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Is the Chromebook the New Android Tablet? (computerworld.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report from Computerworld, where JR Raphael makes the case for why it's time to call the Chromebook the new Android tablet: What does a traditional Android tablet do that a convertible Chromebook doesn't? No matter how long you mull, it's tough to come up with much. Nowadays, a Chromebook runs the same apps from the same Google Play Store. It has an increasingly similar user interface, with a new touch-friendly and Android-reminiscent app launcher rolling out as we speak. It's likely to have an Android-like way of getting around the system before long, too, not to mention native integration of the Google Assistant (which is launching with the newly announced Pixelbook and then presumably spreading to other devices from there). But on top of all of that, a Chromebook offers meaningful advantages a traditional Android tablet simply can't match. It operates within the fast-booting, inherently secure, and free from manufacturer- or carrier-meddling Chrome OS environment. The operating system is updated every two to three weeks, directly by Google, for a minimum of five years. That's a sharp contrast to the software realities we see on Android -- and if you think the updates on Android phones are bad, let me tell you: The situation with Android tablets is worse.
In addition to the regular selection of Android apps, a Chromebook also gives you a desktop-caliber browser experience along with a laptop-level keyboard and capable trackpad. (And, as a side perk, that means you've got a built-in multi-mode stand for your tablet, too.) It's the best of both worlds, as I've put it before -- a whole new kind of platform-defying, all-purpose productivity and entertainment machine. And while it won't immediately lead to the outright extinction of traditional Android tablets, it certainly makes them seem like a watered-down and obsolete version of the same basic experience.
In addition to the regular selection of Android apps, a Chromebook also gives you a desktop-caliber browser experience along with a laptop-level keyboard and capable trackpad. (And, as a side perk, that means you've got a built-in multi-mode stand for your tablet, too.) It's the best of both worlds, as I've put it before -- a whole new kind of platform-defying, all-purpose productivity and entertainment machine. And while it won't immediately lead to the outright extinction of traditional Android tablets, it certainly makes them seem like a watered-down and obsolete version of the same basic experience.
> What does a traditional Android tablet do that a convertible Chromebook doesn't?
It does not run ARM android apps natively.
Intel still does not compete on power/performance with ARM.
If you like a hot tablet with relatively low battery life, pixelbook is for you.
What about the opposite question. Why do you want a Chromebook?
I'm buying one for everyone on my Christmas list.
Ask a question in a headline, get an answer.
It allows me to boot the fucking thing in offline mode without a god damned fucking internet connection is what it does.
It frees me from an integrated fucking google assistant.
It lets me decide when to update the fucking operating system.
It gives me a small form factor device I can throw into my backpack and still have space left.
Ideally it would give me the ability to wipe it and put Cyanogen or something like that on it.
Of course, google is ditching the useful Nexus end of stuff, trying to ensure I use an integrated mother fucking digital assistant I have no interest in, and ensuring their bullshit ads and analytics are even harder to get away from.
I don't want your cloud, your digital assistant, your ads, or any of that shit. I want a tablet which I control, weighs almost nothing, and isn't dependent on an internet connection to useful for some stuff.
All technology columnists are idiots, no exceptions.
No.
I'm about to switch. I've got a Galaxy Note Pro 12.2" that I've been using for several years. However, I'm going to switch to the ASUS C302CA. I'm just waiting for the Android app support to be a bit more stable.
Your post reeks of desperation.
https://www.androidcentral.com...
An article written by an idiot
what does android do better
Offline is a viable mode of operation
better control over how much google is spying on you
Offline is a viable mode of operation
you don't have to take out a mortgage to afford a decent Android device
Offline is a viable mode of operation
It runs ARM based apps
Offline is a viable mode of operation
What on earth does "laptop-level keyboard" even mean?
Also, the only specific Chromebook mentioned is the new Pixelbook. Aren't those in a slightly higher price class than most Android tablets?
#DeleteChrome
My wife's $99 Android tablet is thinner and doesn't have a keyboard. That makes it great for watch a movie while she knits, or listen to music or read an e-book.
"I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
Can I use it without it ever having to talk to Google's servers? If not, then it's no replacement for Android.
