
2015 Chromebook Pixel - dannyr
http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/
======
AdmiralAsshat
Owner of a last-gen Pixel here. I don't see myself upgrading any time soon,
but as far as refreshes go, this one seems to address most of my complaints,
namely:

\- More RAM

\- Better battery life / charge time

\- USB-C ports

Here's what I'm not sure if it will fix: \- Overheating (original Pixel gets
HOT on the top-left corner where I'm guessing the CPU resides)

\- OpenVPN support (ChromeOS does not support simply loading a .ovpn profile--
I have to do some hacking from the command-line to get it to work)

\- Longer warranty (1-year limited is all that is provided with the previous
model--and since these are directly from Google, you can't get an extended
warranty through the retailer)

\- Weight (Love the metal slate look, could be lighter, however; based on the
specs it seems like not so much)

And finally, the things that Google will never fix, and you should simply be
aware of ChromeOS's limitations:

\- Lack of apps

I will say, however, that in the past year, Crouton, which allows you to
sideload a linux partition onto the device, has come a _long_ way, to the
point that you can actually have an Ubuntu chroot running in a tab inside
ChromeOS as though it were just another window/app. It has proved incredibly
useful for running things like Sublime or Eclipse without having to do the
complete environment-shift that was required some time ago.

Price is still a little high, however. I feel like those looking for a high-
quality Linux laptop could probably get an Acer Aspire for cheaper.

~~~
primigenus
Why do you say Google will "never fix" the "lack of apps"? What do you call
adding support for running Android apps? Clearly they are working on
addressing this, even if they're not there yet.

~~~
nsxwolf
That's what you want to run on your laptop? Android apps?

~~~
MarkMc
You sound surprised. Are web apps better than Android apps?

~~~
cwyers
I think on a computer with a Core i5 and 8gb of RAM, choosing between web apps
and Android apps is kind of a false choice. Windows or Linux both offer you
far more applications that are built to take advantage of that form factor.

------
revelation
Jesus, designing a usable ultrabook must be very difficult.

We have one contender from California, but their ideology has them offer just
a _single_ USB-C port. Now we get the competitor from Mountain View, who have
rightly recognized the need for more than one fucking port when that's how you
charge the damn thing, and what do they decide?

Oh yeah, we'll top out storage at 64GiB.

~~~
ChuckMcM
What most people have missed is that USB allows charging and data over the
same port. So you can easily get a power adapter that has a charging tip which
has on the same cord another USB-C port (socket) which you can plug into your
display chain, or port replicator or what not.

In Apple's case I fully expect they will make it so that when you plug your
Apple display into your laptop it also charges it since the charger is
permanently connected to (or built into) the Apple monitor/display.

~~~
benihana
At this point, I find this whole thing funny. Again.

How many times has Apple done this in modern times? Remember the outrage when
Apple removed floppy disk drives? Optical drives? Ethernet ports? Remember how
mad everyone got when Apple replaced their old, thick connector on the iPhone
5? Nobody complains about how thin their phone is now that the old 30pin
connector is no longer the limiting factor on size. Nobody is bemoaning the
fact that they can't watch a DVD on their laptop - we've moved on from optical
media.

Nobody will even bother examining the bellyaching about this in a couple of
years because we'll all be so happy with the _obvious_ (in hindsight) decision
to switch to USB-C.

~~~
Alupis
> we'll all be so happy with the obvious (in hindsight) decision to switch to
> USB-C.

I don't think the issue is the inclusion of USB-C -- in fact, USB-C offers a
_lot_.

I think the issue is only having _one_ connector on the entire laptop. What
happens if that port fails or beaks? Your laptop stops working...

~~~
moe
_What happens if that port fails or beaks? Your laptop stops working..._

I'm not a fan of their single-port decision either, but in fairness: Every
laptop stops working when the charging port breaks. No matter how many other
ports it may have.

~~~
bashinator
And Apple is replacing the nigh-indestructible magsafe with a traditional
plug...

~~~
semi-extrinsic
Of course this is purely anecdotal, but amongst my friends and coworkers I've
seen magsafe connectors fail at about the same rate as normal power adapters.
Usually at the end where the wire goes into the wall plug brick part.

~~~
kalleboo
Yes the cheap to replace wire end breaks easily. But the expensive-to-repair
computer side port is solid. You're going to see a lot more expensive computer
repairs with the USB-C charging port.

~~~
semi-extrinsic
True. Although I think it would be much better for durability if Apple used
the same wire/power brick layout as everyone else: have the power brick in the
middle of the wire, accepting 120/240 V from a standard "figure-eight" cord.
Then that cord would be the one that breaks, and they cost $1 to replace. Of
course this conflicts with Apple's business model...

~~~
kalleboo
All the Apple laptop and iPad adapters I've gotten accept a standard figure-8
cord if you just slide off the national plug. For my it's the slim cord
between the charger and the machine that wears out.

~~~
semi-extrinsic
Interesting. I've never seen anyone using it with the figure-8 cord. My
intuition was that having the adapter stuck to the wall tends to often bend
the thin cord on the DC side. As you say, that's what usually fails.

