner of a Chromebook Pixel... what would make you buy the new model instead of a similarly priced MacBook Air (much better battery life, more realistically sized SSD, better designed with no loose hinges etc, can still boot into Linux if you want)? Just prefer ChromeOS to OSX? Or the touchscreen? Something else?
  - Sodman 12y ago
    I was tempted to get a MacBook Pro instead of the original pixel, but at that price point at the time the only one available was the 13" non-retina model (possibly even with a HDD, can't remember). The trade-up to SSD/High-res and the curiosity of the 'new shiny laptop from Google' sold me. In terms of upgrading to one in 2015, Google are claiming 12 hour battery life and The Verge said it got 14 hours in their testing - which is more than enough for me. I personally just don't like OSX, although I'd be happy installing linux on a MBP. ChromeOS is fine for a few quick browser tasks (Amazon, Booking Flights, etc), but it's not worth keeping around really. So at that point it just boils down to personal preference on the hardware, and price. The build-quality of the keyboard and touchpad on the pixel are on-par with the high quality of the MBP, and they've made the hinge more solid this time around, so with an i7 processor and 16GBs of RAM at $1300 I'm pretty happy! The 64GB SSD is definitely a major buzzkill, but considering I won't be using this laptop for gaming, and I stream all of my music/tv/movies, I don't actually need a whole pile of local storage. With my current pixel's 64GB I never ran into any issues - the only thing that I feel is a threat to my diskspace is VM images for virtualbox, which I luckily don't have to use much anymore as I now have remote access to windows servers should I need them. The touchscreen (for me) is pointless, I'd much rather have a 128GB/256GB SSD, but it's not the end of the world.
jrochkind1 12y ago
It looks like a very nice machine. At $999 though, it's about the same price as a MacBook Air. I haven't compared specs (SSD? Ram?), but the Chromebook is a device intended to store all your data in 'the cloud', right? On the other hand, it's got a touchscreen which the Air does not. The Air's a lot smaller/lighter/prettier though. At any rate, the Chromebook is definitely no longer priced below a premium laptop like the Air.
- atmosx 12y ago
  I have a chromebook (samsung arm7) and a MBA (2011). Comparing the too, if you're not a highschool student (which your only needs are Youtube, Facebook, Spreadsheet and Doc editor) you're comparing a toy with a very powerful laptop. The difference of the OS is so big that talking about HW doesn't make any sense.
- rifung 12y ago
  I think the biggest thing this has going for it vs. the Air is that the screen is way nicer.
Sephr 12y ago
Last-gen Pixel owner here (recently upgraded to the new XPS 13). I wish more manufacturers would follow Google's lead and start using 3:2 displays in laptops. An XPS 13 (2015) with a 3:2 display and USB C would be the most amazing device ever.
deleted 12y ago
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auganov 12y ago
Microsoft should buy bluestacks just in case.
SeanLuke 12y ago
> *Yes, we know there are five senses, but we don’t recommend trying to taste or smell your Pixel. C'mon Google. Surely you know that there are more than five senses. At the very least, can't balance and proprioception get any love? Not to mention the entire gastrointestinal tract.
dawkins 12y ago
Does it allow an external monitor with 4k 60hz?
X-combinator 12y ago
Comparison out: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2478167,00.asp http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2478167,00.asp
Vecrios 12y ago
Here comes the USB-C port hype train, choochoo!
badloginagain 12y ago
Google develops a laptop that I have high interest in, but no use for. If they want to win the App Ecosystem war, they need to ensure that the developers have the tools to build in their ecosystem. Apple dominates because hackers love macbooks, and provide slick tools that only work in Apple's walled garden. This propagates down to the consumer level, as developers build products consumers love- with Apple taking in the profit all the way down. Google doesn't have that. They don't have a toolset available to developers to optimize for Android/ChromeOS/etc. They need to fix the fragmentation problem at the App Developer level before they can compete at the consumer level.
- mkozlows 12y ago
  That's a fine perspective to have, if you are a corporation trying to own an ecosystem. Me, I don't like walled gardens, and ChromeOS's true platform isn't the Chrome App Store, it's the web. I'm good with that.
  - badloginagain 12y ago
    The Web: Brought To You By Chrome, at least. And Google is a corporation, who would very much want all your online interactions in their garden. But you are right, I dislike Apple because its walls are so high. Google has the opportunity to embrace open-source (or at least well-adopted) technologies to shape an open garden- where your interactions benefit both Google, the web as an open platform, and end consumers who don't know any better. I feel that Google can become caretakers of a "open garden" by aligning the technology available to independent developers and the app ecosystem used by end consumers. And I feel that Google can curate the technology of the web better by targeting the developers than the consumers.
kakisoop 12y ago
For chromebook pixel to be successful among developers atleast, following needs to be done 1. Provide a good terminal like iTerm 2. Google cloud should provide a free standard instance always powered and run chrome in headless mode with remote desktop enabled via chrome remote desktop app. 3. Provide a ebs worth 100GB at least on the cloud. Standard instance costs 0.045 per hour i.e, 345$ per year.
etherael 12y ago
"The Cloud" Can Go Fuck Itself. Addendum; If you ever want it to be taken seriously you must urgently fix two things. 1) Telcos. Being constantly subject to obscene per megabyte usage charges with miserable reliability and speed for access to your bulk storage in the cloud vs $100 per terabyte reliable and fast subscription for life easily portable local storage costs is utterly unacceptable. 2) States. Being constantly subject to unlimited invisible invasive personal data theft without oversight or justification is not an acceptable state of affairs. The existence of states guarantees that they will always insist on being able to do these things. The only potential solution to this problem without actually destroying states (Shock! Horror! ROADS!) is easy and perfect homomorphic encryption. Until you fix these two (quite possibly unfixable) things, "The Cloud" is pipe dream marketing bullshit.
jskonhovd 12y ago
I am glad they gave this model a reboot. If I was in the market for a new linux laptop, this would be a my number one choice over the XPS13 as a close second. I am glad more companies like Dell and Google are supporting linux.
iamlolz 12y ago
Has anyone heard if this is getting an Australian release?
cdnsteve 12y ago
ChromeOS is a non-starter for any development work I'd like. At one time, before 2 kids and a busy job, I would have entertained and enjoyed tinkering and formatting a brand new machine to load up Linux. Now, I don't have time or the energy to waste on that type of thing. I use to like building my own systems, now I just need it to work and do what I need. At this very high price point (for a computer that just surfs the web) I wouldn't want to be the guy responsible for making sales targets.
devsquid 12y ago
No LTE!?
azimuth11 12y ago
Can anyone explain what Google means by "Contextually Lit Keyboard"?
akhilcacharya 12y ago
As it turns out this Pixel cannot have upgradable storage, which really stinks. I hope they wise up and offer a larger model eventually.
nfoz 12y ago
I wonder how much Google makes on these devices in advertising per user.
- nfoz 12y ago
  This was a serious question, I'm legitimately curious. We can't pretend that isn't part of the product offering, and it's a unique aspect of the ChromeOS experience. I can only assume this could partially subsidize the hardware. In the same line of thinking, I wonder how much a Macbook purchase can be offset by the expected revenue from iTunes and other integrated services. Or the pre-bundled spyware that comes with so many other laptops.
ElectricFeel 12y ago
Google, the company, is really selling the new Chromebook (i have one). They're like, "Ok nerds come & watch this video our marketing department made of this product our engineering team built." Great, Google. No one is paying attention!!! There was a new one last year & the year before & it sold then
JohnLen 12y ago
Nice chromebook.
IkmoIkmo 12y ago
I don't really understand the appeal personally. At this price level you could get a dell xps. ChromeOS seems brilliant at a few hundred bucks, especially for kids & elders who get the browser/video/text experience, without the complexity, bloatware, viruses etc of a windows environment. But at $600 or $1000, there just seem to be better windows alternatives, to me at least. And above that you get into OS X range. ChromeOS just doesn't seem to provide the environment where you really need beefy specs (e.g. compiling large code or editing large videos), so if it's just consumer-type stuff, I'd rather have a 2014 Macbook Air 13' at $800-900 at Best Buy, or a Dell XPS, than this. Would love to hear from peoples usecases and experiences. I think there's a genuine usecase for people to put linux on it, or SSH into something else, but for your average straight up consumer, why the pixel and not something else? I understand the low-price Chromebooks, the higher price is hard to grasp for me.
- lugg 12y ago
  Speculation: I suspect the way its going with storage and processing that they are pivoting it to be a contender with Air etc. The cloud storage thing is nice but it just doesn't really have a use case above a few GB of data. The cost of storage just keeps coming down and the price of bandwidth hasn't really moved in years. I think its in a transitory stage, can't really compete with the air yet but likely will in a couple of iterations (think android vs iphone, iphones were cheaper spec wise but android caught up and imo overtook iphones in only a couple of iterations. I do agree there is still a use case for ssh'n into something else, but I also can't see the original use case working at this price point.
- Htsthbjig 12y ago
  I believe that is exactly the idea. Google as the ecosystem provider (ChromeOS) does not really want to compete with the companies that are intended to use the OS. Google does not want to compete with Dell, HP, Lenovo or Acer, but to convince them to use ChromeOS. Google creates hardware as a reference for others to follow. This is very important, as there is a before an after the release of the Nexus phone. Google releases high quality hardware with their OS to prove that a good machine could be make with it, but at a price that does not compete with others.
Pxtl 12y ago
Honestly, I'm not interested in this kind of device until Google manages to unify Android and Chrome so we have a real ecosystem to work with.
solomatov 12y ago
If it had at least 256Gb of SSD, I would buy it, throw away my macbook pro, and use it as my dev machine. Without it, it's useless for me and is just an expensive toy.
duongkai 12y ago
Hope that it can be installed Windows easily. I love this screen but ChromeOS/Linux is not good.
sunilkumarc 12y ago
What does contextually lit keyboard mean exactly ?
rasz_pl 12y ago
Yes yes, but can I run windows on it? Seriously :), can you boot windows using Pixel bootloader?
- techstrategist 12y ago
  I would also like to know this. The screen, ports, and overall hardware looks great as a Windows laptop.
city41 12y ago
Does anyone know how feasible it is -- using Crouton -- to setup one tab in Chrome that is a shell running tmux, vim, git, server processes, etc, then test the website you're coding on in another Chrome tab? A lightweight dev environment like that on a cheap and light notebook is pretty appealing.
callesgg 12y ago
Not available in the Swedish "Google Store".
erazor42 12y ago
Config look cool & cheap, about design: the hinge is ugly
rgomez 12y ago
Why do you people like this 3:2 screens? (I presume that I'm writing to an audience of programmers, mostly). Wider screens are perfect to work with to two files side by side. 16:10 is my perfect ratio, but I'm genuinely curious about your reasons.
mrmondo 12y ago
I think that's a lot of money for low-end storage and Intel 5000 graphics.
__mp 12y ago
I could see myself installing Windows on it. I mean why not? The touchscreen screams for a Windows version >=8. Disclaimer: I currently own two Macbooks (15"retina, 11" air). I use Windows usually in a VM and Linux in the data center.
72deluxe 12y ago
What is odd about this Chromebook is that it has ports and decent hardware, but abysmal storage (I have 50GB of MP3s, let's not get started on videos, documents, source code and compiled software) and a crippled OS. It's like a toy, but a toy that is dependent on a remote toy (the "cloud"). I don't understand how the break away from mainframes to microcomputers has come full circle where we now use very very very powerful microcomputers to connect to effectively mainframes (the "cloud"). Surely the liberating part of microcomputers was the ability to be untethered/unshackled and do stuff locally, not do stuff locally for a little bit or to some extent and then resync periodically. Many of the people using chromebooks for development (from what I can tell) SSH to another machine to do work on a remote server (with X or VNC or something like that), which reduces the extremely powerful local microcomputer to a dumb library terminal. It's stupid. Client/server stuff keeps getting reinvented and it's annoying. I prefer to be a client when I choose, not a permanent client at the mercy of the server.
hobarrera 12y ago
IMHO, a single USB port is an awful idea I keep my mouse pluged in permanently. With a single port, I can't use my mouse while charging (unless I carry around a USB hub, which just proves my point). The same goes for the latest MacBook.
datsun 12y ago
I like its design and specs are good too, but boy is it expensive. I imagine ChromeOS is pretty useless outside of browsing web or taking notes, so why not just buy a tablet for half the price?
narshe 12y ago
That is going to be one expensive web browser.
20edward 12y ago
Doesn't work for me too... Error 404 as well. Bummer! Was really excited.

