HP Announces All-Metal Chromebook 13: Thinner Than MacBook Pro, Costs $800 Less

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HP Announces All-Metal Chromebook 13: Thinner Than MacBook Pro, Costs $800 Less

Posted by msmash on Thursday April 28, 2016 @02:40AM from the Chromebook-gets-its-MacBook-moment dept.

On Thursday, HP unveiled a new Chromebook 13. Designed in collaboration with Google, the Chromebook 13 sports an all-metal body and is merely 13mm thick while weighing 1.29kg. It sports a 13-inch display with 3200x1800 pixels resolution and is powered by Intel's sixth-gen Core M processor, which comes coupled with up to 16GB of RAM. There's a USB Type-C port as well, and the company is also promising up to 11.5 hours of battery life on a single charge. The retail price of the HP Chromebook starts at $499, and will launch in the US later this month.

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Apples and Persimmons by wkwilley2 · 2016-04-28 02:43 · Score: 5, Insightful

It ought to cost 800 dollar less, it's a Chromebook.
And an HP.

--
Have you ever fallen asleep at the keybhanusdiog?
1. Re:Apples and Persimmons by drinkypoo · 2016-04-28 02:56 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  They ought to give it to me for free for being willing to even consider carrying something with an HP logo on it around in public. If it doesn't completely suck, I might be willing to say so. So far, everything I've had from HP since the Kayaks has been hot garbage, and their support has been as well. The support experience is actually the primary reason I won't even consider anything from HP. Never again.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
2. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Hognoxious · 2016-04-28 03:05 · Score: 2
  
  Might not be so bad if it has the new logo - you can't tell what it says.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
3. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:21 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah, I got all excited, but then realized it was an HP.
  It would be better to get a broken laptop than one of these. At least a broken laptop could be fixed.
4. Re:Apples and Persimmons by TechyImmigrant · 2016-04-28 03:28 · Score: 2
  
  It says bp. It's the British Petroleum laptop.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
5. Re:Apples and Persimmons by AmiMoJo · 2016-04-28 03:33 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  It looks pretty good for the money. You can of course run other operating systems on it. Linux, certainly, maybe even Windows. As a Linux machine it's pretty cheap for the spec.
  If anything it seems way over-speced for a Chromebook. Since Android is Linux based it should be well supported for people wanting to run Linux.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
6. Re: Apples and Persimmons by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:47 · Score: 0
  
  There was a time when Linux ran well on any cheap x86 hardware. What happened to those days?
7. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:52 · Score: 1
  
  If there's one thing Slashdotters can count on, it's getting their recommended daily requirement of piss and vinegar from drinkypoo. Tell us, drinkypoo, is there anything you actually like? That you don't piss and moan and bitch about? I don't think there is. Are you drunk all day long or something, and a mean drunk to boot? Have you considered killing yourself? It would end the misery. For us, that is. Maybe the U.S. military should plant you on the nose of a missile and aim you at ISIS headquarters, you'd make them want to cut off their own heads just to not have to deal with you anymore. Please pour your Boilermakers, or Night Train, or Old English 800, or whatever swill you drink, right onto your motherboard so we don't have to listen to you anymore, OK?
8. Re:Apples and Persimmons by squiggleslash · 2016-04-28 03:55 · Score: 0
  
  Meh, not had your experience. HP's hardware is cheap, but my PC, my wife's PC, and wife's laptop (all HP) have turned out to be huge improvements on their various predecessors from Gateway, Acer, Lenovo, et al.
  I just wish virtually all manufacturers, with the possible exception of Apple, who existed 20 years ago and had a reputation then for quality, weren't so much worse today (that's not a compliment aimed at Apple BTW, their hardware 15 years ago was pretty awful.)
  
  --
  You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
9. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Solandri · 2016-04-28 04:07 · Score: 1, Interesting
  
  And an HP.
  The dirty little secret of the laptop industry is that the big-name laptop brands - Dell, HP, Apple, Toshiba, etc. - do not actually make laptops. They're made by Taiwanese companies called ODMs - Original Design Manufacturers. They're like OEMs, except they also design the product. The brand name just slaps it in one of their boxes before re-shipping it to you. About the only thing the brand name tells you is what type of warranty service to expect. The entire industry is very secretive about this, and makes it nearly impossible to tell which ODM actually made each particular model laptop (most brands use multiple ODMs).
  
  The Macbooks are made by Quanta (they're the only ODM Apple is currently using for their laptops; the old plastic Macbooks were made by Asus/Pegatron). Quanta also happens to make most of HP's laptops. This is why all those "laptop reliability reports" which break it down by brand name are bunk.
10. Re:Apples and Persimmons by drinkypoo · 2016-04-28 04:10 · Score: 1
  
  Early Gateways were worse than hot garbage, they were canned crap. But in more recent years they were just made out of commodity parts and they were often actually quite good machines. Same for e-Machines. Acer is a bit of a mixed bag, but in general I've been more happy with them than not. I have a Lenovo C2D right here which is a peach. I'm kind of over Lenovo, though, since they have developed a penchant for BIOS which tries to stop you from doing what you want. So yeah, I agree, most PCs are crap now. Hooray for the a la carte market.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
11. Re:Apples and Persimmons by tlhIngan · 2016-04-28 04:15 · Score: 1
  
  It looks pretty good for the money. You can of course run other operating systems on it. Linux, certainly, maybe even Windows. As a Linux machine it's pretty cheap for the spec.
  Actually... no. The default Chromebook loader can only boot Linux. There is no BIOS unless the boot firmware includes one (e.g., the Chromebook Pixel included SeaBIOS). This is required if you want to boot... Windows.
  Even then, it's a nasty hack - while you can do it, only geeks will be satisfied with the result. Basically, every time you boot it up (including reboots), its going to wait 30 seconds while it says the system is insecure. After 30 seconds, it'll display a screen asking for a recovery USB or SD card. So in those 30 seconds you need to hit a key combo to proceed to boot (Ctrl-D or something).
  This will be fine for most /. users, but as a "cheap laptop" solution for the general public... not so much. Needing to hit the key command within a certain period of time is probably going to be the biggest sticking point.
  By default, ChromeOS is designed to be locked down so people can use it to browse the web in safety without worrying that something is doing to install something that will destroy their computer, or spy on them, etc. They make great machines to do internet banking with as you can be reasonably assured they have no malware or other thing spying on you. But that also makes life difficult if you want to use it in unsecured open mode.
12. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Shoten · 2016-04-28 04:37 · Score: 2
  
  Meh, not had your experience. HP's hardware is cheap, but my PC, my wife's PC, and wife's laptop (all HP) have turned out to be huge improvements on their various predecessors from Gateway, Acer, Lenovo, et al.
  I just wish virtually all manufacturers, with the possible exception of Apple, who existed 20 years ago and had a reputation then for quality, weren't so much worse today (that's not a compliment aimed at Apple BTW, their hardware 15 years ago was pretty awful.)
  Wow...there's a marketing slogan for you:
  "Better than an old Gateway."
  Yeah, you'll raise the roof with that one!
  
  --
  
  For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
13. Re:Apples and Persimmons by macs4all · 2016-04-28 04:39 · Score: 2
  
  It ought to cost 800 dollar less, it's a Chromebook.
  And an HP.
  Exactly!
  
  And why compare it to a MBP? That should be compared to a MacBook Air, or maybe the new MacBook (non-Pro).
  
  And as the Parent pointed out, IT'S A CHROMEBOOK. It shouldn't be compared to a REAL laptop AT ALL.
14. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Shoten · 2016-04-28 04:42 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  And an HP.
  The dirty little secret of the laptop industry is that the big-name laptop brands - Dell, HP, Apple, Toshiba, etc. - do not actually make laptops. They're made by Taiwanese companies called ODMs - Original Design Manufacturers. They're like OEMs, except they also design the product. The brand name just slaps it in one of their boxes before re-shipping it to you. About the only thing the brand name tells you is what type of warranty service to expect. The entire industry is very secretive about this, and makes it nearly impossible to tell which ODM actually made each particular model laptop (most brands use multiple ODMs).
  The Macbooks are made by Quanta (they're the only ODM Apple is currently using for their laptops; the old plastic Macbooks were made by Asus/Pegatron). Quanta also happens to make most of HP's laptops. This is why all those "laptop reliability reports" which break it down by brand name are bunk.
  True...and not true.
  The implication of your post is that an HP is not really an HP, but something entirely designed, sourced, and built by another company but with HP's name on it. This is not the case. HP buys components from other companies, and other companies often do the manufacturing...but the design of the laptop, its specifications, and essentially everything that determines how good it is are entirely HP's doing. The same is (clearly) true of Apple. The fact that the manufacturing is outsourced isn't really germane; you'll never have an Apple and HP computer that, side-by-side, are entirely interchangeable.
  Disclaimer: I used to work for HP. Please don't hold it against me...
  
  --
  
  For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
15. Re:Apples and Persimmons by macs4all · 2016-04-28 04:55 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  The Macbooks are made by Quanta (they're the only ODM Apple is currently using for their laptops; the old plastic Macbooks were made by Asus/Pegatron).
  
  Sorry, no.
  
  No doubt that Quanta does lots of ODM work for those generic Wintel laptops; but Apple laptops are designed by Apple, period; have been for years.
  
  Quanta is simply a Contract MANUFACTURER used by Apple to BUILD MacBooks. Has been for years.
  
  Same thing for Asus/Pegatron. Contract MANUFACTURER Only.
  
  You apparently don't understand the difference between DESIGN and MANUFACTURING. I can find NO reference to Apple using either of those companies for anything other than Contract MANUFACTURING, not DESIGN work.
  