------
IkmoIkmo
I don't really understand the appeal personally. At this price level you could
get a dell xps.

ChromeOS seems brilliant at a few hundred bucks, especially for kids & elders
who get the browser/video/text experience, without the complexity, bloatware,
viruses etc of a windows environment.

But at $600 or $1000, there just seem to be better windows alternatives, to me
at least. And above that you get into OS X range. ChromeOS just doesn't seem
to provide the environment where you really need beefy specs (e.g. compiling
large code or editing large videos), so if it's just consumer-type stuff, I'd
rather have a 2014 Macbook Air 13' at $800-900 at Best Buy, or a Dell XPS,
than this.

Would love to hear from peoples usecases and experiences. I think there's a
genuine usecase for people to put linux on it, or SSH into something else, but
for your average straight up consumer, why the pixel and not something else? I
understand the low-price Chromebooks, the higher price is hard to grasp for
me.

~~~
MAGZine
Writing this from my 2011 MBA. Looking at a replacement, and the CBP is a
strong contender. If I swap out the storage for a 256 or 512 GB drive and
throw linux or windows on it, then it's better hardware than a macbook air,
for cheaper. In fact, it's impossible to build a MBA that stands up to CBP's
hardware.

the chromebook represents essentially what i wanted out of a macbook air
refresh, instead the ipad-with-a-keyboard Macbook showed up.

~~~
nfoz
But why wouldn't you get the Dell XPS 13 instead? (Linux edition coming out
soon.) The Pixel is heavier than the MBA, while the XPS is lighter/slimmer and
has a real harddrive. There are minor trade-offs here and there but it's the
limitation of ChromeOS that really makes this a strange option.

I myself am debating both options, but I've ordered a Pixel specifically
because I'm hoping the keyboard is a bit better than the XPS, and to see how
well it will run Debian natively.

If only the US had ultraportable options like they have in Japan.

~~~
mkozlows
As someone who runs Linux and ChromeOS on my personal laptops, was looking at
the XPS, and just ordered a Pixel, I can answer that:

1\. Chromebook is zero-hassle. It's great that Dell is putting native Ubuntu
on their laptops, but fundamentally those are still machines that were
designed for Windows first and awkwardly adapted to Linux. They'll always have
a few niggling issues that a designed-for-ChromeOS machine won't have.

2\. I prefer ChromeOS to Linux. The ultra-minimalist ChromeOS UI is just
amazingly clean and elegant, in a way that none of the Linux desktops are (and
I say that as a huge fan of GNOME 3).

3\. The high-DPI version of the XPS 13 is more expensive than the Pixel (and
might not be the one that gets released with Linux, they haven't announced
it); high-DPI is a mandatory thing on an expensive laptop now for me.

4\. 3:2 screen is the perfect aspect ratio, and the XPS isn't that.

5\. USB-C charger is sweet.

But the XPS 13 looks like it'll be a nice laptop when the Linux version comes
out. Still, I wish Dell would design Linux-first laptops rather than trying to
awkwardly retrofit Linux onto designed-for-Windows machines.

~~~
nindalf
What is the difference between a laptop designed for Windows and one designed
for Linux? Apart from device drivers (graphics, Wi-Fi, bluetooth) which are
usually not a problem, I can't think of any difference. Perhaps Linux might
not look very good on very high DPI screens, but that's it.

~~~
mkozlows
Look at what the Project Sputnik people are saying about getting Linux working
on the current XPS 13 -- they're working on drivers for various portions of it
that don't currently work currently on Linux. (If you install Ubuntu on the
XPS 13 today, it will have problems.)

It's great that Dell is doing that, it really is. But if they were building a
laptop for Linux first, they never would have sourced those components.

------
nandhp
> What's in the box: Chromebook Pixel; Universal Type-C Charger, 60W; Quick
> Start Guide

So the new MacBook isn't the only USB-powered notebook anymore. It does,
however, appear to have two type C ports, along with two type A ports (USB
3.0), headphone, and SD card. The type C port also supports display out (up to
4K).

It also has a "regular" processor (Intel® Core™ i5 Processor, 2.2GHz or Intel®
Core™ i7 processor, 2.4GHz) and "up to 12 hours" of battery life; but it
weighs 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) to Apple's 2.1 lbs.

You can buy Google's 60W USB-C charger for $60.
[https://store.google.com/product/universal_type_c_60w_charge...](https://store.google.com/product/universal_type_c_60w_charger)
The C to A adapter (for your existing peripherals) is $13.
[https://store.google.com/product/usb_type_c_to_usb_standard_...](https://store.google.com/product/usb_type_c_to_usb_standard_a_adapter)

~~~
pjmlp
At least the MacBook is a real computer, not a browser on steroids.

~~~
dman
You can install linux on it. I own the previous version of the Pixel and I run
ubuntu on it and its close to perfect.

Two things I would change are

1\. Improve thermal cooling or move to a underpowered cpu. I have worked
around it by rate limiting my CPU to not go over 800 MHz. With a few tweaks,
it sips ~8.8W and gives me > 6 hrs of battery life.

2\. Make the hinge a bit stiffer.

My only other complaint is that it refuses to install FreeBSD.