643 points by dannyr 12y ago

A source that circumvents Google's decision to prevent non-US people from even reading about the device: http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/11/8190513/chromebook-pixel-2015-review http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/11/8190513/chromebook-pixel-2...

TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago
I can see the Store page here in the UK. I'm guessing it's UK, US and some other places, but not the rest of the world? I also assume it's not intentional: they just redirect the US store to local ones.
TheHippo 12y ago
This URL works from Germany: http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/ http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/
- weinzierl 12y ago
  I can see the page from Germany, but the "BUY NOW" button gives me a 404 page in German: Die angeforderte URL wurde auf diesem Server nicht gefunden. Weitere Informationen liegen nicht vor.
  - z02d 12y ago
    $999 8 GB RAM, 32 GB SSD $1,299 16 GB RAM, 64GB SSD
  - flurpitude 12y ago
    Same here in Canada. Apple do that better.
  - timack 12y ago
    The 'Buy Now' is giving me a 404 in New Zealand.
kuboa 12y ago
I agree that it's really senseless that you can't even look at the product pages if you're outside US. Adding ?gl=US to the end of the URLs works, though.
- spankalee 12y ago
  It's not the product page, it's the store. The product page is at http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/ http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/
  - kuboa 12y ago
    I meant the individual product pages in the Store. The "Visit the US site instead" link they provide works for the main page, but not the sub-pages for products. I don't know why I can't buy the devices and have them sent to a US address, anyway, for that matter.
hoprocker 12y ago
I'm not sure what you're getting at -- I can see both this link and the OP from Mexico.

hamhamed 12y ago

I get 404, from a canadian IP

S4M 12y ago
Same here, Spanish IP.

annoying_tech 12y ago

Error 404

glaberficken 12y ago

404

pmontra 12y ago

http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/ http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/ this works (Italian IP)

dang 12y ago
Thanks. We changed to that from https://store.google.com/product/chromebook_pixel_2015 https://store.google.com/product/chromebook_pixel_2015, which was 404ing.

cordite 12y ago

Works in the US for those that may claim 404 elsewhere. Perhaps it is a region release or the respective data centers have not been updated yet?

MichaelGG 12y ago
Google has absolutely no idea of how to run worldwide services w.r.t language/content. Their forcing of Chrome to change its UI language based on IP is one fantastic example of their absurdity. The idiocy of the store is another. Leading to security holes, too! Install app while in-region. App releases critical update. Click app to update, then find out "app does not exist". Bizarre. Not to mention they often (2/12 months) decide my Denver IP is in Poland or France. Or that my Azure (West-US) machines are in Hungary.
- cordite 12y ago
  I recall that the US allocated IPv4 to be saturated, so Azure has been using IP addresses from Brazil and possibly others (such as Hungary?) As for a residential (I assume) in Denver, that's just whack.