Not cost $500.
my android tablet does everything I'd want an ipad to do, at 1/4 the price. nothing shitty about it and quite frankly apple's UI jumped the shark a few years back
If Google could make a proper app ecosystem for Chromebooks, like native apps, I could see them as the permanent of Microsoft in any remaining consumer space. Not that this would be the best for anyone, Google is evil as hell. But at this point I'd take evil as hell over slothful and expensive. I can go out and get an I-Pad pro that's as fast as a good windows laptop, with a much better screen, for $200+ less than the windows laptop. Or an awesome, convertible tablet like Chromebook for $400 less than the equivalent Windows laptop.
If either had even close to the same app ecosystem I'd do so instantly. Or if Linux did (and had the price of a Chromebook/etc.) same thing there. As it is I like to play games and end up using Lightroom, Photoshop, and etc. a lot. But damn am I tired of vastly overpaying for what feels like ever worse tech.
I'm wondering what you're getting at with your multiple AC posts in multiple threads.
You should know that Linux zealots (such as I am to some degree) who are deriving value from Linux each and every day, will never agree with you.
Is it trying to be an irritant (with, I must admit, some success) what drives you? Does that give you some sort of psychological boost?
To each his own. Just don't expect to convert anyone to your viewpoint.
"What does a traditional Android tablet do that a convertible Chromebook doesn't?"
Be just a tablet. It does less than a Chromebook. Perfect for some people. Throw the Chromebook stuff in there and you'll have to start explaining stuff, it won't be as idiot proof. I mean it's already too complex as-is for some people I know.
Twinstiq, game news
the latest Google Abandonware?
The cheapest Chromebook is twice the price of a low cost brand name Android tablet. But why anyone would pay Chromebook prices for one of the so-called "premium" Android tablet is beyond me.
"This mission is too important to allow you to jeopardize it." -- HAL
Android isn't Linux, fixed for you. By your logic Android wouldn't be useful except servers.
It sounds like they are trying to put a mobile OS interface onto a desktop computer, I am just trying to think of where I have seen this failed concept before.
Serious question: is it just me or is Chromebook desktop an actual usable desktop and why in the world can't we have that kind of environment on normal Linux?
That desktop is simple, stable, does exactly what the desktop should do and it is consistent between different boxes.
I'm sick of braindead interfaces on Linux. Take a look at Gnome and KDE - they spend so much time on making things looking flashy that they forget to make the actual desktop stable and usable.
For example, Gnome Background setting does not allow you pick a custom color for your desktop wallpaper. Instead, there are 14 color options, most of which seem to be picked by 13 year old girl. Your eyes and head hurt and you want to change the background color to black? Well, too damn bad - its "OMG Ponies" pink color for you! What idiot thought that was a good idea?
And then there is crashing! I constantly see the "Problem Reporting" message pop up when random stuff break. Try opening a directory with _many_ images in file manager - instant crash. Either that or it comes to a crawl.
And then there is constant weirdness. Try opening multiple file manager instances - you keep seeing spinning mouse cursor because some idiot decided that nobody should ever run multiple instances of a single app.
Or, try using the "Save As" feature in gedit - it constantly picks a very weird location to save files in.
Seriously though, why can't we have a nice, lightweight desktop environment like the one from Chromebook on Linux?
Yes, I have tried XFCE, LXDE and all the others and they all seem to be ducktaped together.
and if you think the updates on Android phones are bad, let me tell you: The situation with Android tablets is worse.
100% absolutely true.
Four years ago, our school district decided to pilot devices. And when I say device, it seemed like nothing under $400 was off the table. We bought an iPad, an iPad mini, a Chromebook, a Nook, a Kindle Fire, an iPod touch, a Dell Latitude 10 Windows 8 tablet, and four different Android tablets, a Samsung Galaxy 10, an Asus Nexus tablet, and two white-box $100 Android tablets from Amazon. We gave each one to whoever wanted to try it out, we got feedback, and we choose Chromebooks.
Last May, I dug the unused tablets out of the drawer, looking for one that I could use to use as a Wi-Fi analyzer. Updated every tablet to its highest-supported version. One Amazon tablet could only run Android Honeycomb (3.2), the other got to Jelly Bean (4.3), the Samsung Galaxy went up to Lollipop (5.1), and only the Asus Nexus tablet could run Marshmallow (6.0). (That Nexus was great for the job...modern OS, still fast, perfect size & portability...needed a new battery, though.)
Four Android devices, all purchased at the same time, and four different levels of Android. None of us would have had any clue at the time how far each would last in terms of a functional cloud-based OS.