~~~
fit2rule
Did you get touch features working on your older Pixel? I'm very curious about
whether the Pixel series would be a good machine for Ubuntu .. care to share
your experiences?

~~~
jrockway
It should be possible to get working. All the drivers are in the chromiumos
source repository. Until very recently X was used, so the X server should have
the touch support. (Haven't tested on the new Pixel because I don't have one,
but the old one, definitely.)

The kernel drivers are in src/third_party/kernel/v3.10 for first-gen pixel,
and v3.14 for this one. If you're going to run your own Linux, I'd use that
kernel rather than the one the distro provides. Or figure out what patches are
different between the two, and cherry-pick those onto your distro's kernel.

~~~
jrockway
I meant 3.8 for the old pixel, btw. Doh.

------
benologist
A source that circumvents Google's decision to prevent non-US people from even
_reading_ about the device:

[http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/11/8190513/chromebook-
pixel-2...](http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/11/8190513/chromebook-
pixel-2015-review)

~~~
TheHippo
This URL works from Germany:
[http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/](http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/)

~~~
weinzierl
I can see the page from Germany, but the "BUY NOW" button gives me a 404 page
in German:

    
    
       Die angeforderte URL wurde auf diesem Server nicht 
       gefunden. Weitere Informationen liegen nicht vor.

~~~
z02d
$999 8 GB RAM, 32 GB SSD

$1,299 16 GB RAM, 64GB SSD

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

I'm really happy someone is trying to compete, but not sure why I would buy
this.

~~~
EC1
I don't know a single person in real life that has a chromebook. Who is buying
these?

~~~
dvirsky
A lot of people apparently: [http://www.zdnet.com/article/top-3-holiday-
computers-on-amaz...](http://www.zdnet.com/article/top-3-holiday-computers-on-
amazon-were-chromebooks/)

If I were to buy a second computer for travelling and lightweight stuff at
home, and not developing, I guess a Chromebook would be a nice choice. But not
at the price of a Macbook Air, though.

~~~
jethro_tell
I'll buy it and run linux on it. I've long ago put all my data on my own
storage boxes and all my systems have 64GB SSDs.

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

~~~
objclxt
Personally, if overheating was a major flaw I probably wouldn't consider the
laptop well crafted. Thermal management seems part of the overall design to
me. I don't dispute it's a nice looking machine though!

~~~
nextos
Indeed. But it was a very nice machine. Hopefully this one won't overheat. Any
idea if it's fanless? There's no specific info about the CPU, but it doesn't
seem to be according to the clock frequency.

~~~
kuboa
Apparently it has two fans instead of one now and doesn't overheat like it
used to:

 _Another quirk of the first Pixel was that it could get quite noisy and warm
while running. No more: Thanks to a revamped cooling system, which features
two fans that spin at lower revolutions-per-minute than the original model 's
single-fan setup, the new Pixel stays near-silent and doesn't get hot while
you use it._ [http://www.computerworld.com/article/2895014/new-
chromebook-...](http://www.computerworld.com/article/2895014/new-chromebook-
pixel.html)

------
dferlemann
I don't get it anymore... 8-16 GB RAM for what? I have not used Chromebook. Do
you all use it for gaming? For serious computation? with only 32-64 GB SSD?

For this price, it would be nice to be able to upgrade SSD though. Then I will
also want to install a Linux distro or Windows on it.

~~~
skrowl
Did you not notice that it has a built in SD card slot if you want more
storage?

Also, ChromeOS will happily use 8-16GB of RAM if you have enough browser tabs
open and stuff running in the background.

~~~
digi_owl
> Did you not notice that it has a built in SD card slot if you want more
> storage?

Wish Google would adopt that attitude for their Nexus line as well...

------
chambo622
My main issues with my first gen Chromebook Pixel that I received at Google
I/O in 2013:

1) Poor battery life (~4 hours)

2) Lots of heat

3) Instability of Linux environment (with Crouton) made it a poor dev machine.

They seem to have fixed 1) and 2), I'm still nervous about making this a
primary machine due to 3). I would have situations where the system would
force shut down when closing the lid instead of sleeping/resuming properly.
That, and two years ago, no Linux desktop environment supported high DPI
screens properly. Maybe this has changed.

Other than that, this looks like an amazing machine. Love that 16GB of RAM is
an option - XPS 13, which I'm also eyeing, only goes up to 8GB. 64GB max SSD
is a bit of a problem though.

~~~
pimlottc
I think you mean 2011, that was when gave out the first Chromebooks. It was
not a bad little device but the CPU was woefully underpowered.

~~~
chambo622
Nope, definitely 2013.

~~~
pimlottc
Ah, I misread your post, I thought you just said "Chromebook". My bad.

------
badloginagain
Google develops a laptop that I have high interest in, but no use for.

If they want to win the App Ecosystem war, they need to ensure that the
developers have the tools to build in their ecosystem. Apple dominates because
hackers love macbooks, and provide slick tools that only work in Apple's
walled garden. This propagates down to the consumer level, as developers build
products consumers love- with Apple taking in the profit all the way down.