GrandTheftR 12y ago

$999 (32G) and $1299(64G) I am not sure I would buy this, the spec looks ok

gentlebend 12y ago
$999 (2.2GHz i5, 8GB RAM, 32G SSD) and $1299 (2.g4GHz i7, 16GB RAM, 64G SSD), 2560x1700 12.85" touch screen, Intel 5500 graphics, 2 USB 3.0 ports, 2 USB Type-C ports, SD card, audio jack, 720p webcam, Bluetooth 4.0. Really a very nice machine; seems a little overpowered for the cloud-oriented ChromeOS. Stingy SSD can be fixed with a generous high-speed SD card. Presuming it's dual-bootable, I'd be tempted though. I'd been planning to spring for the new Macbook Air but now that Apple's declared war on ports, this looks more my style.
- niche 12y ago
  I hear what you're saying and agree...trending towards the Pixel...touch screen !! derp
- outworlder 12y ago
  The Air is unaffected by the 'port war'.

Theodores 12y ago

Loads okay in the UK. Maybe it is markets where the product will not be sold that are 'barred'. As for the device, it fixes the problem of all-day-battery which is a common feature on Chromebooks (e.g. Dell) but wasn't on the original Pixel. I am glad they are continuing the product. Initially everyone laughed but, as time goes by, Chromebook is quite acceptable for 'serious web surfers'.

nandhp 12y ago
It's interesting that this is on "Google Store", not "Google Play Devices". This may explain why it isn't working yet in all countries -- and maybe also why it works in the UK, since London is home to the first physical Google Store.

BenjaminDyer 12y ago

As a previous owner of a Pixel I have to say it was one of the most beautiful and well crafted laptops I've ever owned. The Pixel had some major flaws, the CPU and overheating was a killer. However the biggest problem here is the underdevelopment of ChromeOS, such promise but it seems to be going the way of most of Googles products.

objclxt 12y ago
Personally, if overheating was a major flaw I probably wouldn't consider the laptop well crafted. Thermal management seems part of the overall design to me. I don't dispute it's a nice looking machine though!
- nextos 12y ago
  Indeed. But it was a very nice machine. Hopefully this one won't overheat. Any idea if it's fanless? There's no specific info about the CPU, but it doesn't seem to be according to the clock frequency.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - kuboa 12y ago
    Apparently it has two fans instead of one now and doesn't overheat like it used to: Another quirk of the first Pixel was that it could get quite noisy and warm while running. No more: Thanks to a revamped cooling system, which features two fans that spin at lower revolutions-per-minute than the original model's single-fan setup, the new Pixel stays near-silent and doesn't get hot while you use it. http://www.computerworld.com/article/2895014/new-chromebook-pixel.html http://www.computerworld.com/article/2895014/new-chromebook-...
Crito 12y ago
I've never had my Pixel overheat per-se, but it frequently gets hot enough that it is mildly painful to touch. My issue was the shit warranty. The sound card on mine completely shit itself (no working speakers, and no working headphone jack. Even while using ChromeOS on it) a few weeks after the warranty expired. I can't remember if they offered any sort of extended warranty at the time, but I think I would have got it if I had seen it, so I think they didn't? I am also starting to become concerned about the battery life. I googled around for battery replacement and did not find anything. Mine is okay so far, but probably won't be in a year or so. At least the price of this new iteration is more reasonable.

bodyfour 12y ago

Exciting that there's a 16GB RAM version; should be a good dev box if you can live with 64GB (max) SSD

ovi256 12y ago
I wonder if it could be made into a hackintosh. Probably not if it doesn't have the exact same hardware as some Macbook.
- hrktb 12y ago
  Isn't the new Macbook or the MBP if you go with 16G of RAM pretty close in price? If it's not specially to have chromeOS or linux and use the touchscreen, I have a hard time understanding the appeal of this machine.

edgarvaldes 12y ago

>Google Store is not available in your country. The site has a link to the US version.

miahi 12y ago
Yes, it goes to the main US site, and then you click on the Chromebook and it shows the same "not available in your country" message.

rrggrr 12y ago

The first generation pixel ate up many hours of my time installing and reinstalling linux on it. Now I have Ubuntu running nicely on a Surface Pro and don't think I could be happier.

gtk40 12y ago
Do you think touchscreen support is up to par? I'm running a Windows tablet with similar specs (Acer Iconia W700P -- no pen support though) and I have really wanted to put Linux on it, but haven't tried. I've just been using a Debian VM for when I need Linux for now.
- rrggrr 12y ago
  Its good enough for travel, which is what I use the SFPro for because I like to keep my travel bag weight to a minimum. For desktop work it would make me insane and stick with OSX.

chatmasta 12y ago

Can you boot linux on it?

lsllc 12y ago
Would be very interested to see how well Ubuntu runs on this. As a once die-hard Apple fan I'm so sick of the mess that is Mac OS X Yosemite that I'm willing to abandon Apple and try a Linux laptop, but only if: 1) The wifi and sound work out of the box 2) Battery life is better than 2hrs 3) Suspend/resume works
- dman 12y ago
  I get around 6 hours on the old pixel after a few tweaks in Ubuntu. I dont use suspend / resume so cannot comment on that. Wifi and sound work beautifully.
- dmitrygr 12y ago
  Toshiba R30-ASMBN22 I have mine configured with: 256GB SSD 2TB HDD MATTE 1080p screen 16GB ram 802.11ac 2x2 wifi has lenovo-like nub mouse cost me less than 1500 runs windows 7, linux mint, and OSX battery life browsing web at medium brightness over wifi is over 10 hours in windows, 8 in linux, 7 in OSX
  - notsony 12y ago
    A matte display is essential for a developer (imho) so the Pixel is a non-starter.
- 27182818284 12y ago
  I was Fedora, Ubuntu, and Arch before making the jump to OS X. I agree with you that they've gone downhill, but because of your numbers 1 and especially 2-3 I've always been negative on a laptop that isn't made by Apple. I've just had so many terrible experiences with PC laptops in those areas. They all work, but they have never worked as well.
- nfoz 12y ago

OoTheNigerian 12y ago

Si I cannot even look at the product because I do not live in the US? Who makes these decisions?

fit2rule 12y ago
>>Who makes these decisions? Americans.

MarcScott 12y ago

My MBP was out of commission recently, with the video issue. I made do with an HP Chromebook for a month, using crouton to have ubuntu in a chroot. I was extremely pleased with the setup, and it barely affected my productivity at all. Emacs was a little slower to fire up and sift through my agenda files, but apart from that, I barely noticed the difference. When I wasn't working, it was great to use ChromeOS to surf or cast Netflix to the TV. I'd definitely consider getting a Pixel.

dferlemann 12y ago

I don't get it anymore... 8-16 GB RAM for what? I have not used Chromebook. Do you all use it for gaming? For serious computation? with only 32-64 GB SSD? For this price, it would be nice to be able to upgrade SSD though. Then I will also want to install a Linux distro or Windows on it.

smackfu 12y ago
It's made ONLY to use complex web apps, with the data stored on the server. So the SSD is essentially just for web caching / local web storage, and the RAM is for Chrome processes, basic OS use, and additional caching.
skrowl 12y ago
Did you not notice that it has a built in SD card slot if you want more storage? Also, ChromeOS will happily use 8-16GB of RAM if you have enough browser tabs open and stuff running in the background.
- digi_owl 12y ago
  > Did you not notice that it has a built in SD card slot if you want more storage? Wish Google would adopt that attitude for their Nexus line as well...
- SloopJon 12y ago
  I got a Toshiba Chromebook 2 (4 GB RAM, 32 GB storage, decent screen, but an anemic processor), thinking it could replace an old MacBook we use for web, email, and music. The email didn't work so well, because we couldn't easily see multiple accounts at once. I put in an SD card full of music, but the players I tried were all terrible. I can see wanting 8 GB of RAM, but I'd need Crouton to make use of 16 GB.
pornel 12y ago
> 8-16 GB RAM for what? For a ton of Chrome tabs. > only 32-64 GB SSD? You're expected to store all data on Google servers.