But our Chromebook? Samsung 303c. Still works, still can browse the web with it w/o any issues (except for slowness). Updates guaranteed through next March, which means it will still work through the remainder of our school year. And it cost $239 at the time. I'd call that value.
If you buy the right Android tablets you will get updates? I have 3 2013 Nexus 7 In the house that all got Android Nougat. It already has unofficial Oreo builds up on XDA. My replacement for this is a T813 Samsung with also has Official Lineage support, and new was only $349 on Amazon the T713 was $289. So not as cheap as the Nexus 7s were but not horribly expensive either.
After that, a real computer plus specialty devices like the Kindle Fire.
Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
Is Chrome OS the next Windows 10?
The Chromebook works far better for me if there is any appreciable amount of typing involved. Sure, you CAN put a tablet in a case with a little keyboard, but it's not made for that, and it shows. It doesn't sit comfortably in your lap as you type away like the laptop / Chromebook form factor does.
Chromebooks also tend to have much longer battery life.
I mostly use a large Android phone if I'm not working. I couldn't very well do much work on my phone. On a Chromebook I can (mostly I work in a terminal and a web browser). There is definitely a place for a Chromebook. Most of what I do, for work and play, I can do just fine on a Chromebook. The one thing that comes to mind it doesn't work well for is using Microsoft SQL Server Studio.
Q: Does this article read like a marketing piece?
A: Yes.
Chromebooks (I have one) run one browser (three guesses which one). It doesn't run Thunderbird, NetBeans or anything else that's not a browser extension. I have a Nexus 7 Android pad-form device that runs a TBird-like email client and a few other things that aren't browser-based, And I have a Win-7 laptop (that'll boot Linux Mint) that does about everything I need on either platform, albeit with reduced screen real estate compared to my (Win-7) desktop.
Chromebooks are being issued to my grandchildren in 7th and 9th grades to do homework via a website, and that's a reasonable thing.
Comparing Chromebooks to Android tablets in this way seems to demonstrate that the OP has never tried to do Real Work on a Chromebook. It's like trying to do fluid dynamics on a TRS-80.
Did you get that from a fortune cookie?
A 10-or-above device is too damned unwieldy to be a "tablet" in my book. My beloved Nexus 7 seems just the right size, and I might stretch that to 8 inches when it goes to heaven, but above that, forget it.
You can get a brand new iPad for $329.
I migrated from an ipad to an android (samsung 12.2) tablet, and when that became long in the tooth shifted to a samsung tab s3, which i love deeply. Android tabs generaly have phone functions which you generaly dont find on chromebooks, i dont want to have to have a dongle stuck out the side
Try pairing a bluetooth mouse to an ipad, does not work, but it works just fine in an android tab, you can even use usb, adding a keyboard and mouse to an android tab changes the experience
> Android is Linux
Yep, it is indeed in nature, but there's a lot more in Linux that "they" won't let Android have. It's Linux no doubt, but has been kept underfed.
> and Linux just isn't useful for anything except servers.
Yeah, right. Routers use Linux, supercomputers use Linux, embedded hardware uses Linux (and likewise "things" like robots, toys, etc.), set top boxes uses Linux. Actually I've been using it since 18 years ago -- as a desktop, no less.
Kid, let me tell you one thing. Hear it and wake up: don't use the verb to be, mmkay? You don't know what "is" means.
And if you're somehow related to anything Microsoft, better start learning Linux ASAP. You're some 20 years late. Literally.
> Linux is not a viable desktop, phone, or tablet OS, nor will it ever be.
Why not? Just get a notebook with a touchscreen. You know what? I used to have a SIM card adapter and could send SMS at will from my Linux desktop. I bet someone reading this right now could teach us how to make calls using a cellphone account through the SIM card. That's Linux for you.
You may be used to Microsoft and the phrase "this can't be done" -- but I'm used to Linux and the concept of "that's cool, let's do it".
Chrome books are as bad as JavaScript.
Yes, the title should be changed to "is shit the new crap?"
>"What does a traditional Android tablet do that a convertible Chromebook doesn't?
Let's see how easy that is:
1) It is not as light as a tablet.
2) It is not as thin as a tablet.
3) It typically (but not always) costs more than a tablet.
4) It doesn't have an upside-down keyboard I have to worry about getting damaged, dirty, wet, etc.
