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> 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

by 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?
    - Crito 12y ago
      Touch sorta works on my Pixel running Debian. By which I mean I can tap on the screen to click, but all of the multi-touch gestures don't work. I have put absolutely no effort into getting it to work though (honestly I'd disable it entirely if I wasn't too lazy to bother), and a desktop environment like GNOME might be able to configure it to work. I'm not sure there. Edit: (Multi-touch on the touchpad works fine for me.)
    - dman 12y ago
      Multitouch on the touchpad works out of the box on ubuntu including gestures. Touch on the screen works too, but I dont use it since I dont like smudging my screen. If there is interest.
      - amalag 12y ago
        Is the touchpad as nice as a Macbook? I have a work provided Macbook Pro but I dread having to buy one myself.
        dman 12y ago
        Yes it is as good.
    - jrockway 12y ago
      It should be possible to get working. All the drivers are in the chromiumos source repository. Until very recently X was used, so the X server should have the touch support. (Haven't tested on the new Pixel because I don't have one, but the old one, definitely.) The kernel drivers are in src/third_party/kernel/v3.10 for first-gen pixel, and v3.14 for this one. If you're going to run your own Linux, I'd use that kernel rather than the one the distro provides. Or figure out what patches are different between the two, and cherry-pick those onto your distro's kernel.
      - jrockway 12y ago
        I meant 3.8 for the old pixel, btw. Doh.
  - pjmlp 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. Yeah, just like buying a Windows laptop to install Linux, meaning using the laptop for another purpose than it is being sold for.
    - tree_of_item 12y ago
      Laptops are sold to be general purpose computing devices, not to "run Windows". The reasoning you gave seems to be some sort of fully general counterargument to ever installing GNU/Linux, as there are hardly any devices that are "sold to run GNU/Linux".
      - deleted 12y ago
        [deleted]
      - tormeh 12y ago
        In general installing GNU/Linux on devices not meant for it is, indeed, a bad idea. Bad drivers will usually make your computing experience a hell filled with non-REISUB-able freezes and other goodies. If you're like me and you can handle all the crap then it's fine. Otherwise stick to Windows. Or, better yet, just buy a Mac. A Dell developer's edition or a Thinkpad might be problem-free. Might. I wouldn't put money on it, though, especially with future regressions likely to fuck something up.
        deleted 12y ago
        [deleted]
    - dman 12y ago
      Out of curiosity what laptop do you use? What do you do on your laptop? How does the vendor that you bought the laptop from enable your intended use (out of the box)?
      - pjmlp 12y ago
        A Asus laptop with Windows 8.1.
  - foodstances 12y ago
    > My only other complaint is that it refuses to install FreeBSD. Did you try installing SeaBIOS on it?
    - dman 12y ago
      I did not attempt to update the version of SeaBIOS installed on it. Do you think upgrading SeaBIOS will allow me to install FreeBSD?
  - logicallee 12y ago
    was FreeBSD your first choice, then after abortive attempts you installed Linux?
    - dman 12y ago
      I have been a Linux user for sometime, so when I got the laptop I first installed linux on it. Subsequently I have grown rather fond of dtrace, so I like to use FreeBSD when the environment permits. So I tried installing FreeBSD on the machine in November last year.
      - logicallee 12y ago
        thanks
  - Buge 12y ago
    Is there enough storage?
    - dman 12y ago
      I write C/C++ code on the machine, so my storage needs are minimal. If I was to guess my total storage footprint on the device would be less than 1 Gig over the base ubuntu desktop install. The machine has 64 Gigs of storage, which is more than enough for my needs.
- chadillac 12y ago
  Plot twist, even CR48s can run Arch and other light variants of Linux, with an i7 and 16GB of RAM, I have no doubt these will be capable as well. Now, about that price point...
  - sp332 12y ago
    Heck I ran straight Ubuntu on mine, and Firefox was less janky than Chrome on ChromeOS at the time.
  - gh02t 12y ago
    I use the Asus Chromebox (small "desktop" ChromeOS machine) as an OpenELEC media center. It runs absolutely flawlessly, mostly because it's just a basic Intel Pentium system. From what I've heard, the ARM Chromebooks like the Samsung ones can be a bit trickier, but it can be done.