  Prove me wrong.
16. Re:Apples and Persimmons by wkwilley2 · 2016-04-28 05:02 · Score: 1
  
  I agree with you completely on the support issue.
  Trying to get any kind of support from HP is akin to pulling alligator teeth.
  
  --
  Have you ever fallen asleep at the keybhanusdiog?
17. Re:Apples and Persimmons by binarylarry · 2016-04-28 05:29 · Score: 1
  
  Yep, stopped reading at HP.
  
  --
  Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
18. Re:Apples and Persimmons by mukinrestak · 2016-04-28 05:36 · Score: 1
  
  I once tried to get an under warranty HP laptop repaired. HP support refused to honor the warranty until I contacted the folks at The Consumerist and threatened media exposure. I've had better interactions with the freakin IRS.
19. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 05:54 · Score: 1
  
  And as the Parent pointed out, IT'S A CHROMEBOOK. It shouldn't be compared to a REAL laptop AT ALL.
  Except we can make some useful comparisons, enough to know that the Macbook is ridiculously overpriced.
20. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Captain+Splendid · 2016-04-28 06:04 · Score: 1
  
  Why the fuck are you people buying your PCs off the shelf? Aren't we supposed to build our own rigs?
  
  --
  Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
21. Re:Apples and Persimmons by macs4all · 2016-04-28 06:14 · Score: 1
  
  And as the Parent pointed out, IT'S A CHROMEBOOK. It shouldn't be compared to a REAL laptop AT ALL.
  Except we can make some useful comparisons, enough to know that the Macbook is ridiculously overpriced.
  See "Chromebook".
  
  Fancy terminal, who's main purpose in life is to serve as a(nother) data-mining tool for Google. Locked to a wanna-be OS (unless you are willing to put up with massive annoyance every-single-boot). As I said: NOT a general-purpose computer; therefore, no "comparisons", especially to a MacBook PRO, are warranted nor relevant nor "useful", except as pure Clickbait, and that is true ONLY because the Article mentions Apple.
22. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Hognoxious · 2016-04-28 06:16 · Score: 1
  
  That'd be almost funny if British Petroleum had existed in the last decade.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
23. Re:Apples and Persimmons by drinkypoo · 2016-04-28 06:26 · Score: 1
  
  Why the fuck are you people buying your PCs off the shelf? Aren't we supposed to build our own rigs?
  I bought my SFF lenovo for $50 with a 1TB disk and 4GB RAM. I couldn't buy the RAM for that, new. My other PCs are AMD multicore systems which were built from scratch, I even spray-painted one case to match the other which is fairly nerdly if I do say so myself. Relax.
  There are a lot of prebuilt machines floating around out there for little money, and sometimes their prices are compelling at yard sales and the like.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
24. Re:Apples and Persimmons by harrkev · 2016-04-28 06:26 · Score: 1
  
  I can walk into a MicroCenter and walk out with pieces and parts to assemble a desktop machine. Laptop? Not so much.
  Yes, I know of a FEW companies out there doing something like that, but nothing that you will ever see on a store shelf.
  
  --
  "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
25. Re: Apples and Persimmons by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 06:29 · Score: 0
  
  Haters gon' hate.
26. Re: Apples and Persimmons by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 06:34 · Score: 0
  
  "ChromeOS is designed to be locked down so people can use it to browse the web in safety without worrying that something is doing to install something that will destroy their computer, or spy on them, etc. " /endquote
  Are you serious right now? So instead of having a real computer that MiGHT get spyware, you chose to have a computer that HAS spyware on it by default, thanks to teh googleZ.
27. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Captain+Splendid · 2016-04-28 06:51 · Score: 1
  
  for $50
  
  Oh alright then, carry on.
  
  *salutes*
  
  --
  Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
28. Re: Apples and Persimmons by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 07:21 · Score: 0
  
  He probably likes a lot of things, has a great family, lots of friends, and shovels his elderly neighbor's driveway in winter. But, it's more fun to post negative things than positive things.
29. Re:Apples and Persimmons by TechyImmigrant · 2016-04-28 07:25 · Score: 1
  
  That'd be almost funny if British Petroleum had existed in the last decade.
  http://www.bp.com/
  They may choose to hide the origin of their name, but that's what the B and P stand for.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
30. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 07:28 · Score: 0
  
  You can of course run other operating systems on it.
  
  Says who?
31. Re:Apples and Persimmons by jon3k · 2016-04-28 07:35 · Score: 1
  
  Everyone makes this claim that Macbook's are ridiculously overpriced, but no one can find me a laptop with comparable specs and premium build quality (ie not made of plastic) that isn't essentially the same price as a Macbook. And even if you can find something that's maybe $100 cheaper, it will have a dramatically lower battery life and a horrible trackpad.
32. Re: Apples and Persimmons by Bing+Tsher+E · 2016-04-28 07:42 · Score: 1
  
  When I want to build something, it requires at a minimum a soldering iron and probably a drill press and band saw. Please don't cop an attitude because you can assemble a computer if the only tool needed was a Phillips screwdriver. My friend whose paying job involves building and tearing down cubicle walls can 'build a computer' at that level.
33. Re: Apples and Persimmons by Bing+Tsher+E · 2016-04-28 07:48 · Score: 1
  
  It only has the good, Google approved spyware on it. They've copied Apple's iOS in that regard.
  The garden walls keeps those pesky raccoons from stealing your picnic lunch.
34. Re: Apples and Persimmons by Bing+Tsher+E · 2016-04-28 07:52 · Score: 1
  
  They are Designed in California by Apple.
  Yada yada. Whooie.
  And they have nicer retail displays, just like Bose sound equipment.
35. Re: Apples and Persimmons by Bing+Tsher+E · 2016-04-28 07:54 · Score: 1
  
  Also, when an Apple laptop goes to shit, you get to talk to a genius.
36. Re:Apples and Persimmons by nmr_andrew · 2016-04-28 08:12 · Score: 2
  
  It looks pretty good for the money.
  Maybe. But while it will probably get me labeled a blasphemer and heretic on /., I just RTFA (ok, skimmed really). The very next paragraphs starts out by saying the "base model" - i.e. the one with the $500 price tag - will very likely have lower specs, they specifically mention 1920x1080, 4 GB or 8 GB RAM, and probably a lesser CPU. It also mentions that this thing has a whopping 32 GB of storage, presumably flash memory, nor any way to add any other than USB-C.
37. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 08:18 · Score: 0
  
  Stood for. Their legal name is "BP plc", with "BP" meaning "Beyond Petroleum".
  This was in response to the Deepwater Horizon incident.
38. Re: Apples and Persimmons by macs4all · 2016-04-28 08:28 · Score: 1
  
  They are Designed in California by Apple.
  Yada yada. Whooie.
  But what I find suspiciously absent is the PROOF they are NOT.
  And they have nicer retail displays, just like Bose sound equipment.
  They also have (much) nicer industrial design and manufacturing, at the very least. I'm not sure what you mean by "nicer retail displays", though. Are you referring to the Apple Retail Stores? If so, I don't get the comparison to Bose, who, to my knowledge, doesn't have any Retail Stores of their own.
  
  And there is a VAST difference between Bose's quality and Apple's. I know. I have worked on enough Bose equipment, as well as some Apple equipment, to have an informed opinion on the matter.
39. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 10:08 · Score: 0
  
  I recently bought an Acer One Cloudbook 14 with Microsoft Windows 10. I created a full recovery disk in the event that I have to return the computer for warranty service. In installed Xubuntu Linux 16.04 LTS leaving no trace of Microsoft Windows 10. Yay! This cloudbook has only 64 GB EMMC storage and a measly 2 GB RAM. Well colour me gratefully shocked at the speed of this computer now that a real operating system has been installed. To alleviate the limited local persistent storage situation I have an 8 GB microSD card so the limited 64 GB EMMC can be used for applications. After installing cairo-dock, Google Chrome, and Docker only 11% of the total on-board storage is utilised. Since I intend to use this computer primarily for nodejs development and blogging using command line applications the Acer Aspire One Cloudbook 14 is more than sufficient. The light-weight form-factor and 12 hour battery life on a full charge makes it ideal for living the laptop-lifestyle. My only complaint is the fact Acer decided to solder the RAM and Flash storage chips to the system board eliminating any option to replace these components even if they become faulty.
40. Re: Apples and Persimmons by Captain+Splendid · 2016-04-28 10:11 · Score: 1
  
  Please don't cop an attitude
  
  You must be new here.
  
  My friend whose paying job involves building and tearing down cubicle walls can 'build a computer' at that level.
  
  That's the point.
  
  --
  Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
41. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 10:54 · Score: 0
  
  Retarted conspiracist.
42. Re:Apples and Persimmons by ChunderDownunder · 2016-04-28 11:58 · Score: 1
  
  I spent about $AU1K on one of their business 12" laptops back in 2008. Best machine ever and is still going, albeit handed down to my mother several years back.
  Where HP gets a bad reputation, I'm guessing, is at the low end. Our local electronics retailer, jb hifi, always has netbooks on sale for about $299 and they're barely specced better than my aforementioned 8yo friend - 2GB RAM, no SSD, no improvement in screen res, miscellaneous Atom/Pentium/Celeron chip.
43. Re:Apples and Persimmons by ChunderDownunder · 2016-04-28 12:02 · Score: 1
  
  I thought there was some 'developer mode', whence one could flash an entirely new coreboot payload and bypass the protections altogether?
44. Re: Apples and Persimmons by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 19:46 · Score: 0
  
  You don't understand the difference between "makes" and "designs".
45. Re: Apples and Persimmons by macs4all · 2016-04-29 02:57 · Score: 2
  
  You don't understand the difference between "makes" and "designs".
  As an embedded Developer with almost 40 years' PAID experience and several industrial product designs under my belt, I think I DO understand the difference, COWARD.
  