5) It isn't typically available as small, like 10", which means even further weight savings, thinness, battery life, and portability.
And when the idea is portability, those matter a lot. Some of us want a tablet because we have no desire to use the tablet as a laptop. I have never, not even once, wanted to type on my tablet or use a trackpad with it. I use it to play games mostly, with some weather checking, music listening, watching video, and photo browsing.
Now, if it has a completely REMOVABLE keyboard and then was exactly as thin and light as a typical tablet, and available in several sizes/prices from 7" to 12", then yeah, it could replace a tablet for practically everyone. Until then, the concept of a "tablet" isn't moot.
No, it really is. Android is every bit a Linux distribution as Ubuntu or Fedora.
What it is not, is a GNU/Linux distribution. As if that mattered.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
Here's Mine.
In today's world of $20 smartphones and $50 android tablets, lets indoctrinate our children into the chromebook's cloudbased world of for profit data mining, lack user control, and corporate ownership of personal data! Gotta spend this budget on something!
BONUS! This puts a state/Alphabet controlled computer system in every family home in America, and
BONUS! makes the sucker parents accept responsibility for the hardware, and
BONUS! they have no control over the hardware they are responsible for! and
BONUS! Look! the chromebook is now outselling all of the "not issued to every k-12 student in the country" tablets and computers! What a great product!!!!
Do no evil my ass.
I said we didn't need it, we have all the computers we need already.... and my child was excluded from group discussions on the device while in class until I gave them the protection money and banned the fucking MAC.
Such bullshit. There is no reason the students can't use the library, the computer lab, a mobile phone, or their own personal computer to log into the damn cloud-based learning tool. If they really have no access to any of those devices... GIVE THEM A COMPUTER TO KEEP.
Seriously education system, how many students honestly don't have access to a smartphone, personal computer, or a public library? I'm guessing maybe 1 in 10? Give em a damn computer to keep, and you can virtue signal all over the damn place over it. Schools love that shit. Put it in your stupid newsletter, right next to story about why you should tear-down historic statues, and rename fucking holidays.
This chromebook thing really grinds my gears. In my day, it was all Macintosh and Windows in school.... Now every business in the world is addicted to Apple/Microsoft and paying through the damn nose for it. How come they didn't stick with Apple and Windows for education? Maybe ask a history teacher- What happens when you forget what happened last time?
You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
So my kids can lose or break a $99 tablet or a $500 chromebook. I'll go with the tablet. In fact, I'm almost as likely to break it as they are.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
You failed to demonstrate that they don't have a functional cloud based OS, or won't continue to have the same in the future.
Then let me elaborate. It's all about anticipated value.
The key variable here on each device is its web browser. Web browsers are critical for any schools dependent on Google Apps for Education. That Honeycomb tablet can't even run Chrome browser, and Ice Cream Sandwich only supported Chrome up through v.42, which lost its support around the end of 2016. All the websites teachers depend on daily would, bit-by-bit, lose their ability to function in these old browsers. At the time of purchase, did we know the software limitations of these devices? Absolutely not. There was nothing in any documentation telling us how long Android would remain current with these tablets, making it impossible to gauge an anticipated value at purchase.
With Chromebooks, Google clearly communicates to the world that the software on a Chromebook was guaranteed to stay updated for five years. Therefore, our anticipated lifespan of four years was only physically limited by the wear and tear our students would put on it. We could anticipate its value and budget accordingly. But with Android, half the devices we tried had OS's that would not have lasted us four years, without our knowing which of them would. That makes it impossible to plan a device's anticipated value, and our district already experienced devices that fail sooner than they should, and didn't want to go through that again. (That experience involved LearnPads, but that's a whole different story.)
And I didn't praise the Chromebook at all for its performance. That 303c was slow as molasses out of the box, and it only got worse with time. But its browser still works, making it still useful for its intended purpose. If you like using older Android tablets because it still serves its intended purpose for you, then good for you, you're getting good value out of it. I'm praising the Chromebook because it's delivering our district good value.
What [Android] is not, is a GNU/Linux distribution. As if that mattered.
I agree that GNU proper isn't essential, as other free userspaces such as BusyBox or that of FreeBSD can substitute for GNU. What makes Android less useful for some people is that it's not even a POSIX/Linux distribution, as it doesn't attempt to provide the programming languages and core utilities specified by POSIX unless you install GNU as an app.