Google doesn't have that. They don't have a toolset available to developers to
optimize for Android/ChromeOS/etc. They need to fix the fragmentation problem
at the App Developer level before they can compete at the consumer level.

~~~
mkozlows
That's a fine perspective to have, if you are a corporation trying to own an
ecosystem. Me, I don't like walled gardens, and ChromeOS's true platform isn't
the Chrome App Store, it's the web. I'm good with that.

~~~
badloginagain
The Web: Brought To You By Chrome, at least. And Google is a corporation, who
would very much want all your online interactions in their garden.

But you are right, I dislike Apple because its walls are so high. Google has
the opportunity to embrace open-source (or at least well-adopted) technologies
to shape an open garden- where your interactions benefit both Google, the web
as an open platform, and end consumers who don't know any better.

I feel that Google can become caretakers of a "open garden" by aligning the
technology available to independent developers and the app ecosystem used by
end consumers. And I feel that Google can curate the technology of the web
better by targeting the developers than the consumers.

------
pmontra
[http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/](http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/)
this works (Italian IP)

~~~
dang
Thanks. We changed to that from
[https://store.google.com/product/chromebook_pixel_2015](https://store.google.com/product/chromebook_pixel_2015),
which was 404ing.

------
sspiff
Well, nice that they put a viable amount of memory in this iteration. I can't
see the specs or price of this machine in my country.

For anyone in the same situation, here's the price and specs left out of their
landing page:

$999 model:

\- 2.2GHz (2.7GHz Turbo) dual-core Intel Core i5-5200U

\- 8GB RAM and 32GB storage

$1299 model:

\- 2.6GHz (3.2GHz Turbo) dual-core Core i7-5600U

\- 16GB RAM and 64GB storage

------
MarcScott
My MBP was out of commission recently, with the video issue. I made do with an
HP Chromebook for a month, using crouton to have ubuntu in a chroot.

I was extremely pleased with the setup, and it barely affected my productivity
at all. Emacs was a little slower to fire up and sift through my agenda files,
but apart from that, I barely noticed the difference.

When I wasn't working, it was great to use ChromeOS to surf or cast Netflix to
the TV.

I'd definitely consider getting a Pixel.

------
Sodman
Owner of a 2013 Chromebook Pixel here - This new model definitely excites me.
I've switched between running Debian natively on boot and running Ubuntu in
crouton. As a Java/Web developer, my main gripes with the original Pixel are:

-4GB RAM is uncomfortable. Usable, but you need to manage what's running

-Battery life isn't great... I was seeing ~3-3.5 hrs during my 'real use'.

-Overheating - Gets very hot when doing cpu-intense tasks

-Charging time feels like it takes forever.

-Hinge is a little loose and the F-keys are weird, but neither are a deal breaker.

This 2015 model seems to fix almost all of this, with the possible exception
of overheating... I guess time will tell. Chances seem high that these will be
given out at I/O 2015, but if I can't get a ticket for that I'll still buy one
of these immediately. Crouton has come a long way since 2013, but I'm hoping
they keep the 'legacy boot' option from the first model - That way you can
boot into native linux with ctrl+L or ChromeOS (and later crouton, if needed)
with ctrl+D.

If this laptop was 15", it would literally be my dream laptop, however it
still checks enough boxes to guarantee that I'll buy one.

~~~
jrochkind1
As an actual owner of a Chromebook Pixel... what would make you buy the new
model instead of a similarly priced MacBook Air (much better battery life,
more realistically sized SSD, better designed with no loose hinges etc, can
still boot into Linux if you want)? Just prefer ChromeOS to OSX? Or the
touchscreen? Something else?

~~~
Sodman
I was tempted to get a MacBook Pro instead of the original pixel, but at that
price point at the time the only one available was the 13" non-retina model
(possibly even with a HDD, can't remember). The trade-up to SSD/High-res and
the curiosity of the 'new shiny laptop from Google' sold me.

In terms of upgrading to one in 2015, Google are claiming 12 hour battery life
and The Verge said it got 14 hours in their testing - which is more than
enough for me. I personally just don't like OSX, although I'd be happy
installing linux on a MBP. ChromeOS is fine for a few quick browser tasks
(Amazon, Booking Flights, etc), but it's not worth keeping around really. So
at that point it just boils down to personal preference on the hardware, and
price. The build-quality of the keyboard and touchpad on the pixel are on-par
with the high quality of the MBP, and they've made the hinge more solid this
time around, so with an i7 processor and 16GBs of RAM at $1300 I'm pretty
happy! The 64GB SSD is definitely a major buzzkill, but considering I won't be
using this laptop for gaming, and I stream all of my music/tv/movies, I don't
actually need a whole pile of local storage. With my current pixel's 64GB I
never ran into any issues - the only thing that I feel is a threat to my
diskspace is VM images for virtualbox, which I luckily don't have to use much
anymore as I now have remote access to windows servers should I need them. The
touchscreen (for me) is pointless, I'd much rather have a 128GB/256GB SSD, but
it's not the end of the world.

------
OoTheNigerian
Si I cannot even look at the product because I do not live in the US?

Who makes these decisions?