- moskie 12y ago
  Yet many people use their MacBooks as a browser on steroids. Those people are the target audience of the Chromebook.
  - digi_owl 12y ago
    The whole ChromeOS project seems to have gotten underway because someone at Google observed how much of the computing time was spent inside the web browser. the problem with ChromeOS, imo, is how limited it becomes once you pull out the net connection. Never mind the whole lockdown unless you flip that "developer" switch.
    - moskie 12y ago
      But again, that doesn't really matter to people who are using their laptops as a browser on steroids. Whether you're using a Macbook or a Chromebook, you're SOL in either case if you mostly do your work in a browser.
      - digi_owl 12y ago
        True, but i was not thinking just about work. I keep seeing them pitched as simple devices for home "computing".
        vertex-four 12y ago
        The thing is, home computing is, for the vast majority of people, accessing email, Facebook, and various web information sources 90% of the time. If the Internet's not working, for the most part, they wouldn't be able to do whatever they were doing in the first place, ChromeOS or not. Using office-type apps at home is not something that's done every day any more - my family do it incredibly rarely on their Windows desktop.
    - Crito 12y ago
      > "Never mind the whole lockdown unless you flip that "developer" switch." Speaking of which, it would be nice if that were a physical switch on Pixels. With the original Pixel at least, there is an issue that if your battery runs completely dead, the bit that tells the computer it should be in developer mode is unset. When that happens, if you have linux installed on it, you are hosed. Everything on the drive becomes inaccessible, and the only thing you can do is reflash ChromeOS. If I am wrong about that, somebody please tell me. It is making me paranoid as hell about leaving it unplugged.
- VieElm 12y ago
  It's a real computer, it's just that people haven't written a lot of software for it. What kind of software can't you write for Chrome OS?
  - tdkl 12y ago
    Photoshop.
    - niche 12y ago
      What's that Frenchy open source photoshop called again?
      - michaelbuddy 12y ago
        You're thinking KRITA probably. Germany though I believe, because of the GMBH thing on its group. Krita really bogs on my system when using painting tools so ready for primetime, I think not. But hey I've been wrong before. The best photoshop / Illustrator replacements underway right now are coming from Serif Software under the name Affinity. Not opens source BUT definitely going to make a dent in Adobe's fat head.
    - bitdivision 12y ago
      Untrue: http://edex.adobe.com/projectphotoshopstreaming http://edex.adobe.com/projectphotoshopstreaming
      - aikah 12y ago
        > Untrue: http://edex.adobe.com/projectphotoshopstreaming http://edex.adobe.com/projectphotoshopstreaming Please don't take people for idiots, photoshop won't be running on your ChromeOS.
        VieElm 12y ago
        It is possible to write software like photoshop for ChromeOS, thus it is a real computer. It's just that no one has. Nobody has written this kind of software for Plan 9, and a computer with Plan 9 is still a real computer.
ja27 12y ago
> So the new MacBook isn't the only USB-powered notebook anymore It never was. First USB-C powered though. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/10/08/hp_chromebook_11/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/10/08/hp_chromebook_11/
- meatcar 12y ago
  > charges via the microUSB port The HP Chromebook 11 is not USB-C powered.
  - yohui 12y ago
    Yes, nandhp said "USB-powered notebook", and ja27 pointed out that it was actually the "first USB-C powered" notebook. MicroUSB is still USB.
- fudgy73 12y ago
  There is also the Yoga 3 Pro: http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/yoga-laptop-series/yoga-3-pro-laptop/#tab-tech_specs http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/yoga-laptop-seri...
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
baldfat 12y ago
USB Powered Laptop was first by HP Chromebook 11. http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ads/chromebooks/overview.html http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ads/chromebooks/overview.html
- TheCraiggers 12y ago
  I'm just hoping this one isn't a fire hazard.
dntrkv 12y ago
The MacBook is a completely different machine than this. Now the MacBook Pro Retina 13" is a more proper comparison. In which case they are pretty close when it comes to specs, price, weight, size, battery life, etc.