I couldn't very well do much work on my phone. On a Chromebook I can (mostly I work in a terminal and a web browser).
How much of that can you do away from an Internet connection? Is there a viable pocket-sized, battery-powered server that one could carry in order to use "a terminal and a web browser" with a Chromebook?
ChromeOS is a stripped down OS designed to be MOUSE driven WIMP interface. Android is a fullish OS, designed for TOUCH interfaces just missing some basic tablet functionality (like forcing portrait apps to run vertically rather than forcing the entire tablet to be rotated to suite the app.... can yo imagine how stupid it would be having a 15 inch tablet and having to rotate the thing including case veritically for a phone dialer???).
The only reason anyone is asking such a fooking dumb question, is because Google just launched such a ChromeOS, Android mishmash and nobody paid any fooking attention to it. It's not lighting up the world, this story is one of the few mentioning it.
I NEED a powerful Android tablet to replace my aging Samsung Note Pro12.2 and IMHO the problem with Google inability to get its tablet shit together is caused by Pitchai, the ex head of ChromeOS, now head of Google (including Android), and this stupid merged WIMP/Tablet OS.
It's very very frustrating.
how many students honestly don't have access to a smartphone, personal computer, or a public library? I'm guessing maybe 1 in 10?
I'm guessing that the number goes up sharply on weekends, when public libraries have reduced hours or are closed entirely. (Source: acpl.info)
I have an Android-based 2-in-1, which for some reason (specifically, because the manufacturer also sells a Windows version) uses an Intel processor. So yes, it has a keyboard, trackpad, and touchscreen (not all Chromebooks do). So what is it that your Chromebook is supposed to do that my Android 2-in-1 doesn't already?
Whenever I try to install any apps on my Google Chrome browser, the store pops up a message saying the extension/app can access and modify data on all websites I visit. This seems excessive, yet I have not seen any apps that require less. Is this any different in a chromebook?
How exactly is a Chromebook more complicated than an iPad? I have both and while they're both braindead easy to use, the Chromebook still has the upperhand in that department.
The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
Google does not respect your privacy. Integreation does give minor benefits to the consumer, but it ensures massive information benefits for the company
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
"What does a traditional Android tablet do that a convertible Chromebook doesn't? "
Not hurt my arm after a few hour of holding it in 1 hand.
> Is there a viable pocket-sized, battery-powered server that one could carry in order to use "a terminal and a web browser" with a Chromebook?
It's Linux. A terminal is the native interface. What makes it a Chromebook is that rather than a standard server-side install of Linux (no GUI) or standard desktop install (lots of GUI shit I don't use anyway), it has a web browser a couple other things in a small, very efficient GUI. No GUI for partitioning hard drives, no pre-installed solitaire game. Which is fine for me, I don't partition drives in a GUI anyway.
Then you asked if browsing the web works without an internet connection? Huh? No, I don't do a lot of web browsing work without WiFi.
If you want to, you can install as much as you want of the Ubuntu or Debian userland on top of the ChromeOS-provided kernel. I've not seen any need. My work as a programmer / hacker basically uses a text editor in the terminal, ssh, and a browser.
People who have never tried a Chromebook like to say things like "they are for dummies who don't know anything about computers. A power user would never use one.". One guy I've spoken to, whom I consider to be a power user, had this to say about his new Chromebook:
"suspect I'll make this my primary laptop. I tend to like my laptops slightly smaller, but I think I can lug around this 1.5kg monster"
Maybe someone thinks that guy, Linus Torvalds, is a newbie, and doesn't understand the needs of power users like themselves. Okay, fine, lug around something that weighs three times as much and takes six times longer to boot if you want. Linus and I can look at kernel patches on our Chromebooks.
Can I completely disable Google Assistant? I can't think of a moment where I ever would prefer talking to my computer over typing. At public transport people would think I was a psycho talking to myself. At home, my partner would come 10 seconds later asking "excuse me, what did you say?" thinking I said something to her. In an office space, people would think I should shut up and just use the keyboard like a normal person.
My other account has a 3-digit UID.
Chromebook is Intel, not ARM.
??!? Huh?