  The first product I designed the software and most of the hardware for (it employed an already-built power-electronics assembly, but I did the controller design and and all the software), back in 1989, we used a Contract Manufacturer, because we didn't have SMT fabrication facilites in-house. And since that time, I think I have done the software and hardware for several other products that were ultimately built by Contract Manufacturers. So, I think I DO know the difference between "Design" and "Makes" (manufactures).
  
  So, STFU, and go crawl back under whatever slimy rock you live under.
46. Re: Apples and Persimmons by kaatochacha · 2016-04-29 08:38 · Score: 1
  
  https://www.bose.com/en_us/sto...
47. Re:Apples and Persimmons by obscuro · 2016-04-29 08:43 · Score: 1
  
  I don't get it. drinkypoo isn't any more or less pissed off than at least half of /.'s members. I'd say he's squarely in the middle of the piss and vinegar scale.
  
  --
  Every rule has more than one consequence.
48. Re:Apples and Persimmons by lsatenstein · 2016-04-29 10:32 · Score: 1
  
  I had 5 HP PCs, purchased over different years. All died just after the guarantee expired. Mostly, the power supply. But to obtain compact size, the PS had to be long and thin, and propitiatory. What we did was pull the hard disk, cpu and ram, and (if there was a DVD player), buy a better mother board and rebuild the system using off-the-shelf items.
  HP product reliability is "value engineered". That is, it is designed to last the guarantee period and not much more. I have a fear of purchasing any other HP products. Perhaps it was done that way in the 2000-2005 period. Hopefully HP does now make a better quality product.
  
  --
  Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada
49. Re: Apples and Persimmons by macs4all · 2016-04-29 10:33 · Score: 1
  
  https://www.bose.com/en_us/sto...
  Ok, I take it back about the Bose Stores. I guess they DO have some, although I can't for the life of me imagine why, other than the fact that general-purpose "HiFi" stores are all but gone in the U.S. I have just never seen one.
  
  Bose DOES look like they copied Apple's general "look" for their stores, though.
50. Re:Apples and Persimmons by Shirley+Marquez · 2016-04-29 13:41 · Score: 1
  
  Gateway, eMachines, and Acer are all the same company now. Have been since 2007 when Acer bought Gateway, which itself had bought eMachines in 2004. The eMachines brand was retired at the beginning of 2013; Acer still uses the Gateway brand for some products.
Chromebook? by Iamthecheese · 2016-04-28 02:43 · Score: 5, Insightful

Can I ask the reason, with that much power, not to include a real OS? Also it's disingenuous to name high specs, then say "starting at $lowprice", and THEN say the low specs that go with the low price. That smells like slashvertising.

--
If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
1. Re:Chromebook? by LWATCDR · 2016-04-28 02:48 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Odds are you will see a Windows version of the same machine. I just hope you can put Linux on this one or the Windows version... Oh and that the touchpad does not suck.
  
  --
  See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
2. Re:Chromebook? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:12 · Score: 0
  
  Can I ask the reason, with a /. account as old as yours, why could you not install your own OS? Also, it's disingenuous to criticize a product you have never used, and THEN speak from an authoritative position. This smells like a zealot speaking for another brand, who is terrified other people on this vast planet may prefer something other that your own insecure choice.
3. Re:Chromebook? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:17 · Score: 0
  
  HP:
  Prone to overheating to the point the CPU continuously runs in throttle-down mode.
  Excess heat causes the keyboard to expand and flex, breaking the internal wiring.
  Case may warp too.
  Overall build quality is atrocious.
  Batteries break about a week after end of warranty. If the battery doesn't break the charging circuitry keeps complaining about a broken battery even if you insert a brand new one.
  The retaining clasps for the battery and the bottom-cover break of when you look at them sideways,
  The hinges for the display get wobbly even with very careful usage. Typically break just after the warranty has expired.
  The external powersupply is for some obscure reason twice as big and heavy (and delivers less power) than that of the competition.
  Touchpad is so goddamned awful use of an real mouse is mandatory. Touch-stick (if present) is so rigid you can't use if for precise positioning. (And the cap gets loose and gets lost after about a week.)
  HP: Premium price and that is the only thing premium about it.
4. Re:Chromebook? by Njorthbiatr · 2016-04-28 03:18 · Score: 1
  
  Very much agree. You could even cover up the HP logo with an Ubuntu sticker.
5. Re:Chromebook? by mrchaotica · 2016-04-28 03:19 · Score: 2
  
  Chrome OS is Linux (and if you don't like the Chrome UI, a normal DE is just a chroot away). Are you saying Linux isn't a real OS?
  
  --
  "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
6. Re:Chromebook? by ArmoredDragon · 2016-04-28 03:20 · Score: 1
  
  I think Chrome OS might get interesting very soon, namely because you'll be able to run Android apps in multi-window mode. And given that mobile is all the app rage lately, I don't think you'll find an kind of shortage of things to do on it.
  Not that I'll buy this machine mind you, just that Chrome OS *may* see a sudden uptick in consumer demand.
7. Re:Chromebook? by greenfruitsalad · 2016-04-28 03:23 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  i do not like limitations of ChromeOS but it is currently the ONLY way to get a haswell/broadwell/skylake laptop with linux with proper power management. i've yet to see a non-chromeos laptop that can enter a state lower than PC3 (package state, not core).
  https://www.reddit.com/r/linux...
  https://www.reddit.com/r/linux...
  so I, for one, am interested in this new chromebook. i currently have a haswell chromebook with crouton installed and i have never experienced such battery life with a linux machine before (not even on dell sputnik). it's a crappy cheap machine but i'm finding myself using it almost exclusively these days. it's the first computer i can leave the house with while leaving the charger at home.
8. Re:Chromebook? by thsths · 2016-04-28 03:24 · Score: 2
  
  Exactly. The MacBook Pro comes with a real OS, this Chromebook is just an advertising delivery system. Yes, it is good value, but unless you can open it up for real applications, it is not actually a computer.
9. Re:Chromebook? by bill_mcgonigle · 2016-04-28 03:40 · Score: 1
  
  Are you saying Linux isn't a real OS?
  I infer that the claim is that most people need and can securely maintain Windows, rather than ChromeOS. A rather dubious claim, in my experience.
  
  --
  My God, it's Full of Source!
  OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
10. Re: Chromebook? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:49 · Score: 0
  
  "Linux" isn't an operating system.
11. Re:Chromebook? by youngatheart · 2016-04-28 03:53 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  If you're asking, you aren't going to like the answer, but I'll try anyway.
  Like many /.'ers I do support for family. Guess which laptops and computers get screwed up? Windows of course. If I don't want to have to fix stuff on a regular basis, I rule Windows out immediately. Macs seem a bit pricey but I could get over that, the problem I have is that typically people find it hard to use at first, which for some of my family translates to forever. (One of the people I support gets quite upset if Internet Explorer isn't on the page he left it on.)
  You know what doesn't get screwed up? Chromebooks. I can hand one to a nine year old niece or to her grandmother and they'll be able to do everything they want and it won't be messed up when they hand it back. We have two that we keep on hand for just that sort of purpose. They're both cheap and a few years old, and they still keep up with all that their target audience asks of them.
  At this price though, this wouldn't be for my niece or her grandmother. This would be a Chromebook for me. I'm a veteran of OSs ranging from Xenix to Microsoft Server 2012, so I feel comfortable with pretty much whatever. About the only question that matters to me when I pick an OS for my own use is how much effort it will require.
  In years past, I would compile my own custom kernel and tweak optimizations for all the software I ran which made me a big fan of Gentoo and FreeBSD, and I'd spend hours tweaking Blackbox. These days? I take the easy and fast route for most things. My current desktop dual boots Windows 10 and Mint and most of my servers run CentOS. If I'm working, I'm either on a remote command line or in a remote desktop, so what good does Windows or Linux or Mac on the laptop do for me? The only thing I ask of my local computer most of the time is that it render web pages well and not give me grief over streaming videos when I'm taking downtime.
  So this is a tempting laptop for me. It would do everything I need in a snappy fashion, including running video on my real displays and take zero maintenance. That's what makes Chromebooks most appealing, they don't take effort. Plus, with this higher level of hardware, if I ever decided I needed something else, I'd just put Linux or BSD on it and it'd be as good for the money as most of the alternatives I might have purchased.
12. Re:Chromebook? by Tough+Love · 2016-04-28 03:54 · Score: 1
  
  Oh and that the touchpad does not suck.
  All touchpads without separate click buttons suck, it's only a question of degree.
  
  --
  When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
13. Re:Chromebook? by Tough+Love · 2016-04-28 03:59 · Score: 1
  
  It's a cheap and (probably) good Linux machine.
  
  --
  When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
14. Re:Chromebook? by Mr+D+from+63 · 2016-04-28 04:05 · Score: 1
  
  There are a lot of Macbook owners that only use it for browsing and email. But it was cool and thin, so they wanted it.
15. Re:Chromebook? by bjohnso5 · 2016-04-28 04:06 · Score: 1
  
  I can attest to the heat issues, I had an HP laptop die because the GPU un-soldered itself from the motherboard slowly over time. I'm too lazy to crack open the case and try to heatgun it back into life.
16. Re:Chromebook? by tepples · 2016-04-28 04:21 · Score: 1
  
  why could you not install your own OS?
  Because every time a Chromebook is turned on, its firmware begs the user to wipe the hard drive and reinstall Chrome OS.
17. Re: Chromebook? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 04:21 · Score: 0
  
  I think we can all agree at this point that when people refer to "Linux" they are referring to any OS using the Linux kernel.
18. Re:Chromebook? by tepples · 2016-04-28 04:24 · Score: 1
  
  Until someone presses Space while the machine is booting, which disables developer mode and erases your chroot.
19. Re:Chromebook? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 04:25 · Score: 0
  
  Is it from the generation of NVIDIA GPUs that un-soldered themselves from the motherboard slowly over time in every manufacturer's laptops?
20. Re:Chromebook? by chispito · 2016-04-28 04:25 · Score: 1
  
  Can I ask the reason, with that much power, not to include a real OS? Also it's disingenuous to name high specs, then say "starting at $lowprice", and THEN say the low specs that go with the low price. That smells like slashvertising.
  Because it's not for you. This is for someone who wants an iPad with a built-in keyboard.
  