tolmasky 12y ago

I just bought one, I'm going to give it an honest shot at being my only computer. As the reviews say, most of what I do is web (and web dev), so I would really like it to work. The question is will I be able to do any sort of docker/node/server-sidey stuff. We'll see. I'll give it a fair shake and even try running that stuff remotely. The Android apps thing is an interesting stop gap, maybe it'll be easier to get a text editor running from that environment?

rcarmo 12y ago
You can try Caret, which is a very nice editor, and Zed, which works with Dropbox. However, you will not be able to do much (if anything) with Docker without going into developer mode, and even then it will depend a lot on whether this model will break Crouton in any way. I'd say the tiny amount of storage will make it really hard to do anything productive with containers...
- Andrex 12y ago
  Caret has an absolutely horrible UI. :( I think Text is OK. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/text/mmfbcljfglbokpmkimbfghdkjmjhdgbg https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/text/mmfbcljfglbok... Personally though my favorite is Tailor, even though I never got the live reloading to work (for HTML/JS.) It can pull from GitHub repos, which is pretty useful. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tailor/mfakmogheanjhlgjhpijkhdjegllgenf https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tailor/mfakmoghean... Now that Polymer/Paper is out there I wish someone would use that for an editor, as it's likely it'll finally be the standardized UI for Chrome OS. Might be a fun weekend project...
tdicola 12y ago
I've had a Chromebook for over a year now and my best advice is to skip straight to installing a real Linux distribution (either using crouton or just natively). The reality of ChromeOS apps is much further off than the dream of some totally cloud connected digital worker. Throw Ubuntu on it, get Sublime Text, Atom, etc. and all your development tools, then go to town.

skrowl 12y ago

I'd take this over one of the new MacBooks any day. Better proc (with better video), multiple USB-C and USB-3 ports, MUCH cheaper.

nandhp 12y ago

> What's in the box: Chromebook Pixel; Universal Type-C Charger, 60W; Quick Start Guide So the new MacBook isn't the only USB-powered notebook anymore. It does, however, appear to have two type C ports, along with two type A ports (USB 3.0), headphone, and SD card. The type C port also supports display out (up to 4K). It also has a "regular" processor (Intel® Core™ i5 Processor, 2.2GHz or Intel® Core™ i7 processor, 2.4GHz) and "up to 12 hours" of battery life; but it weighs 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) to Apple's 2.1 lbs. You can buy Google's 60W USB-C charger for $60. https://store.google.com/product/universal_type_c_60w_charger https://store.google.com/product/universal_type_c_60w_charge... The C to A adapter (for your existing peripherals) is $13. https://store.google.com/product/usb_type_c_to_usb_standard_a_adapter https://store.google.com/product/usb_type_c_to_usb_standard_...

pjmlp 12y ago
At least the MacBook is a real computer, not a browser on steroids.
- dman 12y ago
  You can install linux on it. I own the previous version of the Pixel and I run ubuntu on it and its close to perfect. Two things I would change are 1. Improve thermal cooling or move to a underpowered cpu. I have worked around it by rate limiting my CPU to not go over 800 MHz. With a few tweaks, it sips ~8.8W and gives me > 6 hrs of battery life. 2. Make the hinge a bit stiffer. My only other complaint is that it refuses to install FreeBSD.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - fit2rule 12y ago
    Did you get touch features working on your older Pixel? I'm very curious about whether the Pixel series would be a good machine for Ubuntu .. care to share your experiences?
    - 12y ago

rexf 12y ago

Nice work Google. It has two 2 USB Type-C (vs 1 on the new Macbook) and 2 USB 3.0 ports. This is the way to introduce USB-C and provide practical value to the customer (vs selling $79 adapters).

rimantas 12y ago
Yup, and if it had 5 ports value vould be five times as much, right? For some value is not in the ports.

chambo622 12y ago

My main issues with my first gen Chromebook Pixel that I received at Google I/O in 2013: 1) Poor battery life (~4 hours) 2) Lots of heat 3) Instability of Linux environment (with Crouton) made it a poor dev machine. They seem to have fixed 1) and 2), I'm still nervous about making this a primary machine due to 3). I would have situations where the system would force shut down when closing the lid instead of sleeping/resuming properly. That, and two years ago, no Linux desktop environment supported high DPI screens properly. Maybe this has changed. Other than that, this looks like an amazing machine. Love that 16GB of RAM is an option - XPS 13, which I'm also eyeing, only goes up to 8GB. 64GB max SSD is a bit of a problem though.

dman 12y ago
Have they released data about heat for the new machine?
- chambo622 12y ago
  Initial review from TC claims that heat is no longer an issue.
pimlottc 12y ago
I think you mean 2011, that was when gave out the first Chromebooks. It was not a bad little device but the CPU was woefully underpowered.
- chambo622 12y ago
  Nope, definitely 2013.
  - pimlottc 12y ago
    Ah, I misread your post, I thought you just said "Chromebook". My bad.
- bluedino 12y ago
  Chromebook Pixel, not Chromebook.

okasaki 12y ago

The page sends me into a loop. "The Chrome store in not available in your country". Then it shows the option of looking at the US store page. I click on the Chromebook there and it goes back to saying it's not available in my country.

andrepd 12y ago

Funny how the superfluous Caps Lock key gets replaced with a search key.

nfoz 12y ago
Whatever it says it is, I'll always remap it to Control :)
nine_k 12y ago
And has been for years on Chromebooks.

pjmlp 12y ago

$999 for a browser on steroids?! I get why we cannot see the link in Europe, as hardly anyone is buying them over here, so why bother.

nfoz 12y ago

How well did non-ChromeOS linux work on the last Pixel?

dman 12y ago
Fantastic. Everything works out of the box on ubuntu and fedora.
- stusmall 12y ago
  Is it still done through that chroot wonkery?
  - dman 12y ago
    I am old school in the sense that I like to run my os as a native install directly on the machine without any chroot / vm / hypervisor trickery. This guide walks you through how to do a native linux install and blow chromeos away on the pixel. http://vger.kernel.org/~davem/chromebook_pixel_linux.txt http://vger.kernel.org/~davem/chromebook_pixel_linux.txt
    - nfoz 12y ago
      Whoaaaaa this seems waaaayy hackier than I expected. Will this void the warranty? I just ordered... I will be returning the thing if I can't get Debian installed and given a thorough trial run. Edit: Nevermind it's really not that bad, just replacing the BIOS, that should be fine. I see little risk of "bricking" a machine here, I'm sure I can get Debian running with these instructions and return the product if it doesn't work well enough.
      - darcyparker 12y ago
        Start with creating a chroot. chroots are easy and can be wiped/recreated quickly if you mess them up. I run Debian Jessie in a chroot and have a simple bash script that provisions the additional stuff I want (apt-get, etc..) and edits a few config files.

skizm 12y ago

Can I put ubuntu or windows on this? Or even make it a hackintosh?

kkamperschroer 12y ago
Linux with Crouton: https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton

forrestthewoods 12y ago

can you install windows on it?

dman 12y ago
On the last pixel I was unable to install Windows 8. Dont know about this one.

forrestthewoods 12y ago

can you install windows on it?

state 12y ago

I really wish this didn't look like a bad imitation of an Apple product. Surely it's possible to build a nice looking laptop that doesn't look so similar to a MacBook. If you're going to do something different, just be different. I think these things are actually kind of sweet, but I can't stand the way they look.