Sorry, but I'm writing this on an official ARM Chromebook and things are working just fine, thank you. Wether Chrome OS or Android is running on x86 or ARM makes just about no difference at all for the upper layers, OSes included.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
They're both just about the same thing anyway. Yeah, Android is built around the JVM and has some low-level stuff concerning cellular connectivity and such, but I expect such things to be covered with in an afternoon of recompiling kernel modules for whatever OS (read: customised cross-platform FOSS *nix variant) Google has lying around, be it Chrome, Android or something else
As for the Chromebooks getting Android: That's a nice thing and of course will push back an android tablet if you have money to spare and dig Big Brother Google and all the niceties he has to offer for his minions. So, yeah, chances are that a high profile Android tablet actually is a Chromebook with keyboard attached running Android (see Pixelbook) and perhaps that way of doing things will catch on with vendors.
I wouldn't mind.
Then again, well matured dirt cheap android tablets for the mother of my daughter to watch 'tube-clips and read the local news is a neat thing too, so, no, I doin't think Android tablets are going away. But again, who cares, Android runs Chrome and has all the Google nifties integrated, so it's not that much of a difference anyway.
My 2 eurocents.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
My wife uses a £35 Amazon Fire tablet. It has the same form factor as my old Nexus 7, runs everything she wants without complaint and we can easily sideload apps that are missing from the Amazon store. She is over the moon with it and the only reason I haven't bought one myself is that I really have no need for a tablet (I use my phone for anything I don't do on my laptop).
That's 1/10 the price of the cheapest iPad. This to me is the funniest thing about ipad owners looking down on android. They just overpaid by a factor of 10 and all it got them was an unwarranted superior attitude.
I suspect the Computerworld article author has assumed that a typical Chromebook has the same specs as a tablet and *then* has a (hopefully detachable) keyboard on top of that. I just spent $230 on a 10.1" Android 7 tablet that has 4GB RAM, 64GB of local storage (that's rare for a Chromebook because of its cloud leanings), a 2560x1600 touchscreen (again, very rare for a Chromebook to have that res and not all Chromebooks have touchscreens either) and the usual GPS/accelerometer stuff too. I suspect you're talking *big* money to match those specs with a Chromebook.
Yes, I have a bluetooth mouse and keyboard I can optionally use with the new tablet (which will give a better experience than most Chromebooks' trackpads and keyboards) - it has mini-HDMI too if I wanted to hook it to a bigger screen. The tablet form factor is so much better for media consumption, particularly when you're on the move and don't have anywhere to rest your device on.
Google to me has become the affordable ecosystem to Apple's premium ecosystem. Google has introduced affordable devices that work well together and complemented them with web based services and a robust apps store. Plus it has offerings such a Google Play and Chromecast devices, and Google Home.
All of this has created a affordable ecosystem similar to what Apple has delivered only in a affordable price point. Personally I never was that thrilled with Chromebooks but they certainly offer something traditional Linux doesn't which is a much better support and development. Certainly Microsoft realizes that Chromebook's have become much more of a concern then anything Apple is delivering. It's why Microsoft is pushing affordable Win 10 S PC's to counter what it see's as a generation in education being taught with Chromebooks and not PC's with Windows.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
I need the pixels and could use more inches and pixels on the screen s9 is only 2k across, Pro was 2540. Certainly more processing power, even a simple upgrade on the processor would go a long way. If it was mobility vs pixels, I'd probably go with the Mediapad M3 (same pixel res, but 8 inch and a processor about 5x faster), but the screen text would be too small.
I got some more life out of the pro by sticking an unofficial Android 5 on it, which was available in India, but not released elsewhere. The garbage collector fix makes it much smoother, but its really on life support with no upgrade option.
What's totally useless to me is a trackpad and WIMP interface and an OS wrapper that is basically another web browser. i.e. this piece of shit ChromeOSAndroid is trying and failing to launch now. What fing use is that?
FFS, it's frustrating as hell. You get an Android tablet, and it won't keep running apps in the background, because the OS is designed to kill apps not visible to save phone life. Lots of the basic apps come up portrait, and you're supposed to turn a big screen tablet, maybe with a case on it, vertical just for that app. Switch between portrait and landscape apps, and you have to pick it up and turn it back and forth. All of these complaints have been levelled at every Android tablet since forever. Reviews of Googles Pixel C said exactly what is screamingly obvious. Yet here we are, no fix, just a half assed merger of Google operating systems as if anyone cares that Google has this other OS, ChromeOS. What Android user cares about that?
Who decided that multi windows means Microsofts old WIMP interface???? An interface designed for a mouse that Microsoft is struggling to make more touch friendly.
