^ crouton, my friend. crouton.

9/13/2014 12:17:07 PM

two months later: samsung chromebook 2 has become my fulltime machine, and i can't believe this thing was only $370. weight, size, battery life, keyboard, trackpad, screen (higher res than a macbook air) are all fantastic. crouton functionality is amazing, but unless i'm working i usually just use chrome os.

you can't play games on it or anything, and if you're not a linux user it's pretty limited... but holy shit i love this thing.

10/12/2014 3:33:25 PM

I've been thinking about getting some sort of laptop/pad/smartphone (I possess none of these things) and chromebook is certainly among the candidates.

I kinda just wanta to be able to surf the web/check my e-mail when I'm not standing in front of a computer. and the more portable/easy to type on it is, the better. and I don't want to have to worry about connectivity in any situation.

what do y'all think? I'm inclined to trust simonn's opinion. but I've never been a fan of Linux, just because it feels foreign b/c I was raised on Windows.

10/12/2014 4:41:56 PM

I just hate the trackpad I have but it's the original samsung arm chromebook. I just wish it had physical clicks instead of requiring double taps and gestures for everything.

putting linux on it was the best decision ever though.

10/12/2014 5:56:58 PM

^^ if you don't like linux and you don't want to be worried about having a wifi connection, then i wouldn't recommend a chromebook, honestly. you'd have to concede one of those two points.

10/12/2014 6:37:59 PM

if you aren't near wifi, not only do certain chromebooks come with 200mb of 4G per month but you can also use something like easytether in linux to share your phone's connection (or if you have a phone/hotspot, do so wirelessly)

10/12/2014 7:00:35 PM

^^
so if I get Linux on my Chromebook, that greatly increases my wifi capabilities? seriously, I'd really like to know.

10/12/2014 7:15:08 PM

I can't speak for him but I think he means that it's such a customizeable OS that you have utilities available to you to greatly increase the capability of the hardware - with ChromeOS you're stuck with whatever Google gave you (which isn't bad as a base but maybe it could be improved)

10/12/2014 7:22:01 PM

gotcha. thank you.

10/12/2014 8:00:49 PM

basically. what i meant is that chrome os is more or less useless w/o a connection, b/c all it's good for is interneting. if you use crouton to install linux (or just install linux; i think crouton is actually better than straight up linux) you can do a lot of stuff w/o a connection, b/c linux is a full OS. but if you're not keen on linux and only use chrome os, then you're going to have a machine that basically requires a connection.

10/12/2014 8:45:35 PM

that makes more sense than what i said

also I use chrubuntu which is a direct boot to linux as opposed to what ^ mentioned which is crouton where you boot into ChromeOS then use a shell to run linux in a virtual environment, you can also run linux from an sd card or usb stick (2.0, not 3.0) however it's just recently been made more of a hassle to do so with Google dropping ext4 support at boot, you have manually mount it each time

10/12/2014 8:52:01 PM

ext* support re-instated.

10/15/2014 4:06:36 PM

If anyone wants to sell a used chromebook I might have a $100 budget for one.

10/16/2014 4:40:52 PM

Receiving a Samsung Chromebook Pro later today.

It looks like all the bugs are worked out and the most recent reviews are outstanding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vM7GE3Z2HQ

I had a few concerns about the keyboard but after reading plenty of reviews I think it'll be fine. I was very close to getting the Asus C3023a Flip but went with the Samsung for the far better screen and trackpad. We'll see if I like the 3:2 aspect ratio.

I haven't had a personal laptop in like 7 years and my work one is getting a little heavy (Dell XPS). I wanted something to browse, send email, and chat on.

Also installing Linux via Crouton and possibly even the Steam version of Linux for lighter games sounds appealing.

Will provide my thoughts in a couple days.

7/20/2017 11:58:35 AM

^I ended up going in the opposite direction as you. Work is buying me a chromebook, and I was down between the Pro and Asus C3023a Flip. I really wanted the screen of the Pro, that this is beautiful, but was concerned about the keyboard. Went to Best Buy to try out a Chromebook Plus to see how i'd like the keyboard...wasn't my favorite at all. Would definitely take quite a bit getting used to, which is totally do-able, just can't decide if it was worth it. If I wasn't going to buy typing as much as I will be, I would have gone with the Pro in a heartbeat. Ended up going with the Asus, should be arriving later today.

We'll see if I have buyers remorse. I can always return it if I don't like it. Who knows, might end up getting the Pro for myself.

7/20/2017 12:08:17 PM

Nice. Yeah after reading reviews of the Pro having the glass/nicer trackpad that was something that swayed my decision. The nicer keyboard on the Asus was appealing though.

Microcenter has the Asus so I may go give it a shot as well. I do typically like the screen ratio on the Asus better than the 3:2 of the Samsung but we'll see.