fit2rule 12y ago
There's something to be said, though, for the standard that Apple have set with the unibody design of the Macbooks .. its a very functional design and can take a beating. I wish more manufacturers would just copy this feature, personally .. the only reason I persist with the Macbook is that its not at all a creaky, plasticy slab .. but rather a more functional, industrial-strength product.
calbear81 12y ago
It looks heavier than it's spec'ed for (3.3lbs). I'm not sure what it is but it just looks really thick, like a 2011-era Macbook Pro. I too wish they went a different direction with their industrial design.
jonathantm 12y ago
#fanboy4life Show me a good looking laptop and I'll show you a laptop that somebody will say looks like something Apple made first. There are many ways this does not look like an Apple laptop. But you know what? It doesn't fucking matter. Buy it, don't buy it. Like it, don't like it. Whatever. Just - for the love of Ullr - please don't dirty this otherwise wonderful website with such fucking banal commentary. Say something meaningful, say something funny, but please don't say something that sounds like a failed (or ironic) attempt at trolling.
- dntrkv 12y ago
  Examples of beautiful laptops that don't look like MacBooks: https://brooksreview.net/imgs/sony_vaio_505.jpg https://brooksreview.net/imgs/sony_vaio_505.jpg http://www.sony.co.in/product/resources/en_IN/images/hubpages/vaio/Hub-Child-Feature/feature10/p13_11/ultrabook_0.jpg http://www.sony.co.in/product/resources/en_IN/images/hubpage... http://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/voodoo-envy-white_-flat-view-02.jpg http://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/voodoo-env... http://blog.laptopmag.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/sony-x505.jpg http://blog.laptopmag.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/... http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/img_lib/530x430/x1.jpg http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/img_lib/530x430/... Believe it or not, it is possible to design great looking products without being called an Apple-clone. Most companies just try to stick with what works.

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aikah 12y ago

Could anybody archive the the bloody page so people can see ? stupid google.

mcantelon 12y ago

How much does this thing cost? I clicked on the purchase link and got a 404 (badly implemented regional restriction maybe)?

reportingsjr 12y ago
Looks like it starts at $999 for the 8GB RAM and 32GB SSD and $1299 for 16GB ram and 64GB SSD.

halosghost 12y ago

I always see these spec lists and can't help but think that if I replaced the SSD with a much larger one and installed a real OS on it that this would actually be a tolerable machine; though I remain unconvinced that it is worth the price…

aikah 12y ago
The machine looks good,no question. But 16GB ? 32GB ? 64GB SSDs? frankly, it's a no Go for the price ($999). For half the price one can get a better computer. I don't buy the "but you're supposed to be always connected and store files in the cloud" bullshit. I bought a $500 laptop with better specs ,that runs linux without driver and issues and yes, I can surf the web with it. I'm no fan of Apple but even the latest 13' macbook air at $999 makes way more sense that this product. And yes,it has a browser and Yes you can run Linux on it.

jrockway 12y ago

Probably want to link to the blog, which I think is available in every country: http://chrome.blogspot.com/2015/03/for-whats-next-new-chromebook-pixel-and.html http://chrome.blogspot.com/2015/03/for-whats-next-new-chrome...

MatthewWilkes 12y ago

"we don’t recommend trying to taste or smell your Pixel"

jkot 12y ago

3:2 high res screen, i7 CPU, 16GB RAM, 64 GB storage... I will seriously consider this as my next Linux laptop.

lsaferite 12y ago

If the specs* they list are correct, it charges fully in 1.5 hours, which, at 60W, is 90Wh of storage. 90Wh over 12 hours is 7.5W of power usage. That's a nice small number. It's 50% more than the new MB, but significantly more computer as well. *: They claim to charge enough for 2 hours in 15 minutes. The charger is a 60W charger.

boobsbr 12y ago
this article claims it's a 72 watt-hour battery: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2894970/hands-on-googles-new-chromebook-pixel-makes-big-changes-under-the-hood.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/2894970/hands-on-googles-new-...
- lsaferite 12y ago
  That would put it at running at roughly 6W and the 60W charger is only being used at 48W.

nfoz 12y ago

"To place an order, you must have a Google Wallet account." Ugh, really? Can't I just buy the product? Will these be sold in stores, or outside of Google's ecosystem? Just curious. Andyes, I want one specifically for the hardware, and will be replacing the OS.

lytedev 12y ago

I'm sure it's a fantastic machine, I just can't understand what niche this is aiming for... there seems to me to be a better alternative to this machine for anybody... Chrome OS developers?

ripter 12y ago
I recently bought a ChromeBook for development (The $199 one). It's a super light linux machine that lasts for days. So I have all my dev tools and I can easily work on any git repo. I don't do any Chrome OS development. I tried using a tablet for this, but as an emacs users, I have very specific keyboard bindings that the tablets always had issues with.
- eertami 12y ago
  Which Chromebook if you don't mind me asking? I've been using an old Thinkpad T61 but it just seems a little bit underpowered/dated/inefficient now - considering jumping to something new.
  - ripter 12y ago
    ASUS Chromebook 13-Inch HD with Gigabit WiFi, 16GB Storage & 2GB RAM (Yellow) [http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O5VX2AA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O5VX2AA/ref=oh_aui_det...] I've been really surprised at how smooth the experience has been, especially since I'm running ubuntu in chroot. It's not quite powerful enough to play minecraft, it runs but really slowly.
- atmosx 12y ago
  Yes, you bought it and you 'hacked it' in order to make it 'usable'. Most developers will buy a MBA which is an order of magnitude faster with more powerful CPU and feautures MacOSX which has tons of software to enhance development (especially for CLI users). So definately no, developers are not a niche market for this toy-device althoguh I admit that I like my Samsung Chromebook (and Iinstalled xubuntu too on it...).

zongitsrinzler 12y ago

What is the price. Cannot see it where I live.

egonschiele 12y ago
Starting at $999.

funkiee 12y ago

After digging around the store and url jumping, it looks like Google no longer sells the Nexus 5 nor 7 anymore. Interesting...

rdtsc 12y ago

Can it run Ubuntu? That is the first thing I would do to it. I've done it with Acer C720 with i3 processor. Initially got it as a portable light machine used for travel. But now it kind of became my default. I used to lug around my trusty old Thinkpad T60.

AdmiralAsshat 12y ago
Owner of a previous Pixel here. It runs Ubuntu just fine under Crouton. If you're trying to completely wipe out ChromeOS and boot directly into Ubuntu, I believe it's possible. Personally, however, I find ChromeOS to be decent, and I prefer simply popping open Crouton whenever I need a linux-only app. The fact that Crouton can now run in a single tab instead of having to do an environment switch makes it even more useful.

ansgri 12y ago

FYI the time-lapse movie playing on the screen is TimeScapes (http://timescapes.org/ http://timescapes.org/), which is fascinating on big HD screens.

revelation 12y ago

Jesus, designing a usable ultrabook must be very difficult. We have one contender from California, but their ideology has them offer just a single USB-C port. Now we get the competitor from Mountain View, who have rightly recognized the need for more than one fucking port when that's how you charge the damn thing, and what do they decide? Oh yeah, we'll top out storage at 64GiB.

jedmeyers 12y ago
Mountain View is also in California, by the way. Apple and Google are 15 minutes drive apart.
egonschiele 12y ago
The whole point of a chromebook is that the storage is in the cloud. I was surprised they offered so much storage.
- revelation 12y ago
  That's great, but even at 1GBit over Google Fiber that has still less bandwidth than an actual SSD. And of course the most important part of why you use an SSD in the first place is latency, where cloud storage is significantly slower than 1995 spinning platter hard disks. So even if I accept that the storage is in the cloud, it doesn't make sense since the hardware is clearly not there, but the software isn't either. I can't tell VMWare to use Google Drive for storage. It's a propietary data-dump, not an actual drive.
  - knodi123 12y ago
    can you use VMWare on a chromebook?
    - darcyparker 12y ago
      Inside a chroot - yes. See https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton

nsnick 12y ago

The new macbook in your link looks thicker than the old ones.