  --
  The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
21. Re:Chromebook? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 04:35 · Score: 0
  
  You can hack it. Place it in Developer Mode, and load up Crouton. Run various flavors of Linux for what ever needs you may have You could even run WINE and Virtual Box. I did this with my Acer C910..
22. Re:Chromebook? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 04:44 · Score: 0
  
  Well, perhaps your data is outdated?
  I have an i5 skylake NUC too and powertop tells me: "C8 (pc8) 97.3%" - this is below PC2 that you refer. This is on Fedora23 with the 4.4.7-300.fc23 kernel.
23. Re:Chromebook? by macs4all · 2016-04-28 04:58 · Score: 1
  
  Oh and that the touchpad does not suck.
  All touchpads without separate click buttons suck, it's only a question of degree.
  What about "touchpads" (trackpads) that have the entire touchpad as a "clicky" button, ala Apple? They are widely regarded as having the hands-down (no pun) best trackpads in the industry, by a very wide margin.
24. Re:Chromebook? by macs4all · 2016-04-28 05:01 · Score: 1
  
  I think Chrome OS might get interesting very soon, namely because you'll be able to run Android apps in multi-window mode. And given that mobile is all the app rage lately, I don't think you'll find an kind of shortage of things to do on it.
  Not that I'll buy this machine mind you, just that Chrome OS *may* see a sudden uptick in consumer demand.
  Oh, boy! What a wonderful thing: To be able to run scaled-down, bullshit mobile Apps on your "real" computer.
  
  I simply don't see the attraction. Mobile Apps are for when we need to do things on-the-go; they are RARELY good examples of real, robust Applications (not "Apps").
25. Re:Chromebook? by the_humeister · 2016-04-28 05:02 · Score: 1
  
  Odds are you will see a Windows version of the same machine. I just hope you can put Linux on this one or the Windows version... Oh and that the touchpad does not suck.
  I already runs Linux. It just so happens that ChromeOS sits on top of it.
26. Re:Chromebook? by LWATCDR · 2016-04-28 05:07 · Score: 1
  
  True but meant a full linux distro like Mint vs Chrome
  
  --
  See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
27. Re:Chromebook? by sootman · 2016-04-28 05:48 · Score: 2
  
  Yeah. The way they wrote that really sucks. Here's what you ACTUALLY get for $499: "Entry-level models will likely* have lesser specs: the laptop can be configured with a 1920 x 1080 pixel display, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and processor options including Pentium 4405Y, Core M3, and Core M5 processor." So $499 gets you a 1080p screen and 4 GB and whichever processor is worst on that list. In other words, it gets you a $499 laptop.
  * and who the fuck put "likely" in there? How about "absolutely definitely"!? :-/
  
  --
  Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
28. Re:Chromebook? by michelcolman · 2016-04-28 06:17 · Score: 0
  
  Excess heat causes the keyboard to expand and flex, breaking the internal wiring.
  That's actually a feature.
29. Re:Chromebook? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 06:29 · Score: 0
  
  First of all no it doesn't, all you do is ctrl-D for chrome or ctrl-L for a bootloader (it does have a nack of randomly wiping the flags necessary to get into the bootloader and you are severely restricted in the way you can partition the drive).
  Second of all, you can just remove the hardware protection and put a complete chrome free bios on it. Chromebooks are the most open, modern x86 platforms available.
30. Re:Chromebook? by tepples · 2016-04-28 06:35 · Score: 1
  
  First of all no it doesn't, all you do is ctrl-D for chrome or ctrl-L for a bootloader
  That's fine if you turn it on, not so fine if someone else power-cycles it.
  
  Second of all, you can just remove the hardware protection and put a complete chrome free bios on it.
  On all of them?
31. Re:Chromebook? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 06:45 · Score: 0
  
  Scoring on Slashdot is even worse than normal. Sorry about.
  You are one of the few postings to give actual and helpful information, but since it goes against the group-think of "Google/Chromebook bad", you get downvoted into oblivion :-(
32. Re:Chromebook? by greenfruitsalad · 2016-04-28 06:54 · Score: 1
  
  are you sure you're looking at the leftmost column in powertop's "Idle Stats"? what you're saying should not be possible. things are slowly starting to move in 4.6 kernel ( http://git.kernel.org/cgit/lin... ) . it should not be possible with 4.4.7.
33. Re:Chromebook? by greenfruitsalad · 2016-04-28 06:58 · Score: 1
  
  i totally agree, with a little addendum. buttons should be above the touchpad and the touchpad itself should be disabled. nipple FTW.
34. Re:Chromebook? by Tough+Love · 2016-04-28 07:33 · Score: 1
  
  What about "touchpads" (trackpads) that have the entire touchpad as a "clicky" button, ala Apple?
  Suck.
  
  They are widely regarded as having the hands-down (no pun) best trackpads in the industry, by a very wide margin.
  Seems like a very low bar.
  
  --
  When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
35. Re:Chromebook? by jon3k · 2016-04-28 07:50 · Score: 1
  
  As opposed to a Macbook which is completely ad free. Until you connect it to the internet and open a web browser, of course. I can install an adblocker on chromeos just like I can on a Mac.
36. Re:Chromebook? by ArmoredDragon · 2016-04-28 07:51 · Score: 1
  
  Oh, boy! What a wonderful thing: To be able to run scaled-down, bullshit mobile Apps on your "real" computer.
  You probably say that because you have only a narrow understanding of what people actually do with computers, complicated by a narrow understanding of what Android apps can do (my guess is that you're used to iphone apps, which are deliberately limited in scale and functionality by Apple.)
  
  I simply don't see the attraction. Mobile Apps are for when we need to do things on-the-go; they are RARELY good examples of real, robust Applications (not "Apps").
  If you give somebody a reason to scale up those apps, they will. In case you haven't noticed, Android allows app developers to modify the look and feel of the app depending on the screen size, which can go anywhere from a 2" screen to a 200" screen.
37. Re: Chromebook? by Bing+Tsher+E · 2016-04-28 07:59 · Score: 1
  
  It sounds almost like an iPad pro, doesn't it. Except a lot cheaper and a lot less locked down. Less stupid-proof, though, which probably gets some people nervous.
38. Re:Chromebook? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 08:07 · Score: 0
  
  Yes, leftmost column
  needed to replace vertical line with x at places to make slashdot posting happy.
  
  Package | Core | CPU 0 CPU 2 ... C2 (pc2) 0.6% x | C3 (pc3) 2.4% x C3 (cc3) 0.0% x C3-SKL 0.0% 0.0 ms 0.3% C6 (pc6) 0.9% x C6 (cc6) 3.4% x C6-SKL 1.1% 2.2 ms 3.5% 1 C7 (pc7) 0.0% x C7 (cc7) 95.4% x C7s-SKL 0.0% 0.0 ms 0.0% C8 (pc8) 94.8% x x C8-SKL 3.5% 17.9 ms 3.6% C9 (pc9) 0.0% x x C9-SKL 0.0% 0.0 ms 0.0% C10 (pc10) 0.0% x x C10-SKL 94.4% 38.2 ms 92.2% 6 [root@smallnuc2 ~]# uname -a Linux smallnuc2.localnet 4.4.7-300.fc23.x86_64 #1 SMP Wed Apr 13 02:52:52 UTC 2016 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux [root@smallnuc2 ~]# head /proc/cpuinfo processor : 0 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 78 model name : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6260U CPU @ 1.80GHz stepping : 3 microcode : 0x57 cpu MHz : 806.203 cache size : 4096 KB physical id : 0
39. Re:Chromebook? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 08:11 · Score: 0
  
  Actually here's a snapshot for you, since it's more visual that way: http://s32.postimg.org/fdxai3aad/powertop.jpg
40. Re:Chromebook? by greenfruitsalad · 2016-04-28 08:16 · Score: 1
  
  well, i envy you. my nuc with i5-4250u has never gone past PC2.
41. Re:Chromebook? by macs4all · 2016-04-28 08:17 · Score: 1
  
  What about "touchpads" (trackpads) that have the entire touchpad as a "clicky" button, ala Apple?
  Suck.
  
  They are widely regarded as having the hands-down (no pun) best trackpads in the industry, by a very wide margin.
  And who, pray tell, do you think makes a better Trackpad than Apple?
  Seems like a very low bar.
42. Re:Chromebook? by macs4all · 2016-04-28 08:20 · Score: 0
  
  You probably say that because you have only a narrow understanding of what people actually do with computers,
  Of course. I've only been an embedded developer for nearly 4 DECADES. A total noob.
  
  complicated by a narrow understanding of what Android apps can do
  Oh, you mean like steal your private information? (ducks)
43. Re:Chromebook? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 08:26 · Score: 0
  
  Well, I do not have anything that old.
  I have the previous generation NUC that's i5-5250U (Broadwell), and there powertop has all 0% in the leftmost column, so I imagine that means it (kernel or whatever) just does not know how to measure that.
  I just found it kind of strange you are portraying Linux power management on all recent intel CPUs in a bad light with such a broad stroke when in fact the problem most definitely does not exist on Skylake at the very least and might not even exist on broadwell for all we know.
  I attached both nuks to a kill-a-watt meter and they both consume about 6 watts when idle (I wanted to write 4, but my records seems to say 6.
  8 watts with no tunings from powertop).
44. Re: Chromebook? by macs4all · 2016-04-28 08:44 · Score: 1
  
  It sounds almost like an iPad pro, doesn't it. Except a lot cheaper and a lot less locked down. Less stupid-proof, though, which probably gets some people nervous.
  No. An iPad Pro is still an iPad, and makes no claims to be otherwise. It just has a couple of unique features (compared to the "non-pro" iPads).
  