My current XPS is 12.5" and 1080p so I wanted a little upgrade from that. Another reason I went with the Pro. However you'll get a couple extra hours of battery life on the Asus due to the HD screen.

I'm going to mess around with Crouton and Steam and let you know how it works out. It'd be cool if I could play Steam games on it for travel. Many of my clients I use a Citrix VDI which ChromeOS has an app for so that's a plus. Then a lot of my work now is on remote servers and/or simply Jira/Outlook/Confluence/etc so my need for a Windows machine becomes less and less.

The keyboard on the Pro will be a deciding factor though as I do type a lot.

7/20/2017 12:28:36 PM

Alright initial impressions is this thing is awesome. The build quality is spot on and the keyboard isn't really that bad. It's similar to a surface keyboard and feels fine. The trackpad though is fantastic. Super smooth. Probably the best I've used on a non-Apple computer.

It's going to take some getting used to the 3:2 screen but wow is it bright and sharp.

Will report back when I mess with Crouton.

7/20/2017 7:47:07 PM

Good to hear. So far the Asus is treating me quite well. My work is a Google Enterprise user, so everything I do is in the Google Cloud (no need for Linux or any special apps to run). I do have to say the Asus keyboard is so nice - feels very natural and no getting used to.

I think this will fit well with my needs for work. Maximizing battery life was a must - since I don't like carrying a bulky charger around. And since I spend the whole time typing, a comfortable keyboard will be nice. I actually origionally had a Surface Pro 3 for work and didn't like it - thus i'm getting a chromebook. The keyboard wasn't very comfortable for me, and fact that you couldn't really use it sitting in your lap didn't work for me.

On a side note, I did pick up a couple of adapters which I have tested and work great. I was origionally going to go with one of the big adapters that has everything, but eventually opted to go with separate adapters.

For video, I went with the Phizli USB-C to HDMI/VGA adapter. Believe it or not, I still give presentations at places that only have a VGA input, so this was important. I tested both inputs, and both seem to work good. https://smile.amazon.com/Adapter-Phizli-Converter-Aluminium-ChromeBook/dp/B0716RR542

For USB-3.0, I picked up this 2 pack of Aukey adapters which work great, and are pretty small. https://smile.amazon.com/AUKEY-Adapter-2-Pack-MacBook-Samsung/dp/B01AUKU1OO/

7/21/2017 10:17:48 AM

Also glad to hear the Asus is working out!

I got XFCE installed last night and messed with it running in both Chrome OS windows and natively. For any intensive stuff (media/steam) I run it without Xiwi (the Chrome extension that lets it run in a window) as it doesn't perform great in a window.

I also stuck a 64GB micro SD card in it. Going to install HL2 and see how it runs. Hehe.

I played some Android games on it in tablet mode. Super zippy and smooth.

I do wish I could play with the Asus though for comparison..

7/21/2017 10:59:40 AM

Oh yea, forgot about also getting a 64gb microSD card for mine as well. One thing I did like about the Pro was that the SD card slot had a little cover over it. The Asus is just a slot. The card just barely sticks out from the slot, and since it's white is somewhat noticeable. It works though.

When I got mine, I immediately switched over to the Beta channel to get Android Apps access. Played around with it a little bit, overall seem to work pretty good.

7/22/2017 4:11:35 PM

Keep in mind Chrome OS automatically formats it as Fat32.

Here's some tips on formatting it to ext4:

https://askubuntu.com/questions/579630/formatting-128gb-sd-card-to-ext4-with-gparted

It makes it a little more usable in Linux.

Also SD card support for Android apps isn't fully supported until 61 (which is currently in DEV channel).

i.e. right now you can stick a media file on your SD card then right click and do "open with [android app]" and it works fine but Android apps can't see the SD card from within the app until 61.

A lot of people are waiting on this one for like Plex, Spotify, etc that sync content locally.

7/24/2017 1:53:51 PM

Sorry, I don't really know tons about storage formats. If I don't plan on installing Linux, is there any reason to format to ext4?

I saw that about Andriod App SD storage - that definitely will be useful. I keep my machine on Beta, which is currently at 60. I haven't tried yet, but I think I remember reading that the Netflix Android app wont let you download movies. If this becomes possible, that SD card will become very useful.

I think I remember reading that USB printing was supposed to start being supported in 60. Haven't gotten to look into this yet so i'm not sure. It was nice to see non-cloud wifi printers finally being supported in 50 (or was it 59). I have finally be able to use my old Brother laserjet wifi printer I have a lifetime supply of ink for.

7/24/2017 4:28:24 PM

Quote :

"Sorry, I don't really know tons about storage formats. If I don't plan on installing Linux, is there any reason to format to ext4?"

If you want to store any files larger than 4GBs on the SD card then you need to format as ext4 otherwise fat32 is fine.

Yeah I'm on beta too (60).

Netflix now lets you download content for offline viewing on Android. I've done it on my phone before. I'll end up using Netflix or Plex mostly for that. I intend to use this thing for traveling a lot.