ChuckMcM 12y ago

Pretty neat. And caveat the port issue[1] pretty nice. I wonder what the battery life is like with Linux installed (probably not 12 hours :-) Now if they added a wireless charging option so that when I set it upon my desk it was powered/charging wirelessly that would be pretty neat. I'm amazed as how closely it tracks the macbook 13. They could be twins. [1] The whole one port to rule them all which is fine except that it becomes a single point of failure for the device, I would be totally ok if it came with two C connectors and either could be power or data or whatever, then if one failed or got gunked up it would still be usable until I got it repaired.

Buge 12y ago
Doesn't this have 2 USB C ports?
- krasin 12y ago
  It does. Two USB-C ports and two USB 3.0 ports.
platinum1 12y ago
It does have two Type C connectors
- ChuckMcM 12y ago
  Odd, I read their weirdly scrolling site twice and came away with the impression it had only one. I sit corrected, now I guess I'll have to buy it. :-)
emidln 12y ago
Well, it does come with Linux on it...

blfr 12y ago

How is ChromeOS? Can you get a decent terminal or terminal app? Install and keep up to date the basic terminal utilities (ssh, tmux, vim, rsync, etc)? What about other software? Is the browser like the regular Chrome? Can you play regular media files (flac, x264 mkv)? Are there any unpleasant surprises?

krasin 12y ago
re: terminal. I very like the Secure Shell app: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-shell/pnhechapfaindjhompbnflcldabbghjo?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-shell/pnhec...
jakebasile 12y ago
I've used Chrome OS off and on since it released. There is a terminal that you can get to, but it isn't great. The best solution I used was to use the Secure Shell [1] app to SSH to a Linux box. This actually works quite well. The other solution is to just install a flavor of Linux on it. Ubuntu worked well, and you can even install it to a chroot and run both at once. The browser itself is pretty much regular Chrome, but I have no idea about the media files. [1]: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-shell/pnhechapfaindjhompbnflcldabbghjo?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-shell/pnhec...
dublinben 12y ago
It's completely simple to get a real terminal/SSH running with Crouton.[0] ChromeOS supports every common media format you'll come across.[1] [0]https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton [1]http://www.chromium.org/audio-video http://www.chromium.org/audio-video
- blfr 12y ago
  You can install only the command line tools[1]. Does this work as a nice terminal window within ChromeOS? I can't find that kind of setup on Youtube. [1] https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton#i-dont-always-use-linux-but-when-i-do-i-use-cli https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton#i-dont-always-use-linux...

egonschiele 12y ago

I'm not sure why this is better than the cheapest macbook air?Similar battery life, similar processor. 4gb more memory, smaller hard drive. And the cheapest pixel is $100 more. What do I get for that $100? For me the downsides are: can only use apps from the chrome web store, no unix command line (maybe it exists and I don't know?). I'm really happy someone is trying to compete, but not sure why I would buy this.

vlunkr 12y ago
Hmm, this is a great point. In my mind, the only reason to get anything running ChromeOS is if it's dirt cheap. You would get so much more value out of something that can run OSX.
friendcomputer 12y ago
If you want a full featured local linux command line, you can switch to developer mode and install one in a chroot via something like https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton This does sidestep some of the security features of the device, but it's fine if you really want it. Or you can just ssh somewhere.
- rbanffy 12y ago
  I found OSX with MacPorts to be quite enough most of the time. I can run editors and such on the Mac side and test the application from within a small VM.
  - darcyparker 12y ago
    Not homebrew?
    - hutattedonmyarm 12y ago
      both is possible
    - rbanffy 12y ago

daemonza 12y ago

and google makes it look like a 4 year old macbook pro.

spdegabrielle 12y ago

>*Yes, we know there are five senses, but we don’t >recommend trying to taste or smell your Pixel. You should ALWAYS smell your laptop. The Surface Pro 3 smells WEIRD.

sspiff 12y ago

Well, nice that they put a viable amount of memory in this iteration. I can't see the specs or price of this machine in my country. For anyone in the same situation, here's the price and specs left out of their landing page: $999 model: - 2.2GHz (2.7GHz Turbo) dual-core Intel Core i5-5200U - 8GB RAM and 32GB storage $1299 model: - 2.6GHz (3.2GHz Turbo) dual-core Core i7-5600U - 16GB RAM and 64GB storage

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joering2 12y ago

Current Chromebooks have a major flaw because they tend to be "locked" by Google. Without any magical hacks, you won't install Skype. There is no normal file navigation Explorer, and DropBox won't run either. Of course Drive and Hangouts work. Price is very good, but until Skype is accepted and better file tools provided, this is once again a turn off.

frade33 12y ago

Google is doing, what a $300 Billion enterprise can do., than a billion people need. Most enterprises of their scale are focused on the later. I meant, Glass and Chromebook are 'awesome'., but did or does it make sense, theverge repeatedly said, it does not make sense to buy it. I like the notion of 'web' based OS, but I guess, for time being, that's for our tablets or phones only, a Laptop is multi-purpose machine and will remain so for perhaps ever, I meant its ridiculous to have one laptop for 'web' and other for 'work'., when most of them can do both at once.

eibrahim 12y ago

I hope I can use that port to charge my other laptop. The one that I can actually use with practical ports and can run real apps and not just websites.

dschiptsov 12y ago

It is only me, or Dell XPS 13 9343 is simply better?

nfoz 12y ago
If you compare the new Dell XPS 13 or even a Vaio Pro 13 (sadly not sold in the US anymore), it's pretty surprising to compare them to the Pixel. They both have much more connectivity options, 16:9 13" screens while being a full pound lighter. The Sony's keyboard was great. There's not much of a selling point in favour of the Pixel given that it's heavier and doesn't have a real disk drive or many ports / connectivity. Unfortunately I returned my new Dell XPS13 because I was so disappointed by the keyboard. But it's really not that bad, I was going to get it again when the Linux version is launched. But now I'm going to try a Pixel out instead. If I could still get a Vaio Pro, or a Panasonic Let's Note, or many of the other Japanese high-end ultrabooks in the US, I would gladly do that instead of the Pixel.

AdmiralAsshat 12y ago

Owner of a last-gen Pixel here. I don't see myself upgrading any time soon, but as far as refreshes go, this one seems to address most of my complaints, namely: - More RAM - Better battery life / charge time - USB-C ports Here's what I'm not sure if it will fix: - Overheating (original Pixel gets HOT on the top-left corner where I'm guessing the CPU resides) - OpenVPN support (ChromeOS does not support simply loading a .ovpn profile--I have to do some hacking from the command-line to get it to work) - Longer warranty (1-year limited is all that is provided with the previous model--and since these are directly from Google, you can't get an extended warranty through the retailer) - Weight (Love the metal slate look, could be lighter, however; based on the specs it seems like not so much) And finally, the things that Google will never fix, and you should simply be aware of ChromeOS's limitations: - Lack of apps I will say, however, that in the past year, Crouton, which allows you to sideload a linux partition onto the device, has come a long way, to the point that you can actually have an Ubuntu chroot running in a tab inside ChromeOS as though it were just another window/app. It has proved incredibly useful for running things like Sublime or Eclipse without having to do the complete environment-shift that was required some time ago. Price is still a little high, however. I feel like those looking for a high-quality Linux laptop could probably get an Acer Aspire for cheaper.