by nandhp 12y ago

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?
  - Crito 12y ago
    Touch sorta works on my Pixel running Debian. By which I mean I can tap on the screen to click, but all of the multi-touch gestures don't work. I have put absolutely no effort into getting it to work though (honestly I'd disable it entirely if I wasn't too lazy to bother), and a desktop environment like GNOME might be able to configure it to work. I'm not sure there. Edit: (Multi-touch on the touchpad works fine for me.)
  - dman 12y ago
    Multitouch on the touchpad works out of the box on ubuntu including gestures. Touch on the screen works too, but I dont use it since I dont like smudging my screen. If there is interest.
    - amalag 12y ago
      Is the touchpad as nice as a Macbook? I have a work provided Macbook Pro but I dread having to buy one myself.
      - dman 12y ago
        Yes it is as good.
  - jrockway 12y ago
    It should be possible to get working. All the drivers are in the chromiumos source repository. Until very recently X was used, so the X server should have the touch support. (Haven't tested on the new Pixel because I don't have one, but the old one, definitely.) The kernel drivers are in src/third_party/kernel/v3.10 for first-gen pixel, and v3.14 for this one. If you're going to run your own Linux, I'd use that kernel rather than the one the distro provides. Or figure out what patches are different between the two, and cherry-pick those onto your distro's kernel.
    - jrockway 12y ago
      I meant 3.8 for the old pixel, btw. Doh.
- pjmlp 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. Yeah, just like buying a Windows laptop to install Linux, meaning using the laptop for another purpose than it is being sold for.
  - tree_of_item 12y ago
    Laptops are sold to be general purpose computing devices, not to "run Windows". The reasoning you gave seems to be some sort of fully general counterargument to ever installing GNU/Linux, as there are hardly any devices that are "sold to run GNU/Linux".
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
    - tormeh 12y ago
      In general installing GNU/Linux on devices not meant for it is, indeed, a bad idea. Bad drivers will usually make your computing experience a hell filled with non-REISUB-able freezes and other goodies. If you're like me and you can handle all the crap then it's fine. Otherwise stick to Windows. Or, better yet, just buy a Mac. A Dell developer's edition or a Thinkpad might be problem-free. Might. I wouldn't put money on it, though, especially with future regressions likely to fuck something up.
      - deleted 12y ago
        [deleted]
  - dman 12y ago
    Out of curiosity what laptop do you use? What do you do on your laptop? How does the vendor that you bought the laptop from enable your intended use (out of the box)?
    - pjmlp 12y ago
      A Asus laptop with Windows 8.1.
- foodstances 12y ago
  > My only other complaint is that it refuses to install FreeBSD. Did you try installing SeaBIOS on it?
  - dman 12y ago
    I did not attempt to update the version of SeaBIOS installed on it. Do you think upgrading SeaBIOS will allow me to install FreeBSD?
- logicallee 12y ago
  was FreeBSD your first choice, then after abortive attempts you installed Linux?
  - dman 12y ago
    I have been a Linux user for sometime, so when I got the laptop I first installed linux on it. Subsequently I have grown rather fond of dtrace, so I like to use FreeBSD when the environment permits. So I tried installing FreeBSD on the machine in November last year.
    - logicallee 12y ago
      thanks
- Buge 12y ago
  Is there enough storage?
  - dman 12y ago
    I write C/C++ code on the machine, so my storage needs are minimal. If I was to guess my total storage footprint on the device would be less than 1 Gig over the base ubuntu desktop install. The machine has 64 Gigs of storage, which is more than enough for my needs.
chadillac 12y ago
Plot twist, even CR48s can run Arch and other light variants of Linux, with an i7 and 16GB of RAM, I have no doubt these will be capable as well. Now, about that price point...
- sp332 12y ago
  Heck I ran straight Ubuntu on mine, and Firefox was less janky than Chrome on ChromeOS at the time.
- gh02t 12y ago
  I use the Asus Chromebox (small "desktop" ChromeOS machine) as an OpenELEC media center. It runs absolutely flawlessly, mostly because it's just a basic Intel Pentium system. From what I've heard, the ARM Chromebooks like the Samsung ones can be a bit trickier, but it can be done.
moskie 12y ago