~~~
fit2rule
>>Who makes these decisions?

Americans.

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

Chrome OS developers?

~~~
ripter
I recently bought a ChromeBook for development (The $199 one). It's a super
light linux machine that lasts for days. So I have all my dev tools and I can
easily work on any git repo. I don't do any Chrome OS development.

I tried using a tablet for this, but as an emacs users, I have very specific
keyboard bindings that the tablets always had issues with.

~~~
eertami
Which Chromebook if you don't mind me asking?

I've been using an old Thinkpad T61 but it just seems a little bit
underpowered/dated/inefficient now - considering jumping to something new.

~~~
ripter
ASUS Chromebook 13-Inch HD with Gigabit WiFi, 16GB Storage & 2GB RAM (Yellow)
[[http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O5VX2AA/ref=oh_aui_det...](http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O5VX2AA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)]

I've been really surprised at how smooth the experience has been, especially
since I'm running ubuntu in chroot.

It's not quite powerful enough to play minecraft, it runs but really slowly.

------
rdtsc
Can it run Ubuntu? That is the first thing I would do to it.

I've done it with Acer C720 with i3 processor. Initially got it as a portable
light machine used for travel. But now it kind of became my default. I used to
lug around my trusty old Thinkpad T60.

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

------
blfr
How is ChromeOS? Can you get a decent terminal or terminal app? Install and
keep up to date the basic terminal utilities (ssh, tmux, vim, rsync, etc)?

What about other software? Is the browser like the regular Chrome? Can you
play regular media files (flac, x264 mkv)?

Are there any unpleasant surprises?

~~~
dublinben
It's completely simple to get a real terminal/SSH running with Crouton.[0]

ChromeOS supports every common media format you'll come across.[1]

[0][https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton](https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton)
[1][http://www.chromium.org/audio-video](http://www.chromium.org/audio-video)

~~~
blfr
You can install only the command line tools[1]. Does this work as a nice
terminal window within ChromeOS? I can't find that kind of setup on Youtube.

[1] [https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton#i-dont-always-use-
linux...](https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton#i-dont-always-use-linux-but-
when-i-do-i-use-cli)

------
72deluxe
What is odd about this Chromebook is that it has ports and decent hardware,
but abysmal storage (I have 50GB of MP3s, let's not get started on videos,
documents, source code and compiled software) and a crippled OS. It's like a
toy, but a toy that is dependent on a remote toy (the "cloud").

I don't understand how the break away from mainframes to microcomputers has
come full circle where we now use very very very powerful microcomputers to
connect to effectively mainframes (the "cloud"). Surely the liberating part of
microcomputers was the ability to be untethered/unshackled and do stuff
locally, not do stuff locally for a little bit or to some extent and then
resync periodically. Many of the people using chromebooks for development
(from what I can tell) SSH to another machine to do work on a remote server
(with X or VNC or something like that), which reduces the extremely powerful
local microcomputer to a dumb library terminal. It's stupid.

Client/server stuff keeps getting reinvented and it's annoying. I prefer to be
a client when I choose, not a permanent client at the mercy of the server.

------
chatmasta
Can you boot linux on it?

~~~
lsllc
Would be very interested to see how well Ubuntu runs on this. As a once die-
hard Apple fan I'm so sick of the mess that is Mac OS X Yosemite that I'm
willing to abandon Apple and try a Linux laptop, but only if:

1) The wifi and sound work out of the box

2) Battery life is better than 2hrs

3) Suspend/resume works

~~~
dmitrygr
Toshiba R30-ASMBN22

I have mine configured with:

256GB SSD

2TB HDD

MATTE 1080p screen

16GB ram

802.11ac 2x2 wifi

has lenovo-like nub mouse

cost me less than 1500

runs windows 7, linux mint, and OSX

battery life browsing web at medium brightness over wifi is over 10 hours in
windows, 8 in linux, 7 in OSX

~~~
notsony
A matte display is essential for a developer (imho) so the Pixel is a non-
starter.

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

~~~
dman
Fantastic. Everything works out of the box on ubuntu and fedora.

~~~
stusmall
Is it still done through that chroot wonkery?

~~~
dman
I am old school in the sense that I like to run my os as a native install
directly on the machine without any chroot / vm / hypervisor trickery. This
guide walks you through how to do a native linux install and blow chromeos
away on the pixel.
[http://vger.kernel.org/~davem/chromebook_pixel_linux.txt](http://vger.kernel.org/~davem/chromebook_pixel_linux.txt)

~~~
nfoz
Whoaaaaa this seems waaaayy hackier than I expected. Will this void the
warranty? I just ordered... I will be returning the thing if I can't get
Debian installed and given a thorough trial run.