Get a clue or get a new CEO.
if google can keep such a tight control over its chromebook range, which is also produced by different brands and use different arch's like intel & i don't know how many different arm cpu's, WHY CAN'T IT DO THE SAME FOR ANDROID?
On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
Yep, Chromebooks are a solution looking for a problem.
Problem: I want a simple, cheap, light, reliable device, with a proper keyboard and a long battery life, for doing web-related stuff while sitting in front of the TV.
Solution: Chromebook.
You also have the option for crouton, which with the chrome browser extension is much more useful. If Google would make Crouton install-able to USB (without command line switches) and more integrated in terms of setup (no need to enter dev mode and less complicated but still "hidden" as an install) then it could better fill those niches. I suspect that most people would still use chrome for 90% of everything they do, meaning google looses little of their cloud computing and advertising agenda's via the chromebook. Meanwhile power users and admins are happy because they can use full linux features under the hood for themselves or administrative / diagnostic functions without as much hassle.
- Sig
All it needs is a terminal and Eclipse working offline, and a large screen for old farts. I'd be ditching my Macbook Pro in a heartbeat.
I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
> if you think the updates on Android phones are bad, let me tell you: The situation with Android tablets is worse.
Oh yes, I bought a few years ago the $$$ top of the line Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro tablet, it came with Android 4.4, it never had any update.
"Science will win because it works." - Stephen Hawking
Once upon a time £350 was amazingly cheap for a desktop and unheard of for a lowest end laptop.. But your point is well taken. Seems those Amazon tablets are marketed in US/UK or perhaps Five Eyes territory foremost? e.g. my go to e-tailer has Acer, Apple, Archos, Asus - no Amazon in there.
This is subsidized hardware basically, like the Windows x86 tablets that also seem a bit popular on /. (though IIRC there were some with awful flash memory)
Umm I'm asking myself a few silly questions : can you stream audio output over wifi LAN? (not bluetooth, I don't even have it on desktop or audio gear, and I would want high quality). do mobile browsers or the OS even support a proxy? (it's super easy for me to set up a proxy server. I would want the tablet on the LAN, not on the WAN)
USB-on-the-go? That's often left out on low end hardware, that's another topic. Mounting a drive over sshfs to play gigabytes of music from? (you can't get more lazy than using sshfs. I even once used an sshfs client of sorts on Windows and an ssh server on Windows)
This is why I would want software freedom. It's fairly amazing that stuff like sshd/sftp/sshfs gives me lower cognitive load than other things but perhaps it's actually simpler.
Fit in my pocket.
When someone says, "Any fool can see
100% correct. These "anonymous" stories about Chromebooks are just shills for Google. Same with stories about Alexa. Slashdot needs to stop. Chromebooks are just spy devices.
The only reasons I can think of, based on the older version I've used, is if you have your own reasons to avoid Android, or you want to run Ubuntu or Debian userland on your phone.
Android seems to do fine on phones - it works well enough that most devices sold in the last few years are Android phones. Obviously some people would prefer an alternative, other than Apple iOS.
It's Linux. A terminal is the native interface.
But what executables can you build and run on a Chromebook without first putting it into the fragile developer mode? I call Chromebook developer mode "fragile" because anybody who turns on a Chromebook, presses Space as prompted, and presses Enter as prompted will inadvertently trigger a factory reset.
Then you asked if browsing the web works without an internet connection? Huh?
If you're privately developing a web application, you may want to be able to test it even if you're riding public transportation with no Wi-Fi. Not everybody can afford to either A. move to a city whose public transportation offers Wi-Fi over which to use SSH or B. subscribe to cellular Internet with tethering.
you can install as much as you want of the Ubuntu or Debian userland on top of the ChromeOS-provided kernel.
Until someone else turns it on and follows the prompts.
The only issue I have with Android is that the vendors never seem to pass on the security upgrades and even new phones are coming out with versions of Android that are 2 or 3 years out of date with no security patches. Perhaps a ChromeOS Phone would better protect us and give us the same vast ecosystem of apps.
Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.
if the community wanted the libraries open all weekend, they would simply raise taxes and do it.
Those who cannot afford a home computer and home Internet access nor a smartphone and cellular Internet access probably cannot afford campaign contributions to candidates who promise to fund library service expansion by raising the tax rate on other constituents.