aceperry 12y ago
I have 4 chromebooks, the original pilot program, 1st Gen Samsung, Acer c720, and the Pixel. Totally love the pixel, pilot book and Acer, hate the 1st gen. AdmiralAsshat's criticisms are valid about the pixel but it works well for me since it has a lot more memory than the other chromebooks. Crouton linux makes even the smaller chromebooks quite useable for most situations. Sometimes I have a hard time deciding which chromebook to use. Mostly it's come down to the Acer for travel, and the Pixel for home. The Pixel has poor battery life compared to the other chromebooks though, but glad to hear that's been taken care of.
ortusdux 12y ago
I always recommend getting a warranty through your insurance company. My wife got a surface pro, and in her hands I give it a 2 year half-life. We got a personal articles policy on it that is about 45$ a year, and it covers any situation except terrorism or government/cdc seizure. Those policies are a good read. Squaretrade was over 100$ a year and did not cover theft etc. Oh and no deductible. She broke the 60$ charger a few weeks ago and got a new one fully covered.

cphuntington97 12y ago

Am I the only person who was interested in LTE? Yes I have a phone, but I'd rather not tether, if only to save phone battery.

baconhigh 12y ago

BUY link goes to a 404.

ericfrederich 12y ago

How useful is a ChromeOS? Can you use it yet to develop either ChromeOS apps Chromium itself? Can you use it develop Android apps or Android itself?

dragonwriter 12y ago
> How useful is a ChromeOS? Can you use it yet to develop either ChromeOS apps Chromium itself? ChromeOS apps are just web apps. There are web-based IDEs which work in Chrome that can be used to develop web apps. So, ChromeOS can be used to develop ChromeOS apps.

billconan 12y ago

if this runs ubuntu 15 and the ssd can be easily replaced, I would consider. $1299 is too expensive for a chrome book. what chrome book app could use 16gb memory!

eumenides1 12y ago

Anybody know if you can upgrade the HD or is it some kind of soddered on nonsense?

darcyparker 12y ago
I haven't seen enough details about the pixel. But other chromebooks are easy to upgrade. Just a few screws... Look on amazon for NGFF drives. You'll see in the reviews that many people talk about their experience upgrading their chromebooks.
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cjbprime 12y ago
It's soldered down.

Sodman 12y ago

Owner of a 2013 Chromebook Pixel here - This new model definitely excites me. I've switched between running Debian natively on boot and running Ubuntu in crouton. As a Java/Web developer, my main gripes with the original Pixel are: -4GB RAM is uncomfortable. Usable, but you need to manage what's running -Battery life isn't great... I was seeing ~3-3.5 hrs during my 'real use'. -Overheating - Gets very hot when doing cpu-intense tasks -Charging time feels like it takes forever. -Hinge is a little loose and the F-keys are weird, but neither are a deal breaker. This 2015 model seems to fix almost all of this, with the possible exception of overheating... I guess time will tell. Chances seem high that these will be given out at I/O 2015, but if I can't get a ticket for that I'll still buy one of these immediately. Crouton has come a long way since 2013, but I'm hoping they keep the 'legacy boot' option from the first model - That way you can boot into native linux with ctrl+L or ChromeOS (and later crouton, if needed) with ctrl+D. If this laptop was 15", it would literally be my dream laptop, however it still checks enough boxes to guarantee that I'll buy one.

jrochkind1 12y ago
As an actual owner of a Chromebook Pixel... what would make you buy the new model instead of a similarly priced MacBook Air (much better battery life, more realistically sized SSD, better designed with no loose hinges etc, can still boot into Linux if you want)? Just prefer ChromeOS to OSX? Or the touchscreen? Something else?
- Sodman 12y ago
  I was tempted to get a MacBook Pro instead of the original pixel, but at that price point at the time the only one available was the 13" non-retina model (possibly even with a HDD, can't remember). The trade-up to SSD/High-res and the curiosity of the 'new shiny laptop from Google' sold me. In terms of upgrading to one in 2015, Google are claiming 12 hour battery life and The Verge said it got 14 hours in their testing - which is more than enough for me. I personally just don't like OSX, although I'd be happy installing linux on a MBP. ChromeOS is fine for a few quick browser tasks (Amazon, Booking Flights, etc), but it's not worth keeping around really. So at that point it just boils down to personal preference on the hardware, and price. The build-quality of the keyboard and touchpad on the pixel are on-par with the high quality of the MBP, and they've made the hinge more solid this time around, so with an i7 processor and 16GBs of RAM at $1300 I'm pretty happy! The 64GB SSD is definitely a major buzzkill, but considering I won't be using this laptop for gaming, and I stream all of my music/tv/movies, I don't actually need a whole pile of local storage. With my current pixel's 64GB I never ran into any issues - the only thing that I feel is a threat to my diskspace is VM images for virtualbox, which I luckily don't have to use much anymore as I now have remote access to windows servers should I need them. The touchscreen (for me) is pointless, I'd much rather have a 128GB/256GB SSD, but it's not the end of the world.

jrochkind1 12y ago

It looks like a very nice machine. At $999 though, it's about the same price as a MacBook Air. I haven't compared specs (SSD? Ram?), but the Chromebook is a device intended to store all your data in 'the cloud', right? On the other hand, it's got a touchscreen which the Air does not. The Air's a lot smaller/lighter/prettier though. At any rate, the Chromebook is definitely no longer priced below a premium laptop like the Air.

atmosx 12y ago
I have a chromebook (samsung arm7) and a MBA (2011). Comparing the too, if you're not a highschool student (which your only needs are Youtube, Facebook, Spreadsheet and Doc editor) you're comparing a toy with a very powerful laptop. The difference of the OS is so big that talking about HW doesn't make any sense.
rifung 12y ago
I think the biggest thing this has going for it vs. the Air is that the screen is way nicer.

Sephr 12y ago

Last-gen Pixel owner here (recently upgraded to the new XPS 13). I wish more manufacturers would follow Google's lead and start using 3:2 displays in laptops. An XPS 13 (2015) with a 3:2 display and USB C would be the most amazing device ever.

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auganov 12y ago

Microsoft should buy bluestacks just in case.

SeanLuke 12y ago

> *Yes, we know there are five senses, but we don’t recommend trying to taste or smell your Pixel. C'mon Google. Surely you know that there are more than five senses. At the very least, can't balance and proprioception get any love? Not to mention the entire gastrointestinal tract.

dawkins 12y ago

Does it allow an external monitor with 4k 60hz?

X-combinator 12y ago

Comparison out: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2478167,00.asp http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2478167,00.asp

Vecrios 12y ago

Here comes the USB-C port hype train, choochoo!

badloginagain 12y ago

Google develops a laptop that I have high interest in, but no use for. If they want to win the App Ecosystem war, they need to ensure that the developers have the tools to build in their ecosystem. Apple dominates because hackers love macbooks, and provide slick tools that only work in Apple's walled garden. This propagates down to the consumer level, as developers build products consumers love- with Apple taking in the profit all the way down. Google doesn't have that. They don't have a toolset available to developers to optimize for Android/ChromeOS/etc. They need to fix the fragmentation problem at the App Developer level before they can compete at the consumer level.

mkozlows 12y ago
That's a fine perspective to have, if you are a corporation trying to own an ecosystem. Me, I don't like walled gardens, and ChromeOS's true platform isn't the Chrome App Store, it's the web. I'm good with that.
- badloginagain 12y ago
  The Web: Brought To You By Chrome, at least. And Google is a corporation, who would very much want all your online interactions in their garden. But you are right, I dislike Apple because its walls are so high. Google has the opportunity to embrace open-source (or at least well-adopted) technologies to shape an open garden- where your interactions benefit both Google, the web as an open platform, and end consumers who don't know any better. I feel that Google can become caretakers of a "open garden" by aligning the technology available to independent developers and the app ecosystem used by end consumers. And I feel that Google can curate the technology of the web better by targeting the developers than the consumers.

kakisoop 12y ago

For chromebook pixel to be successful among developers atleast, following needs to be done 1. Provide a good terminal like iTerm 2. Google cloud should provide a free standard instance always powered and run chrome in headless mode with remote desktop enabled via chrome remote desktop app. 3. Provide a ebs worth 100GB at least on the cloud. Standard instance costs 0.045 per hour i.e, 345$ per year.