Edit: Nevermind it's really not that bad, just replacing the BIOS, that should
be fine. I see little risk of "bricking" a machine here, I'm sure I can get
Debian running with these instructions and return the product if it doesn't
work well enough.

~~~
darcyparker
Start with creating a chroot. chroots are easy and can be wiped/recreated
quickly if you mess them up. I run Debian Jessie in a chroot and have a simple
bash script that provisions the additional stuff I want (apt-get, etc..) and
edits a few config files.

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

------
etherael
"The Cloud" Can Go Fuck Itself.

Addendum; If you ever want it to be taken seriously you must urgently fix two
things.

1) Telcos. Being constantly subject to obscene per megabyte usage charges with
miserable reliability and speed for access to your bulk storage in the cloud
vs $100 per terabyte reliable and fast subscription for life easily portable
local storage costs is utterly unacceptable.

2) States. Being constantly subject to unlimited invisible invasive personal
data theft without oversight or justification is not an acceptable state of
affairs. The existence of states guarantees that they will always insist on
being able to do these things. The only potential solution to this problem
without actually destroying states (Shock! Horror! ROADS!) is easy and perfect
homomorphic encryption.

Until you fix these two (quite possibly unfixable) things, "The Cloud" is pipe
dream marketing bullshit.

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

~~~
nfoz
If you compare the new Dell XPS 13 or even a Vaio Pro 13 (sadly not sold in
the US anymore), it's pretty surprising to compare them to the Pixel.

They both have much more connectivity options, 16:9 13" screens while being a
full pound lighter. The Sony's keyboard was great. There's not much of a
selling point in favour of the Pixel given that it's heavier and doesn't have
a real disk drive or many ports / connectivity.

Unfortunately I returned my new Dell XPS13 because I was so disappointed by
the keyboard. But it's really not that bad, I was going to get it again when
the Linux version is launched. But now I'm going to try a Pixel out instead.
If I could still get a Vaio Pro, or a Panasonic Let's Note, or many of the
other Japanese high-end ultrabooks in the US, I would gladly do that instead
of the Pixel.

------
cphuntington97
Am I the only person who was interested in LTE?

Yes I have a phone, but I'd rather not tether, if only to save phone battery.

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

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

~~~
outworlder
The Air is unaffected by the 'port war'.

------
ChuckMcM
Pretty neat. And caveat the port issue[1] pretty nice. I wonder what the
battery life is like with Linux installed (probably not 12 hours :-) Now if
they added a wireless charging option so that when I set it upon my desk it
was powered/charging wirelessly that would be pretty neat. I'm amazed as how
closely it tracks the macbook 13. They could be twins.

[1] The whole one port to rule them all which is fine except that it becomes a
single point of failure for the device, I would be totally ok if it came with
_two_ C connectors and either could be power or data or whatever, then if one
failed or got gunked up it would still be usable until I got it repaired.

~~~
Buge
Doesn't this have 2 USB C ports?

~~~
krasin
It does. Two USB-C ports and two USB 3.0 ports.

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

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

~~~
ovi256
I wonder if it could be made into a hackintosh. Probably not if it doesn't
have the exact same hardware as some Macbook.

~~~
hrktb
Isn't the new Macbook or the MBP if you go with 16G of RAM pretty close in
price?

If it's not specially to have chromeOS or linux and use the touchscreen, I
have a hard time understanding the appeal of this machine.

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

------
Sephr
Last-gen Pixel owner here (recently upgraded to the new XPS 13).

I wish more manufacturers would follow Google's lead and start using 3:2
displays in laptops. An XPS 13 (2015) with a 3:2 display and USB C would be
the most amazing device ever.

------
hamhamed
I get 404, from a canadian IP

~~~
S4M
Same here, Spanish IP.

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

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

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

~~~
gtk40
Do you think touchscreen support is up to par? I'm running a Windows tablet
with similar specs (Acer Iconia W700P -- no pen support though) and I have
really wanted to put Linux on it, but haven't tried. I've just been using a
Debian VM for when I need Linux for now.

~~~
rrggrr
Its good enough for travel, which is what I use the SFPro for because I like
to keep my travel bag weight to a minimum. For desktop work it would make me
insane and stick with OSX.

------
cdnsteve
ChromeOS is a non-starter for any development work I'd like. At one time,
before 2 kids and a busy job, I would have entertained and enjoyed tinkering
and formatting a brand new machine to load up Linux. Now, I don't have time or
the energy to waste on that type of thing. I use to like building my own
systems, now I just need it to work and do what I need.

At this very high price point (for a computer that just surfs the web) I
wouldn't want to be the guy responsible for making sales targets.

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

~~~
rcarmo
You can try Caret, which is a very nice editor, and Zed, which works with
Dropbox. However, you will not be able to do much (if anything) with Docker
without going into developer mode, and even then it will depend a lot on
whether this model will break Crouton in any way.

I'd say the tiny amount of storage will make it really hard to do anything
productive with containers...

~~~
Andrex
Caret has an absolutely horrible UI. :(

I think Text is OK.
[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/text/mmfbcljfglbok...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/text/mmfbcljfglbokpmkimbfghdkjmjhdgbg)

Personally though my favorite is Tailor, even though I never got the live
reloading to work (for HTML/JS.) It can pull from GitHub repos, which is
pretty useful.
[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tailor/mfakmoghean...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tailor/mfakmogheanjhlgjhpijkhdjegllgenf)

Now that Polymer/Paper is out there I wish someone would use that for an
editor, as it's likely it'll finally be the standardized UI for Chrome OS.
Might be a fun weekend project...