  Having said that, I do believe it is really a Development Platform for Apple internally to play around with migrating OS X to ARM (and with Touch support). But that's just a guess on my part.
45. Re:Chromebook? by rthille · 2016-04-28 09:22 · Score: 1
  
  That's easy to fix:
  https://johnlewis.ie/custom-ch...
  
  --
  Awesome furniture, accessories and cabinetry in Santa Rosa, CA: http://humanity-home.com/
46. Re:Chromebook? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 10:20 · Score: 0
  
  You can buy an Acer Aspire One Cloudlbook 14 for USD199.00 (2 GB RAM 32 GB EEMC) or USD249.99 (2 GB RAM, 64 GB EMMC) if I recall. The prices in Canada sadly are significantly more expensive. Wipe Microsoft Windows 10 and install GNU/Linux such as Xubuntu Linux for a low resource overhead experience.
47. Re:Chromebook? by ChunderDownunder · 2016-04-28 12:25 · Score: 1
  
  The rest of the industry is adopting hybrid models. Universal apps on Windows, Convergence on Ubuntu, Android apps on Chrome OS, etc.
  My parents purchased me a Mac in 1991 before NT4 became a thing, so I missed the resurrection of Jobs. But if Apple aren't interested in a hybrid Surface platform, I guess I ain't cool enough for the 21st century. Oh well...
48. Re:Chromebook? by mjwx · 2016-04-29 01:26 · Score: 1
  
  Like many /.'ers I do support for family. Guess which laptops and computers get screwed up?
  
  Mac's.
  
  Having done Mac support in a professional environment, Windows problems are easy to fix, Mac problems often require hours of hair pulling trial and error to fix. They also occur at about the same frequency (comparing OS X to Win XP SP2). Even though there were only 5 Macs in a 200 head company, I spent 25% of my time on Mac problems.
  
  I'm smarter than you, I dont do family support. I tell them to buy an Asus because 1. The hardware support is good, 2. The hardware hardly ever breaks, 3. If it does, it's Asus' problem and; 4. Windows problems are 9 times out of 10 hardware problems (hence Asus' problem). As such the last 12 AM phone call from a distraught relative about a computer had to do with a Mac and I told them what I told them when they bought it, "It's your problem".
  
  Beyond this, Windows problems are pretty rare these days. The biggest problem is still the user and I've watched a dumb user completely fuck a macbook faster than a PC by doing the same stupid shit (installing every toolbar and bit of software that came along). I was surprised the Mac fell as quickly as it did to a clueless user and as you could have guessed, I dont exactly hold Apple in high esteem when it comes to reliability.
  
  BTW, I've removed all references from Apple from my work history. As time passes the risk of a current or future employee finding out that I know something about fixing Mac's grows less and less of a threat.
  
  --
  Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
49. Re:Chromebook? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-29 01:35 · Score: 0
  
  That's fine if you turn it on, not so fine if someone else power-cycles it.
  In that case after 30s it boots anyhow, still in dev mode. Also if you're lending it to someone they're not going to need to power it off/on, just logon/logoff.
50. Re:Chromebook? by tepples · 2016-04-29 02:56 · Score: 1
  
  In that case after 30s it boots anyhow, still in dev mode.
  Unless the person who turned on the computer presses Space to wipe the drive, not knowing that he or she isn't supposed to do that.
  
  Also if you're lending it to someone they're not going to need to power it off/on, just logon/logoff.
  You'd be surprised at what novice users actually do despite not needing to.
Costs less but by Groo+Wanderer · 2016-04-28 02:48 · Score: 1

Does commensurately less too. It isn't as doorstop-worthy as one of those 32GB MS cloud-traps, but I still pity those who buy this.
1. Re:Costs less but by Tough+Love · 2016-04-28 04:03 · Score: 1
  
  Does commensurately less too. It isn't as doorstop-worthy as one of those 32GB MS cloud-traps, but I still pity those who buy this.
  I don't, I'll probably pick one up instead of another tablet. Battery life, weight, usable keyboard, decent screen. Perfect for travelling. Good enough for a school computer and you won't cry too much if it gets dropped. Of course it will be running Linux not brain damaged Android. For printing and bulk storage you use wifi or usb.
  
  --
  When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
2. Re: Costs less but by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 06:46 · Score: 0
  
  It runs the Linux kernel by default. As chrome OS is built using the Linux kernel. You have to reinstall a Linux distribution if you want the full GNU/Linux toolset. And if you do that, you get a nag screen every time you boot it saying your OS isn't secure, and asking to reinstall chrome OS.
  So yea have fun with that.
3. Re: Costs less but by Tough+Love · 2016-04-28 07:42 · Score: 1
  
  You have to reinstall a Linux distribution if you want the full GNU/Linux toolset.
  Duh.
  
  And if you do that, you get a nag screen every time you boot it saying your OS isn't secure, and asking to reinstall chrome OS.
  press ENTER to turn off VERIFICATION
  
  --
  When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
4. Re: Costs less but by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-29 02:57 · Score: 0
  
  Yes, and? Your link shows what the nag looks like, but doesn't do anything about stopping the nag, it just says "press ctrl-D to make the screen go away".
Shill much? by swimboy · 2016-04-28 02:50 · Score: 5, Insightful

Comparing this to a MacBook Pro is like comparing a Chevy Spark to a BMW 7-series. The MacBook Pro is Apple's big-boy-pants laptop with a real i5 or i7 processor, and a real OS. This has a Core m processor and ChromeOS. Not even close to the same thing, and nobody who'd be happy with one would even consider the other.

--
Ask me how the Heisenberg Principle may or may not have saved my life.
1. Re:Shill much? by Altus · 2016-04-28 03:02 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah but this one is also thinner than the thickest laptop apple makes. Its innovative!
  
  --
  "In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson
2. Re:Shill much? by Njorthbiatr · 2016-04-28 03:21 · Score: 1
  
  Those "real" processors are still mobile processors.
  But what does it matter when it's driver is OS X? May as well put grandma in the driving seat of your BMW 7.
3. Re:Shill much? by e432776 · 2016-04-28 03:23 · Score: 1
  
  Agreed. These machines are not comparable, except at the most basic level (e.g "can go online"). Strange headline.
4. Re:Shill much? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:26 · Score: 0
  
  If one likes Apple hardware, installing Windows directly on it isn't that big a deal, although one will need to download the BootCamp ISO to pick up drivers to support the oddball Apple-specific things.
5. Re:Shill much? by swimboy · 2016-04-28 03:30 · Score: 1
  
  If you equate OS X with grandma driving the BMW 7, then it's a dead squirrel driving the Spark with ChromeOS.
  
  --
  Ask me how the Heisenberg Principle may or may not have saved my life.
6. Re: Shill much? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:54 · Score: 0
  
  Isn't it funny now that the shore is on the other foot? Many people punt out i devices are not for work or have a real OS due to its limitations.
  A vast majority of the Pro users will buy it because it looks pretty and that is from a specific company. However, pragmatism sometimes wins out when you get a prettier, virus/trojan free, cheaper device.
7. Re:Shill much? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 04:03 · Score: 0
  
  This might be somewhat impressive if it was thinner than the MacBook, not the Pro. As is, it is a total fail.
8. Re:Shill much? by Tough+Love · 2016-04-28 04:04 · Score: 1
  
  Comparing this to a MacBook Pro is like comparing a Chevy Spark to a BMW 7-series.
  Right, a BMW 7xx with one door.
  
  --
  When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
9. Re:Shill much? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 04:41 · Score: 0
  
  Except that the zbook of 2015 is customizable (32GB RAM + 2 SSDs and other things) with larger screen (17") and contains i7 and much more memory and is less costly. The only thing Macbook Pro (costlier ) shines is it display (ppi) but you could connect a DP of zbook to a huge monitor (possibly iMac) . I guess you don't get any discounts for iMac just because you bought Macbook Pro.
10. Re:Shill much? by nine-times · 2016-04-28 04:41 · Score: 1
  
  But it's all-metal. Isn't that why people like Apple laptops, because the casing is metal?
11. Re:Shill much? by Solandri · 2016-04-28 04:48 · Score: 4, Informative
  The new Skylake Core M processors are actually better than a mobile i5 (they have 4MB cache like an i7, vs the 3MB of the i5). They just throttle more aggressively when hitting thermal limits because the manufacturer has put in a smaller cooling system. It's why you see them beating i5 laptops on certain benchmarks, while losing badly to them in others. If the benchmark is short, the Core M doesn't thermal throttle, and the larger cache gives it an edge. If the benchmark is long, the Core M throttles and is loses. (This wasn't true of the Broadwell Core M - those would only turbo boost on a single core. But the Skylake Core M will turbo on both cores just like an i5 or i7.)
  
  I'm wondering if some manufacturer will notice this, and stick a Core M in their laptop with a regular-sized cooler, to effectively give you a "cheap i7" (only difference between the mobile dual core i7 and i5 is 4MB vs 3MB cache).
  