7/24/2017 4:48:05 PM

That makes sense. I'll probably just stick with fat32 for now atleast.

What I meant to say was I remembered reading that the Android App on ChromeOS wouldn't let you download (or people were having problems with it - downloads where no where to be found when they went offline). I definitely have used it on my cell phone without problems, but it seems like they may be blocking that functionality on ChromeOS. I'll try to test it out today.

I'll also be using mine for traveling alot. One question - when you're watching video in full screen mode, i'm assuming there are black bars on the top and bottom of the video since all videos are now shot in 16:9. How big are the black bars, and how much smaller does that make the screen? That was one thing I was a bit worried about in getting the Pro.

[Edited on July 25, 2017 at 8:15 AM. Reason : ]

7/25/2017 8:14:10 AM

Ah ok. I'll try out the Netflix app and report back.

I thought the black bars would be an issue but the entire laptop is black so they just kind of blend in. The screen is so vibrant/bright that it doesn't really matter. It's taken some getting used to but the form factor is nice. 3:2 is super nice for web browsing and games.

One positive is as I like multi-tasking it does make it easier to have the movie/tv show "full screen" at the top of the screen then have a chat/web browser window beneath it. Kinda cool.

7/25/2017 10:48:27 AM

Just tried out downloading on the Netflix app, seemed to work (atleast with just me turning in Wifi and going back into the app).

7/27/2017 10:34:53 AM

So I just installed The Great Suspender extension. After using computers with 8-16TGBs of ram I don't really pay attention to individual Chrome tab memory utilization. I realized Gmail was taking up >500MBs, FB was over 300GB, etc. I set the Great Suspender to an hour so it freezes those tabs (and clears up the memory) if they haven't been used. Now Ubuntu and other applications run much smoother.

I'd be nice if they offered 8GB versions.

7/27/2017 10:39:23 AM

Have you had any issues with the phantom touch i've been reading about?

7/29/2017 10:15:18 AM

That was a hardware issue with the initial batch of Chromebooks. I haven't experienced it yet. I'm hoping I got a later batch.

7/29/2017 12:56:03 PM

Well this turned out to work better than I thought:

7/30/2017 4:39:53 PM

Saw that on Reddit...very cool!

7/30/2017 9:32:46 PM

Giving the Chromebook Pro to the girlfriend and I picked up the Pixelbook today from Best Buy. I'm very impressed with the build quality. It's a very nice machine. I'm hoping for native container support in v63!

11/4/2017 10:27:14 PM

I would love to get a Chromobook, but since they can't run full MS office, that's a deal breaker right there.

Humans went to the moon in 1969, but new computers are being released in 2017 -- and touted as being great cutting edge machines -- which can't run full MS office.

11/4/2017 10:54:22 PM

The Office 365 web apps are great and work perfectly on Chrome. I use them for work and they're the "full MS Office" experience. Also the Android versions of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint work great as well.

So yes they do run the Microsoft suite.

I'd argue though that if you're getting a Chromebook for using the Microsoft Office Suite you're doing something wrong.

11/5/2017 4:57:57 PM

you also have crouton + wine and VDI options

11/6/2017 5:19:47 PM

^Exactly I actually thought about those but didn't want to complicate things. I can run a VM with Windows on my Pixelbook if I want to (with Crouton).

However I'm hoping to eliminate Crouton once native containers are a thing (December maybe?)

11/6/2017 6:06:50 PM

Also Crossover is out of invite-only and is in beta: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.codeweavers.cxoffice

It basically lets you run Windows applications in Android / ChromeOS.

11/7/2017 2:50:48 PM

What's the best deal on them now?

Any of them popping up for Black Friday?

11/7/2017 3:00:31 PM

Depends on your price range. There's a great buying guide in the Reddit forum for them:

https://www.reddit.com/r/chromeos/comments/7a8zvl/biweekly_chromebook_buying_advice_thread_nov_01_15/

For ~$400-500 the Asus Flipbook 302 or the Samsung Chromebook Pro are great.

11/7/2017 3:42:45 PM

good find

thanks

I have a toshiba and love it. Wish i had two

11/7/2017 7:45:34 PM

I was deciding between the Asus C302 and Samsung Pro for work, and ultimately decided to go with the Asus Chromebook Flip C302. I absolutely love it. Let me know if you want to check it out sometime.

11/8/2017 9:41:10 PM

Nice. Both are great laptops.

11/9/2017 12:34:10 AM

Was playing around with CrossWeaver and was able to install the full windows-suite of Microsoft Office 2016 on my Asus C302.

I know- there's 365 as well as the Android apps, but there are some missing functionality with both of them (like Mail Merge in Word). Nice to have this as another option.

Excited to try it out with other windows software.

https://www.codeweavers.com/products/crossover-chromeos

11/10/2017 10:17:57 AM