etherael 12y ago

"The Cloud" Can Go Fuck Itself. Addendum; If you ever want it to be taken seriously you must urgently fix two things. 1) Telcos. Being constantly subject to obscene per megabyte usage charges with miserable reliability and speed for access to your bulk storage in the cloud vs $100 per terabyte reliable and fast subscription for life easily portable local storage costs is utterly unacceptable. 2) States. Being constantly subject to unlimited invisible invasive personal data theft without oversight or justification is not an acceptable state of affairs. The existence of states guarantees that they will always insist on being able to do these things. The only potential solution to this problem without actually destroying states (Shock! Horror! ROADS!) is easy and perfect homomorphic encryption. Until you fix these two (quite possibly unfixable) things, "The Cloud" is pipe dream marketing bullshit.

jskonhovd 12y ago

I am glad they gave this model a reboot. If I was in the market for a new linux laptop, this would be a my number one choice over the XPS13 as a close second. I am glad more companies like Dell and Google are supporting linux.

iamlolz 12y ago

Has anyone heard if this is getting an Australian release?

cdnsteve 12y ago

ChromeOS is a non-starter for any development work I'd like. At one time, before 2 kids and a busy job, I would have entertained and enjoyed tinkering and formatting a brand new machine to load up Linux. Now, I don't have time or the energy to waste on that type of thing. I use to like building my own systems, now I just need it to work and do what I need. At this very high price point (for a computer that just surfs the web) I wouldn't want to be the guy responsible for making sales targets.

devsquid 12y ago

No LTE!?

azimuth11 12y ago

Can anyone explain what Google means by "Contextually Lit Keyboard"?

akhilcacharya 12y ago

As it turns out this Pixel cannot have upgradable storage, which really stinks. I hope they wise up and offer a larger model eventually.

nfoz 12y ago

I wonder how much Google makes on these devices in advertising per user.

nfoz 12y ago
This was a serious question, I'm legitimately curious. We can't pretend that isn't part of the product offering, and it's a unique aspect of the ChromeOS experience. I can only assume this could partially subsidize the hardware. In the same line of thinking, I wonder how much a Macbook purchase can be offset by the expected revenue from iTunes and other integrated services. Or the pre-bundled spyware that comes with so many other laptops.

ElectricFeel 12y ago

Google, the company, is really selling the new Chromebook (i have one). They're like, "Ok nerds come & watch this video our marketing department made of this product our engineering team built." Great, Google. No one is paying attention!!! There was a new one last year & the year before & it sold then

JohnLen 12y ago

Nice chromebook.

IkmoIkmo 12y ago

I don't really understand the appeal personally. At this price level you could get a dell xps. ChromeOS seems brilliant at a few hundred bucks, especially for kids & elders who get the browser/video/text experience, without the complexity, bloatware, viruses etc of a windows environment. But at $600 or $1000, there just seem to be better windows alternatives, to me at least. And above that you get into OS X range. ChromeOS just doesn't seem to provide the environment where you really need beefy specs (e.g. compiling large code or editing large videos), so if it's just consumer-type stuff, I'd rather have a 2014 Macbook Air 13' at $800-900 at Best Buy, or a Dell XPS, than this. Would love to hear from peoples usecases and experiences. I think there's a genuine usecase for people to put linux on it, or SSH into something else, but for your average straight up consumer, why the pixel and not something else? I understand the low-price Chromebooks, the higher price is hard to grasp for me.

lugg 12y ago
Speculation: I suspect the way its going with storage and processing that they are pivoting it to be a contender with Air etc. The cloud storage thing is nice but it just doesn't really have a use case above a few GB of data. The cost of storage just keeps coming down and the price of bandwidth hasn't really moved in years. I think its in a transitory stage, can't really compete with the air yet but likely will in a couple of iterations (think android vs iphone, iphones were cheaper spec wise but android caught up and imo overtook iphones in only a couple of iterations. I do agree there is still a use case for ssh'n into something else, but I also can't see the original use case working at this price point.
Htsthbjig 12y ago
I believe that is exactly the idea. Google as the ecosystem provider (ChromeOS) does not really want to compete with the companies that are intended to use the OS. Google does not want to compete with Dell, HP, Lenovo or Acer, but to convince them to use ChromeOS. Google creates hardware as a reference for others to follow. This is very important, as there is a before an after the release of the Nexus phone. Google releases high quality hardware with their OS to prove that a good machine could be make with it, but at a price that does not compete with others.

Pxtl 12y ago

Honestly, I'm not interested in this kind of device until Google manages to unify Android and Chrome so we have a real ecosystem to work with.

solomatov 12y ago

If it had at least 256Gb of SSD, I would buy it, throw away my macbook pro, and use it as my dev machine. Without it, it's useless for me and is just an expensive toy.

duongkai 12y ago

Hope that it can be installed Windows easily. I love this screen but ChromeOS/Linux is not good.

sunilkumarc 12y ago

What does contextually lit keyboard mean exactly ?

rasz_pl 12y ago

Yes yes, but can I run windows on it? Seriously :), can you boot windows using Pixel bootloader?

techstrategist 12y ago
I would also like to know this. The screen, ports, and overall hardware looks great as a Windows laptop.

city41 12y ago

Does anyone know how feasible it is -- using Crouton -- to setup one tab in Chrome that is a shell running tmux, vim, git, server processes, etc, then test the website you're coding on in another Chrome tab? A lightweight dev environment like that on a cheap and light notebook is pretty appealing.

callesgg 12y ago

Not available in the Swedish "Google Store".

erazor42 12y ago

Config look cool & cheap, about design: the hinge is ugly

rgomez 12y ago

Why do you people like this 3:2 screens? (I presume that I'm writing to an audience of programmers, mostly). Wider screens are perfect to work with to two files side by side. 16:10 is my perfect ratio, but I'm genuinely curious about your reasons.

mrmondo 12y ago

I think that's a lot of money for low-end storage and Intel 5000 graphics.

__mp 12y ago

I could see myself installing Windows on it. I mean why not? The touchscreen screams for a Windows version >=8. Disclaimer: I currently own two Macbooks (15"retina, 11" air). I use Windows usually in a VM and Linux in the data center.

72deluxe 12y ago

What is odd about this Chromebook is that it has ports and decent hardware, but abysmal storage (I have 50GB of MP3s, let's not get started on videos, documents, source code and compiled software) and a crippled OS. It's like a toy, but a toy that is dependent on a remote toy (the "cloud"). I don't understand how the break away from mainframes to microcomputers has come full circle where we now use very very very powerful microcomputers to connect to effectively mainframes (the "cloud"). Surely the liberating part of microcomputers was the ability to be untethered/unshackled and do stuff locally, not do stuff locally for a little bit or to some extent and then resync periodically. Many of the people using chromebooks for development (from what I can tell) SSH to another machine to do work on a remote server (with X or VNC or something like that), which reduces the extremely powerful local microcomputer to a dumb library terminal. It's stupid. Client/server stuff keeps getting reinvented and it's annoying. I prefer to be a client when I choose, not a permanent client at the mercy of the server.

hobarrera 12y ago

IMHO, a single USB port is an awful idea I keep my mouse pluged in permanently. With a single port, I can't use my mouse while charging (unless I carry around a USB hub, which just proves my point). The same goes for the latest MacBook.

datsun 12y ago

I like its design and specs are good too, but boy is it expensive. I imagine ChromeOS is pretty useless outside of browsing web or taking notes, so why not just buy a tablet for half the price?

narshe 12y ago

That is going to be one expensive web browser.

20edward 12y ago

Doesn't work for me too... Error 404 as well. Bummer! Was really excited.