  The major distinguishing features of the MBP are:
  
  Calibrated 100% sRGB screen. Lots of other laptops have screens which hit 100% sRGB or close, a few even cover 100% Adobe RGB. But if you don't do graphics, photo, or video work, you're not gonna notice the difference between a 100% sRGB screen and a 80% sRGB screen (pretty much all IPS-type displays can hit at least 80%). 100% Adobe RGB OTOH is very noticeable (think of the AMOLED screens on Samsung phones), and it's sad that we went backwards from NTSC (roughly the same color gamut as Adobe RGB) in the CRT days, to sRGB as a standard on flat panels. The MBPs are one of the few laptops whose screens are calibrated at the factory. But anybody doing color-critical work will own their own colorimeter and do their own calibration, rather than rely on a generic color profile.
  
  Iris graphics. This is just Apple's way of bypassing a design flaw in the Macbooks. They don't have vent holes, so the insides get really toasty. No the metal chassis does not help heat transfer because there's a layer of insulating air between the hot parts and the chassis. When you combine a heat insulator with a conductor, the insulator wins. A better solution is to use vent holes to remove the heated air and replace it with cool air. The lack of vents on the MBPs means a discrete GPU is out of the question, forcing Apple to resort to other means to improve 3D graphics performance.
  
  PCIe SSDs. While these can exceed the SATA 3 limits, they only do so for sequential read/writes. That makes the extra speed only really useful for certain tasks. The vast majority of computing tasks are bound by the 4k read/write speeds, which are still around 30-70 MB/s unqueued for the best SSDs - well under the SATA 3 limit. Video editing is one of the few tasks which benefits from the higher sequential read/write speeds (which admittedly many MBPs are used for). But if you're not doing that sort of thing, about the only time you'll see the extra speed of the PCIe SSD is if you're copying movie files to/from an external PCIe SSD. Otherwise its performance will be indistinguishable from a regular SATA 3 SSD.
  
  The MBPs are extremely good tools for the intended audience, and I recommend them in a heartbeat for anyone in those fields (graphics artists, photographers, videographers). But for anyone else, you're wasting a lot of money on features which won't benefit you in any way.
12. Re:Shill much? by gnunick · 2016-04-28 04:59 · Score: 1
  
  MacBook's not Wintel, but it's still Intel, so there's no reason you need to have OS X on it. I slapped Ubuntu 16.04 on the recent-model MacBook Pro supplied by my employer, and now it works great and is easy to use.
  Well, other than the stupid fucking buttonless touchpad...
  
  --
  I have no special gift, I am only passionately curious. --Albert Einstein
13. Re:Shill much? by MightyYar · 2016-04-28 05:28 · Score: 1
  
  As a smooth person, I'm triggered by the word "chunky".
  
  --
  W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
14. Re:Shill much? by Hognoxious · 2016-04-28 06:49 · Score: 0
  
  Crunchyphobic bastard.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
15. Re: Shill much? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 06:50 · Score: 0
  
  Funny how that touchpad works flawlessly on OS X. But you ignore that part because its apples fault that Ubuntu doesn't have full support for their touchpad.
  Totally blame Apple. /sarcasm
  People buy apple for the operating system, not the hardware. If you are buying apple for the hardware something is wrong. Because you can get the same hardware on other computers for 20% less.
16. Re: Shill much? by gnunick · 2016-04-28 07:07 · Score: 1
  
  I made no complaint about Ubuntu's support for the touchpad, dipshit AC. Multi-touch scrolling etc. works fine.
  It's just a fucking crappy touchpad, full stop. It has no real buttons--like I said the first time.
  
  --
  I have no special gift, I am only passionately curious. --Albert Einstein
17. Re:Shill much? by laffer1 · 2016-04-28 10:34 · Score: 1
  
  I don't know about your grandma, but mine can drive very fast. I'd rather use OS X than Windows any day of the week.
  
  --
  MidnightBSD: The BSD for Everyone
18. Re:Shill much? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 10:45 · Score: 0
  
  Except all you need to do is a remote desktop and whammo... you can connect yourself to a 32 core monster machine. buying a laptop for performance is like buying the "sports" model of a compact car....
19. Re:Shill much? by terjeber · 2016-04-28 11:43 · Score: 1
  
  But what does it matter when it's driver is OS X?
  You are aware that OSX is Unix right? The best Unix for the desktop created by anyone any time in history. Apple are the ones who created the dawn of the "Linux on the Desktop". It just wasn't Linux since Linux/X/Gnome/KDE/(Whateverthefuck you can think og that doesn't work) GUI developers are a bunch of retarded morons.
20. Re: Shill much? by terjeber · 2016-04-28 11:44 · Score: 1
  
  Ignorant much? Mine works fine. Buttons and all. Just gotta know where they are.
21. Re:Shill much? by terjeber · 2016-04-28 11:45 · Score: 1
  
  and I'd rather use OSX than Linux twice a day. In fact, I'd rather have a root canal once a week with no sedatives rather than giving up OSX for Linux.
22. Re:Shill much? by Njorthbiatr · 2016-04-28 14:19 · Score: 1
  
  The GUI for OS X is atrocious. I'll take Linux over it, thanks.
23. Re:Shill much? by cant_get_a_good_nick · 2016-04-28 15:03 · Score: 1
  
  Not even close to the same thing, and nobody who'd be happy with one would even consider the other.
  Umm, me?
  I have some macs at home, so im good with Mac OSX. One of them is our only laptop. Well, not my laptop anymore - wifey uses it all the time. So I need (want, but i round up to need) a second laptop and am considering a MacBook. Im also a pseudo Linux admin. I was looking for a new box, something light to take back and forth to work. So i can drop 1500 on the macbook. Or about half on this guy.
  They're both light. Run a UNIX OS. (I'd put FC on it - my work runs CentOS/RHEL and i'd want some consistency, but i need a newer kernel). Won't kill my back if i lug them back and forth daily. And you really don't need an i7. The sweetspot for price performance is an i5.
  Now, Im not saying that I'm typical. Im an outlier. But the market you speak of is not zero. The other machine i'm thinking of is an ASUS UX305C.
  I do agree with most folks that think this isn't a normal comparison. The headline is kind of clickbaiting, but I for one welcome our new corporate overlords....
24. Re:Shill much? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 20:20 · Score: 0
  
  Uh, what? MBPs have a 10" vent right in the hinge. Otherwise, what would be the point of the heat pipes and cooling fans? As for the GPU, only the base models have Iris alone. A Radeon R9 is available.
25. Re:Shill much? by Revarg · 2016-04-29 03:08 · Score: 1
  
  I have to disagree. You are right when looking at a tech-literate consumer, but most consumers are not tech-literate. I can not tell you how many people i have had to deal with back when i was in IT that just wanted a shiny rectangle to check facebook and email. These people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between an i7 and core m, because they never use more than a core m's worth of power.
26. Re:Shill much? by terjeber · 2016-04-29 20:32 · Score: 1
  
  The GUI for OS X is atrocious. I'll take Linux over it
  So, just curious, when you were falling down the stairs, landing on your head over and over and over and over, why did you not try to shield your self with your hands? Oh, and saying "I'll take Linux over it" is silly, Linux doesn't have a GUI, it has a more or less infinite number of them.
Cool by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 02:52 · Score: 1

I just wish I could get a chromebook like this in a 17" model. It has SSH and a web browser along with RDP support- so its basically a kickbutt thin client. Not sure why people fail to get that about chromebooks... they are awesome daily drivers.
(I use google apps for work, maybe you poor souls stuck in 1995 on a rusty old exchange server dont get to feel the same.)
1. Re:Cool by 110010001000 · 2016-04-28 02:59 · Score: 1
  
  Daily drivers? Are you even Agile, dude? Some of us dont want Google, Inc spying on our every move.
Piece of paper by Chmarr · 2016-04-28 02:55 · Score: 5, Funny

Much MUCH thinner than the HP all-metal chromebook, and costs $500 less.
1. Re:Piece of paper by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · 2016-04-28 03:02 · Score: 1
  
  And the battery will never leak or explode.
2. Re:Piece of paper by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:21 · Score: 0
  
  And the battery will never leak or explode.
  But they do occasionally catch fire.
3. Re:Piece of paper by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · 2016-04-28 03:44 · Score: 1
  
  Sony makes paper now?
4. Re:Piece of paper by Chmarr · 2016-04-28 04:39 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  And it has two sides! It dual-boots!
5. Re:Piece of paper by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 05:09 · Score: 0
  
  If Sony made paper, it might not burn, but it sure wouldn't hold ink or graphite.
6. Re:Piece of paper by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 06:48 · Score: 0
  
  yeah, but it's not all metal. There's just no comparison.
7. Re:Piece of paper by terjeber · 2016-04-28 11:47 · Score: 1
  
  and is WAY more useful than any Chromebook ever made
Of course it's cheaper. by Gnomaana · 2016-04-28 02:55 · Score: 1

Of course it is $800 dollars less than a MacBook Pro. Its not a computer. Its a browser in a box.
There's a USB Type-C port by fustakrakich · 2016-04-28 02:56 · Score: 5, Funny

That's good. I was worried there would be no place to plug in my headphones

--
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Lame by 110010001000 · 2016-04-28 02:57 · Score: 4, Funny

No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame.
1. Re:Lame by danbob999 · 2016-04-28 03:16 · Score: 1
  
  Except this actually has wireless AND more space than a nomad, so I guess we finally have a device which isn't lame.
2. Re:Lame by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 04:04 · Score: 0
  
  Relephant quote from the article:
  
  But each model has 32GB of eMMC 5.0 storage, a backlit keyboard, 802.11ac WiFi, two USB 3.1 Type-C ports, one full-sized USB-A port, and a 45 Wh battery up to 11,5 hours of battery life
3. Re: Lame by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 06:57 · Score: 0
  
  Yea because 32 GB should be enough for anyone, right? Meanwhile my MBP came with a 500GB SSD.
  Totally an apple to apples comparison. Pun intended.
Also: by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:01 · Score: 0

No closed-source super-OSes running in the background.
(Does this thing support libreboot? If not, why not? "It's paper" is one side answered, but the other?)
Simpsons: even submitting to Apple beats HP by walterbyrd · 2016-04-28 03:05 · Score: 1

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xvfbpq_simpsons-hp-joke_fun
Misleading Trash Article by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:07 · Score: 2, Informative

From TFA
"Entry-level models will likely have lesser specs: the laptop can be configured with a 1920 x 1080 pixel display, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and processor options including Pentium 4405Y, Core M3, and Core M5 processor."
That's the entry-level model that costs $800 less, not the one you're advertising, you fucking shill.
1. Re:Misleading Trash Article by danbert8 · 2016-04-28 03:17 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, as misleading as the "Flight deals from $59!*"
  *$59 flight only available to the airport that is an hour drive away and would be stupid to actually fly to.
  