------
jrochkind1
It looks like a very nice machine.

At $999 though, it's about the same price as a MacBook Air. I haven't compared
specs (SSD? Ram?), but the Chromebook is a device intended to store all your
data in 'the cloud', right? On the other hand, it's got a touchscreen which
the Air does not. The Air's a lot smaller/lighter/prettier though.

At any rate, the Chromebook is definitely no longer priced below a premium
laptop like the Air.

~~~
rifung
I think the biggest thing this has going for it vs. the Air is that the screen
is way nicer.

------
Theodores
Loads okay in the UK. Maybe it is markets where the product will not be sold
that are 'barred'.

As for the device, it fixes the problem of all-day-battery which is a common
feature on Chromebooks (e.g. Dell) but wasn't on the original Pixel.

I am glad they are continuing the product. Initially everyone laughed but, as
time goes by, Chromebook is quite acceptable for 'serious web surfers'.

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

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

------
lsaferite
If the specs* they list are correct, it charges fully in 1.5 hours, which, at
60W, is 90Wh of storage. 90Wh over 12 hours is 7.5W of power usage. That's a
nice small number. It's 50% more than the new MB, but significantly more
computer as well.

*: They claim to charge enough for 2 hours in 15 minutes. The charger is a 60W charger.

~~~
boobsbr
this article claims it's a 72 watt-hour battery:

[http://www.pcworld.com/article/2894970/hands-on-googles-
new-...](http://www.pcworld.com/article/2894970/hands-on-googles-new-
chromebook-pixel-makes-big-changes-under-the-hood.html)

~~~
lsaferite
That would put it at running at roughly 6W and the 60W charger is only being
used at 48W.

------
city41
Does anyone know how feasible it is -- using Crouton -- to setup one tab in
Chrome that is a shell running tmux, vim, git, server processes, etc, then
test the website you're coding on in another Chrome tab?

A lightweight dev environment like that on a cheap and light notebook is
pretty appealing.

------
SeanLuke
> *Yes, we know there are five senses, but we don’t recommend trying to taste
> or smell your Pixel.

C'mon Google. Surely you know that there are more than five senses. At the
very least, can't balance and proprioception get any love? Not to mention the
entire gastrointestinal tract.

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

------
jkot
3:2 high res screen, i7 CPU, 16GB RAM, 64 GB storage...

I will seriously consider this as my next Linux laptop.

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

~~~
aikah
The machine looks good,no question. But 16GB ? 32GB ? 64GB SSDs? frankly, it's
a no Go for the price ($999). For half the price one can get a better
computer. I don't buy the "but you're supposed to be always connected and
store files in the cloud" bullshit. I bought a $500 laptop with better specs
,that runs linux without driver and issues and yes, I can surf the web with
it.

I'm no fan of Apple but even the latest 13' macbook air at $999 makes way more
sense that this product. And yes,it has a browser and Yes you can run Linux on
it.

------
okasaki
The page sends me into a loop.

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

------
__mp
I could see myself installing Windows on it. I mean why not? The touchscreen
screams for a Windows version >=8.

Disclaimer: I currently own two Macbooks (15"retina, 11" air). I use Windows
usually in a VM and Linux in the data center.

------
azimuth11
Can anyone explain what Google means by "Contextually Lit Keyboard"?

------
jskonhovd
I am glad they gave this model a reboot. If I was in the market for a new
linux laptop, this would be a my number one choice over the XPS13 as a close
second.

I am glad more companies like Dell and Google are supporting linux.

------
hobarrera
IMHO, a single USB port is an awful idea

I keep my mouse pluged in permanently. With a single port, I can't use my
mouse while charging (unless I carry around a USB hub, which just proves my
point).

The same goes for the latest MacBook.

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

------
edgarvaldes
>Google Store is not available in your country.

The site has a link to the US version.

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

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

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

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

------
X-combinator
Comparison out:
[http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2478167,00.asp](http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2478167,00.asp)

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

------
iamlolz
Has anyone heard if this is getting an Australian release?

------
frade33
Google is doing, what a $300 Billion enterprise can do., than a billion people
need. Most enterprises of their scale are focused on the later.

I meant, Glass and Chromebook are 'awesome'., but did or does it make sense,
theverge repeatedly said, it does not make sense to buy it.

I like the notion of 'web' based OS, but I guess, for time being, that's for
our tablets or phones only, a Laptop is multi-purpose machine and will remain
so for perhaps ever, I meant its ridiculous to have one laptop for 'web' and
other for 'work'., when most of them can do both at once.

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

~~~
dragonwriter
> How useful is a ChromeOS? Can you use it yet to develop either ChromeOS apps
> Chromium itself?

ChromeOS apps are just web apps. There are web-based IDEs which work in Chrome
that can be used to develop web apps. So, ChromeOS _can_ be used to develop
ChromeOS apps.

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

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

~~~
MichaelGG
Google has absolutely no idea of how to run worldwide services w.r.t
language/content. Their forcing of Chrome to _change its UI language_ based on
IP is one fantastic example of their absurdity. The idiocy of the store is
another. Leading to security holes, too! Install app while in-region. App
releases critical update. Click app to update, then find out "app does not
exist". Bizarre.