If Google would make Crouton install-able to USB (without command line switches)
Agreed. That's my primary complaint about Chromebooks: a Crouton installation is fragile.
Glad to see slashdot is the buzzfeed of tech!
Well there are fanless 11.6" laptops with quad core Atom, Windows 10, insufficient RAM and storage and look like the same as $1000 thin laptops but for the price of a chromebook. Install Linux Mint with Mate (works well with less than half the specs). Will automatically get Firefox 57, 58, 59 and so on. Also has all the keys like page up, page down, insert, etc.
There is a custom firmware called MrChromebox, which is fairly painless to install.
Does installing MrChromebox or the "boot legacy OS" module void the warranty on a Chromebook's screen, hinge, and keyboard? If so, how would a MrChromebox or "boot legacy OS" module user who needs the screen, hinge, or keyboard serviced go about having the device repaired?
I see a lot of demand for Android tablets for use in automotive applications .... custom projects to put one in the dashboard in place of a double-DIN car stereo.
I think some are also surely getting used as single-purpose kiosks or remote controllers for things. You can, for example, dedicate one as the controller for videoconferencing systems built around the Zoom software (http://www.zoom.us).
For general purpose use? It's really the same argument you get on the Apple side of things. Why buy an expensive iPad Pro when a full-blown notebook computer comes in around the same price? It depends... The notebook with its own integrated keyboard, ports and expansion slots, is always going to be the more "powerful" option. But what about use-cases where you're standing up all the time, like delivery drivers needing to input data about packages dropped off or picked up? For them, a tablet is going to be the only option that makes a lot of sense.
I have a Galaxy Tab S2. A Chromebook cannot replace it. I don't hate it or anything like that, but it's all about the formfactor and usage.
First of all, it's extremely disingenuous to brush off something like "Nowadays, a Chromebook runs the same apps from the same Google Play Store". Sure, if you consider the fact that most apps don't work well, several of them crashes, have weird bugs, etc etc. No, a Chromebook does not run the same apps from the same Google Play Store. Far far faaaar from it. It might eventually happen? Well, that's something you have to pray Google keeps working on. It's something I've been hearing since the compatibility was announced. It still didn't happen.
It'd be great if Android apps worked well on a Chromebook, but the absolute vast majority of it doesn't. It's the problem of smartphone designed apps running on tablet formfactor but multiple times worse.
Next on the list, hardware design wise, it's the same problem of trying to use a hybrid as a tablet. The keyboard being there for typing is great for some applications, but when you want to use the device as a tablet, it's a huge annoyance and burdensome. Just try it for yourself. Reading comics or eBooks, playing simple games, watching content. The extra weight and bulk needed for the keyboard works against a tablet type usage.
OS wise, it might be closer to being a true hybrid in comparison to say Windows or MacOS, but it's still not quite there.
Going offline. Provided that Android tablets by themselves are also not great on this area, but Chromebooks are even worse. You have to go through a whole ton of configurations to enable some offline functionality, and since regular Android apps are far from working well right now, it only makes things harder.
I'm not saying that Chromebooks are bad though... they can be great, depending on usage. But truth of it, you are inside Google's walled garden. It's a jack of all trades, master of none. It barely works as an Android tablet, and scrapes the basic functionalities of a full laptop, which you might be fine with. But it's no full replacement for anything.
To be fair, there are lots of Chromebooks that are considerably cheaper than comparably sized Android tablets. I was just looking at convertible Asus one that's $339 CDN, which is about $250 US.
...and it becomes pretty useful! After my old Android tablet died, I bought the cheapest Chromebook I could find (Samsung XE500C13, 2GB RAM) as a second, "on the go" computer, and suffered for a week struggling with ChromeOS. After that, I switched to Ubuntu-based Gallium OS and now it's almost becoming my main computer! It's very useful for working outside, there's nowhere better to code than a park :)
Ok, please find me a 9-10" Android tablet with 2 Gb RAM, 32 Gb storage and more importantly 2048Ã--1536 px (or better) for less than 349.90 CHF (which is what I paid for my iPad 2017), that can run Android 8 now and will receive security updates (at least) in the next 2 years.
Indeed I would prefer to develop for Android, which is more open than iOS (no 99 USD annual fee, no need to have access to a computer running Mac OS X)...
Forgot that Slashdot still doesn't support Unicode. I meant 2048x1536 px or better.