  --
  Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
2. Re:Misleading Trash Article by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 04:07 · Score: 0
  
  The fully-loaded model is $1,029: https://shop.promevo.com/index.php/googleforwork/hp-chromebook-13-g1/hp-chromebook-13-g1-w0t02ut-aba-13-3-inches-silver.html
3. Re:Misleading Trash Article by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 04:34 · Score: 0
  
  *$59 flight only available to the airport that is an hour drive away and would be stupid to actually fly to.
  I guess that comment mostly shows that you are a pampered prick. Most Americans probably live more than an "hour drive" from an airport.
4. Re:Misleading Trash Article by Chmarr · 2016-04-28 06:25 · Score: 1
  
  I think you missed the point. He was referring to the case that the DESTINATION airport was only an hour drive away.
5. Re:Misleading Trash Article by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 06:38 · Score: 0
  
  I guess that comment mostly shows that you are a pampered prick. Most Americans probably live more than an "hour drive" from an airport.
  Sensitive much?
  His point was clearly about the advertised rates being for shitty packages, with the shittiness not mentioned until the last possible moment. You, the scam all corporations are playing these days?
  Anyway, try to cry harder about being a hill billy next time. Maybe some jackass will think you're Insightful +1
6. Re:Misleading Trash Article by ChunderDownunder · 2016-04-28 12:59 · Score: 1
  
  I thought it was referring to budget carriers such as RyanAir that promise you Barcelona but are some distance away in Girona and even then require you to catch a 20 minute bus from town to the airport.
Could you put Linux on it? by walterbyrd · 2016-04-28 03:10 · Score: 1

I bought a Samsung Chromebook for $150. I am happy with it. Inexpensive, no fuss, fast boot, battery lasts all day and then some.
I could run Linux on it, but I am happy with it the way it is.
HP Keyboards.. fuck that noise by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:12 · Score: 0

Seriously, I don't understand the appeal of these flat/zero response keyboards. My work gave me an Elitebook and I was almost homicidal after the first week (missed spaces, primarily) and the trackpad is atrocious. Ended up picking up a mattias mechanical keyboard and a trackball just to be somewhat productive.
Goddamn I miss thinkpads.
1. Re:HP Keyboards.. fuck that noise by thsths · 2016-04-28 03:35 · Score: 1
  
  Keyboard can be strange. I have an old Toshiba R500. It is not the thinnest, but certainly the lightest laptop I ever had, just around 1kg. And the keyboard is actually quite excellent. Recent laptops just don't seem to have the same quality.
2. Re:HP Keyboards.. fuck that noise by pr0fessor · 2016-04-28 05:21 · Score: 1
  
  I have a working thinkpad t43 sitting on my desk covered in dust... it runs like a champ unfortunately upgrading from xp pro to win 7 would be a pain and it would probably barely run afterwards.
1,3 Kg by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:12 · Score: 0

That's exactly the weight of my cock when inside your baby.
1. Re: 1,3 Kg by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 07:02 · Score: 0
  
  Better encrypt your HD. You pedophile. Forgot the key? Contempt of court for you. Indefinite jail time.
  America, land of the phree, home of the brave.
One of these things is not like the other by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:18 · Score: 0

13mm thick, 1.29kg, 13 inch display
If only they had put a 33cm display on it...
From HP huh? by rimcrazy · 2016-04-28 03:22 · Score: 1

Wow, at $499 that is a very expensive doorstop.
I wouldn't let my dog own anything from HP. My how far the mighty have fallen............

--
"TV, a medium as it is neither rare nor well done." Ernie Kovacs
A shill's gonna shill by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:23 · Score: 0

The point of a MacBook Pro isn't to be thin.
And let's see this thing benchmark against my 2012 rMBP on Photoshop, Reason or any number of Steam games. Let's compare it running Windows 10.
Oddly enough the reason I went Mac in the first place was because of dissatisfaction with paying some pretty hefty money for HP's higher end laptops to only have them die about 6 weeks after the warranty went. I haven't had to so much as reinstall OSX on my MBP in nearly 4 years.
Meh.
USB-C port by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:26 · Score: 0

Oh good. It has a USB-C port. So I can connect a printer? Oh wait. ChromeOS can't do usb printing.
I can connect my camera? Oh wait.
Attach my mp3 player? Oh wait.
Add an external harddrive? Uh...
Plugin a second keyboard or a mouse?
1. Re:USB-C port by markus · 2016-04-28 03:52 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I believe, with the exception of the printer, the answer is yes to all of your questions.
  And if your printer was built in the last couple of years, there is a good chance it supports Google Cloudprint, allowing you to print to it any time your Chromebook is connected to the network. No need for any wires.
  If you have an older printer, you'll need a helper application to run on another computer though. So, yes, that's a little awkward but it is a problem that will go away over time, as hardware gets updated.
2. Re:USB-C port by TechyImmigrant · 2016-04-28 05:36 · Score: 1
  
  Having had a couple of chromebooks in the house over the past few years, it became painfully apparent that the UI was going to some lengths to try and pretend that there wasn't a file system. This is what made them useless for me. Moving files between two devices became a process of sending them via Google.
  My MBP doesn't do that to me. My PC doesn't do that to me. My work laptop doesn't do that to me.
  My phone does do that to me but it's easy to work around.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
locked bootloader by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:29 · Score: 0

nonstarter
Chromebook vs Macbook Pro by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:32 · Score: 0

An attempt to compare uncomparable - apple against oranges.
Full-featured OS X is not hte same as Chrome OS.
Brave boys, designating it 13... by jpellino · 2016-04-28 03:34 · Score: 1

wonder how loud the fight was to go straight to 14.

--
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
WOWWWW!!!! $800 LESS! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:36 · Score: 0

Can it run a video editor? how about an audio DAW suite? how about photoshop?
But it's the SAME THING but $800 cheaper! WOOO APPLE HATE WOOOO!
Honestly, this place getting it's stories from Gizmodo writers now? why the hell did this even get posted to the front page?
All metal by fahrbot-bot · 2016-04-28 03:39 · Score: 4, Funny

I know Carly may have fired HP's best and brightest, but they *do* know it doesn't have to be made out of actual Chrome, right?

--
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Why is this rubbish on Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 03:44 · Score: 0

I have an arduino and it's even thinner. Must be just as good then.
Why
1. Re:Why is this rubbish on Slashdot? by Tough+Love · 2016-04-28 03:51 · Score: 1
  
  It's about where the PC market is going
  
  --
  When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
2. Re:Why is this rubbish on Slashdot? by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · 2016-04-28 03:54 · Score: 1
  
  Oh yeah? Well I have a Raspberry Pi zero and it's even thinner than your Arduino.
3. Re:Why is this rubbish on Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 04:30 · Score: 0
  
  I bet your Arduino is pretty thin and short.
"Thin" is not a feature by somenickname · 2016-04-28 03:56 · Score: 2

Beyond a certain point, "thin" stops being a feature. We reached that point long ago. The sacrifices that laptop developers are making to create these ultra-thin laptops are a huge step backwards for computing. User replaceable disks/ram/keyboard/motherboards/anything was a fairly common feature of many laptops until this ultra-thin craze started. I've physically broken every laptop I've ever owned at least once. A laptop with everything soldered onto the motherboard and practically hermetically sealed, will be a paperweight in a year for a heavy use laptop user. But, maybe that's the plan. Sell people easily destroyed, non-fixable but very fancy looking junk and hope you can sell them even fancier looking junk next year when their laptop stops working.
Maybe HP by rsilvergun · 2016-04-28 03:57 · Score: 2

Is just using chrome books to dodge the Microsoft tax without losing their OEM license?