Yet many people use their MacBooks as a browser on steroids. Those people are the target audience of the Chromebook.
- digi_owl 12y ago
  The whole ChromeOS project seems to have gotten underway because someone at Google observed how much of the computing time was spent inside the web browser. the problem with ChromeOS, imo, is how limited it becomes once you pull out the net connection. Never mind the whole lockdown unless you flip that "developer" switch.
  - moskie 12y ago
    But again, that doesn't really matter to people who are using their laptops as a browser on steroids. Whether you're using a Macbook or a Chromebook, you're SOL in either case if you mostly do your work in a browser.
    - digi_owl 12y ago
      True, but i was not thinking just about work. I keep seeing them pitched as simple devices for home "computing".
      - vertex-four 12y ago
        The thing is, home computing is, for the vast majority of people, accessing email, Facebook, and various web information sources 90% of the time. If the Internet's not working, for the most part, they wouldn't be able to do whatever they were doing in the first place, ChromeOS or not. Using office-type apps at home is not something that's done every day any more - my family do it incredibly rarely on their Windows desktop.
  - Crito 12y ago
    > "Never mind the whole lockdown unless you flip that "developer" switch." Speaking of which, it would be nice if that were a physical switch on Pixels. With the original Pixel at least, there is an issue that if your battery runs completely dead, the bit that tells the computer it should be in developer mode is unset. When that happens, if you have linux installed on it, you are hosed. Everything on the drive becomes inaccessible, and the only thing you can do is reflash ChromeOS. If I am wrong about that, somebody please tell me. It is making me paranoid as hell about leaving it unplugged.
VieElm 12y ago
It's a real computer, it's just that people haven't written a lot of software for it. What kind of software can't you write for Chrome OS?
- tdkl 12y ago
  Photoshop.
  - niche 12y ago
    What's that Frenchy open source photoshop called again?
    - michaelbuddy 12y ago
      You're thinking KRITA probably. Germany though I believe, because of the GMBH thing on its group. Krita really bogs on my system when using painting tools so ready for primetime, I think not. But hey I've been wrong before. The best photoshop / Illustrator replacements underway right now are coming from Serif Software under the name Affinity. Not opens source BUT definitely going to make a dent in Adobe's fat head.
  - bitdivision 12y ago
    Untrue: http://edex.adobe.com/projectphotoshopstreaming http://edex.adobe.com/projectphotoshopstreaming
    - aikah 12y ago
      > Untrue: http://edex.adobe.com/projectphotoshopstreaming http://edex.adobe.com/projectphotoshopstreaming Please don't take people for idiots, photoshop won't be running on your ChromeOS.
      - VieElm 12y ago
        It is possible to write software like photoshop for ChromeOS, thus it is a real computer. It's just that no one has. Nobody has written this kind of software for Plan 9, and a computer with Plan 9 is still a real computer.

ja27 12y ago

> So the new MacBook isn't the only USB-powered notebook anymore It never was. First USB-C powered though. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/10/08/hp_chromebook_11/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/10/08/hp_chromebook_11/

meatcar 12y ago
> charges via the microUSB port The HP Chromebook 11 is not USB-C powered.
- yohui 12y ago
  Yes, nandhp said "USB-powered notebook", and ja27 pointed out that it was actually the "first USB-C powered" notebook. MicroUSB is still USB.
fudgy73 12y ago
There is also the Yoga 3 Pro: http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/yoga-laptop-series/yoga-3-pro-laptop/#tab-tech_specs http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/yoga-laptop-seri...

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

baldfat 12y ago

USB Powered Laptop was first by HP Chromebook 11. http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ads/chromebooks/overview.html http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ads/chromebooks/overview.html

TheCraiggers 12y ago
I'm just hoping this one isn't a fire hazard.

dntrkv 12y ago

The MacBook is a completely different machine than this. Now the MacBook Pro Retina 13" is a more proper comparison. In which case they are pretty close when it comes to specs, price, weight, size, battery life, etc.