Not to mention they often (2/12 months) decide my Denver IP is in Poland or
France. Or that my Azure (West-US) machines are in Hungary.

~~~
cordite
I recall that the US allocated IPv4 to be saturated, so Azure has been using
IP addresses from Brazil and possibly others (such as Hungary?)

As for a residential (I assume) in Denver, that's just whack.

------
sunilkumarc
What does contextually lit keyboard mean exactly ?

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

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

~~~
egonschiele
Starting at $999.

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

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

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

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

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

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

------
state
I really wish this didn't look like a bad imitation of an Apple product.
Surely it's possible to build a nice looking laptop that doesn't look so
similar to a MacBook.

If you're going to do something different, just be different. I think these
things are actually kind of sweet, but I can't stand the way they look.

~~~
jonathantm
#fanboy4life

Show me a good looking laptop and I'll show you a laptop that somebody will
say looks like something Apple made first.

There are many ways this does not look like an Apple laptop. But you know
what? It doesn't fucking matter. Buy it, don't buy it. Like it, don't like it.
Whatever. Just - for the love of Ullr - please don't dirty this otherwise
wonderful website with such fucking banal commentary. Say something
meaningful, say something funny, but please don't say something that sounds
like a failed (or ironic) attempt at trolling.

~~~
dntrkv
Examples of beautiful laptops that don't look like MacBooks:

[https://brooksreview.net/imgs/sony_vaio_505.jpg](https://brooksreview.net/imgs/sony_vaio_505.jpg)

[http://www.sony.co.in/product/resources/en_IN/images/hubpage...](http://www.sony.co.in/product/resources/en_IN/images/hubpages/vaio/Hub-
Child-Feature/feature10/p13_11/ultrabook_0.jpg)

[http://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/voodoo-
env...](http://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/voodoo-envy-white_-
flat-view-02.jpg)

[http://blog.laptopmag.com/wpress/wp-
content/uploads/2012/12/...](http://blog.laptopmag.com/wpress/wp-
content/uploads/2012/12/sony-x505.jpg)

[http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/img_lib/530x430/...](http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/img_lib/530x430/x1.jpg)

Believe it or not, it is possible to design great looking products without
being called an Apple-clone. Most companies just try to stick with what works.

~~~
scholia
Oddly enough, that superthin diskless Sony X505 pre-dates the first MacBook
Air ;-)

------
eumenides1
Anybody know if you can upgrade the HD or is it some kind of soddered on
nonsense?

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

------
forrestthewoods
can you install windows on it?

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

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

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

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

~~~
nfoz
Whatever it says it is, I'll always remap it to Control :)

------
nfoz
"To place an order, you must have a Google Wallet account."

Ugh, really? Can't I just buy the product?

Will these be sold in stores, or outside of Google's ecosystem? Just curious.
Andyes, I want one specifically for the hardware, and will be replacing the
OS.

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

~~~
kkamperschroer
Linux with Crouton:
[https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton](https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton)

------
erazor42
Config look cool & cheap, about design: the hinge is ugly

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

------
callesgg
Not available in the Swedish "Google Store".

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

------
narshe
That is going to be one expensive web browser.

------
auganov
Microsoft should buy bluestacks just in case.

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

------
pjmlp
$999 for a browser on steroids?!

I get why we cannot see the link in Europe, as hardly anyone is buying them
over here, so why bother.

------
devsquid
No LTE!?

------
baconhigh
BUY link goes to a 404.

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

~~~
nfoz
This was a serious question, I'm legitimately curious. We can't pretend that
isn't part of the product offering, and it's a unique aspect of the ChromeOS
experience. I can only assume this could partially subsidize the hardware.

In the same line of thinking, I wonder how much a Macbook purchase can be
offset by the expected revenue from iTunes and other integrated services. Or
the pre-bundled spyware that comes with so many other laptops.

------
billconan
if this runs ubuntu 15 and the ssd can be easily replaced, I would consider.

$1299 is too expensive for a chrome book. what chrome book app could use 16gb
memory!

------
glaberficken
404

------
annoying_tech
Error 404

------
JohnLen
Nice chromebook.

------
kakisoop
For chromebook pixel to be successful among developers atleast, following
needs to be done

1\. Provide a good terminal like iTerm 2\. Google cloud should provide a free
standard instance always powered and run chrome in headless mode with remote
desktop enabled via chrome remote desktop app. 3\. Provide a ebs worth 100GB
at least on the cloud.

Standard instance costs 0.045 per hour i.e, 345$ per year.

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

------
joering2
Current Chromebooks have a major flaw because they tend to be "locked" by
Google.

Without any magical hacks, you won't install Skype. There is no normal file
navigation Explorer, and DropBox won't run either.

Of course Drive and Hangouts work.

Price is very good, but until Skype is accepted and better file tools
provided, this is once again a turn off.