--
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
Re:WOWWWW!!!! $800 LESS! by markus · 2016-04-28 04:03 · Score: 1

If you legitimately need Photoshop, then no, a Chromebook is not for you.
But realistically, very few people need Photoshop, nor can they afford it; and if they did, they wouldn't use it on a laptop, but have a properly calibrated monitor in a room with properly controlled lighting.
For everybody else, times have moved on, and web based photo services have gotten surprisingly powerful. For better or for worse, a consumer or even prosumer is often better off using those services, then shelling out mega-bucks to Adobe -- and that's speaking as a user who has bought the Adobe suit, not just once but multiple versions in the last 10 years.
For the last couple of years, I have been taking my Chromebook with me any time I travel; and honestly, it's the better mobile device. We have a couple of powerful laptops at home, a few powerful stationary workstations, and even some server space; but none of those ever leave the house. For that matter, my wife bought a fancy Macbook a while ago, and after having used it for about two years, she admits that she would have been just as happy if not happier with a Chromebook.
And on top of that, Chromebooks are cheaper; they also are zero maintenance. And they are fully disposable. If a Chromebook breaks or is stolen on a trip, I can have Amazon mail me a new one same day, and once I turn it on, I am back to where I left off working with the stolen device. No wonder businesses love Chromebooks.
Advertising and fanboy trolling in one! by Imazalil · 2016-04-28 04:06 · Score: 1

Good job /.
Not only does this read like a paid advertising piece, you've also managed to work in Apple in the oddest way possible.
Enjoy both your paid-for-story cash and the added ad spike from starting yet another fanboy fight.
a potato costs almost $2,000 less than a macbook! by netsavior · 2016-04-28 04:09 · Score: 1

nt
$499 for a Chromebook!!!! WTH by BLToday · 2016-04-28 04:23 · Score: 1

I thought the point of a Chromebook was to make it affordable by making it a stripped down and not needing a powerful CPU. 32 GB eMMC is pretty stripped down, and Pentium. So you're paying a premium for thinnest while having none of the advantages of a full OS. Explain to me why I want this over a tablet or a laptop with a full OS? Plus, it's an HP. I've never had an HP laptop last more than 2 years.
1. Re:$499 for a Chromebook!!!! WTH by Trachman · 2016-04-28 05:02 · Score: 1
  
  You are being conditioned to think that everything that does not cost four digits, meaning $999 or less, is affordable.
And a lot of Macbook users are Unix users by raymorris · 2016-04-28 04:25 · Score: 1

Another segment of Macbook users have Mac because it's a well-supported Unix, on consistently decent hardware. Assuming I can install Linux or another OS of my choice on this Chromebook as easily as I have on others, I may be interested.
1. Re: And a lot of Macbook users are Unix users by Bing+Tsher+E · 2016-04-28 08:01 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, there's a tiny segment of users like that...
What's the point of this? by zerofoo · 2016-04-28 04:29 · Score: 1

We deploy tons of chromebooks at our school - we love them. Specifically plasticky 15" HP units with Intel CPUs - they are $199 and durable as heck.
The entire point of a chromebook is cheap and low-power. Storage and computing are (mostly) done in the cloud.
Is there anyone on earth asking for a luxury chromebook? That's like asking for a luxury Nissan Versa.
what audience ? by micahraleigh · 2016-04-28 04:53 · Score: 0

Sounds like its for people who want low-end high-end products.
$800 Less by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 05:34 · Score: 0

A 10% price reduction is nice, but not what we're used to when buying Non-Apple over Apple.
The real question by m.dillon · 2016-04-28 05:46 · Score: 1

Is ... can I run DragonFly on it? Or is the BIOS locked to Chrome ? If this baby has the normal write-protect screw / developer mode BIOS features that allow us to run whatever we want on it instead of being locked to chrome, then great!
We've had great success with the older Acer C720[P] (running a mobile haswell cpu) running DragonFly. So if one of these new HP Skylake-m babies allows me to cut into the dance then I'll give it a big thumbs up.
I'll have to buy one to find out, I guess.
-Matt
Absurd fiction. by Brannon · 2016-04-28 05:51 · Score: 2

Apple designs their own laptops. Obviously they sub-contract manufacturing, but they clearly don't just slap an Apple label onto some rickety ODM crap.
Is it just me? Or has thinness gone too far? by xtronics · 2016-04-28 06:00 · Score: 1

I would always rather have more battery capacity and a real USB jack than thinness.. Just don't get the attraction.
Is so! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 06:54 · Score: 0

Beyond a certain point, "thin" stops being a feature.
Look, I want to be able to shave with my laptop, OK? It needs to be that thin. And none of that fake Apple optical-illusion chamfered edge thinness, either, that only fools the n00bs.
Give me a razor-thin laptop, and I'll never have a neckbeard again! I'll be bleeding edge.
1. Re:Is so! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-29 03:10 · Score: 0
  
  Fuck everything, we're doing ONE BLADE.
  Would someone tell me how this happened? We were the fucking vanguard of shaving in this country. The Gillette Fusion was the razor to own. Then the other guy came out with a three-blade razor. Were we scared? Hell, no. Because we hit back with a little thing called the Mach3Turbo. That's three blades and an aloe strip. For moisture. But you know what happened next? Shut up, I'm telling you what happened—the bastards went to two blades. Now we're standing around with our cocks in our hands, selling three blades and a strip. Moisture or no, suddenly we're the chumps. Well, fuck it. We're going to one blade.
  Sure, we could go to two blades next, like the competition. That seems like the logical thing to do. After all, three worked out pretty well, and two is the next number after three. So let's play it safe. Let's make a thinner aloe strip and call it the Mach3SuperTurbo. Why innovate when we can follow? Oh, I know why: Because we're a business, that's why!
  You think it's crazy? It is crazy. But I don't give a shit. From now on, we're the ones who have the edge in the thin-razor game. Are they the best a man can get? Fuck, no. Gillette is the best a man can get.
  What part of this don't you understand? If four blades is good, and three blades is better, obviously one blade would make us the best fucking razor that ever existed. Comprende? We didn't claw our way to the top of the razor game by clinging to the four-blade industry standard. We got here by taking chances. Well, one blade is the biggest chance of all.
  Here's the report from Engineering. Someone put it in the bathroom: I want to wipe my ass with it. They don't tell me what to invent—I tell them. And I'm telling them to yank two more blades our of there. I don't care how. Make the blades so thin they're invisible. Make the handle thin enough to shave with. I don't care if they have to cram the blade in perpendicular to the handle, just do it!
All-metal? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 07:51 · Score: 0

Really? That is some awesome new technology!
Does it run OS X and its apps? Because... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 08:03 · Score: 0

If it doesn't run OS X and its apps, the price as compared to a mac is about as relevant as a car compared to a boat. Might be a fine car. Might be a fine boat. Neither one does the job of the other. Well. Sort of. OS X+VM+Windows mostly works for serious stuff. The other way around ranges from a nightmare to achievable. Also against the OS X TOS IIRC (please correct me if I'm wrong there.)
Anyway, if the HP does run OS X, awesome, I want one. I would LOVE to leave Apple's progressively lamer hardware behind. Particularly for a big machine.
But I would NOT love to leave OS X behind, nor the apps that populate it. That just isn't going to happen.
1. Re:Does it run OS X and its apps? Because... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 10:46 · Score: 0
  
  But I would NOT love to leave OS X behind, nor the apps that populate it.
  Don't worry about that. You can find a superior replacement for both of them on any platform.
2. Re: Does it run OS X and its apps? Because... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 11:49 · Score: 0
  
  You're wrong in that they do different jobs. They do the same job, just differently.
  A crap car and good car both get the job done getting from point A to point B, just the ride is nicer in one.
Thinner Than MacBook Pro, Costs $800 Less... by poemtree · 2016-04-28 08:59 · Score: 1

doesn't run OS X.

--
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Macintosh...
Read the fine print... by cpotoso · 2016-04-28 11:19 · Score: 1

"starting price of $499, ... up to 16GB of RAM, up to a 3200 x 1800 pixel IPS display, and up to an Intel Core M7 Skylake processor." Meaning, it is NOT GOING TO COST $499 for 16GB ram, 3200x1800 IPS, m7... Also: it is a chromebook, piece of crap.
Re:a potato costs almost $2,000 less than a macboo by Anonymous Coward · 2016-04-28 12:59 · Score: 0

And I'd rather have the potato
How long does johnlewis.ie take? by tepples · 2016-04-28 13:48 · Score: 1

How long does it typically take between when a Chromebook model becomes available and when a fix for "Press Space to wipe" on that model gets posted on johnlewis.ie? Then add that much time to the release date of HP's new Chromebook.
Re: pointless pointer by gnunick · 2016-04-29 05:17 · Score: 1

You have real buttons, adjacent to your late-model Apple touchpad? Fancy! Are they above the touchpad, or below? I prefer to have them below, myself.
On this MacBook, Apple continues with their misguided idea (started with the almost universally-loathed Abominable Puck mouse on the original iMac) that one button should be enough for everyone. Except they decided that this crappy, somewhat tilty touchpad should pretend that the whole thing is a button--better yet, it should pretend to be *multiple* buttons, depending on where your finger is when you click... yet with no haptic indication whatsoever of where to actually place that finger for a left/middle/right click (and woe betide the hapless user who accidentally lets another finger touch the pad while attempting a middle- or right-click).
As one deeply learned and wise person once said on the internets, you "just gotta know where they are".
If that's what you have, and you like it, fine. I have no argument with your subjective opinion. I said, objectively, that this touchpad has no real buttons.
The Magic/Mighty Mouse is almost as bad, but at least I find it usable most of the time... even though it, likewise, has no real buttons.
I forget. Why are we arguing about this? Oh right, you're trying to tell me that I'm ignorant. But unless you're the idiot who designed this thing, I really have no issue with you. I'm happy for you that you like it. Rock on!
https://www.google.com/#q=defi...

--
I have no special gift, I am only passionately curious. --Albert Einstein
Re: pointless pointer by terjeber · 2016-04-29 20:46 · Score: 1

You have real buttons, adjacent to your late-model Apple touchpad?

When I click the lower right hand of my touch pad, it depresses and clicks with full haptic feed back and an audible click. I am able to find the lower right corner of my trackpad without issue. The same goes for the lower left corner of the trackpad.

I said, objectively, that this touchpad has no real buttons.
Well, my does. It is integrated with the pad, but it is very obviously a button that depresses and clicks. Now, I have not tried the "taptic" touchpad, but I'll check one out, my colleague prefers it over the older one, specifically because of the haptic feedback. If you have a Mac Pro touchpad without a haptic feedback, you should have it serviced. I do not know of any that do not have that.