

Google's Goals with Chromebook Pixel - chaz
http://chaz.me/posts/chromebook-pixel-strategy/

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randomfool
My guess- Google's goal is to replace all of the MacBooks that their employees
use internally. That's 40,000 sales right there. They know that they need a
high quality machine- no one wants to be sitting in meetings with chintzy
hardware.

Furthermore, with the recent Java-based Facebook & Apple attacks it's becoming
apparent that OSX is becoming a significant hacking target. Google already
ditched Windows for security concerns
([http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d2f3f04e-6ccf-11df-91c8-00144feab4...](http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d2f3f04e-6ccf-11df-91c8-00144feab49a.html#axzz2La6ZRVoz)).

In short- this is a Google Employee computer, that they happen to be selling
to the public.

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jrajav
Perhaps a Chromebook would work great for a Javascript or Dart developer, but
what about C++, Java, or Android? Or even Go? I'm curious how well Google
dogfooding Chromebooks would work out.

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esrauch
Google developers are not allowed to ever have any code copied to laptops due
to security concerns. The laptops that they give devs are mainly for ssh,
remote desktop and browser usage already.

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bryne
This (and the top parent) are the only reasoned, insightful comments I've seen
about the Pixel all day.

If you have to be on a laptop, the screens on the new Macbook Pros are simply
a joy to use - as long as you aren't mucking with bitmaps too much, the
clarity of web and code is really unmatched, eyestrain is greatly reduced.

Within the above restrictions (laptop, must be a locked/stripped-down OS), the
Chromebook Pixel begins to make a lot more sense as an attractive laptop
option.

~~~
dunham
When I'm writing code, I need a proper keyboard and a nice, big desktop
monitor (preferably two). I still use a laptop, but it's hooked to a
keyboard/monitor for the majority of my work.

When I do have to work directly on the laptop, I find it much less comfortable
and slower. This is due to both screen real-estate and ergonomics. Your
mileage may vary.

At the moment I'm primarily doing iOS and Java development (for a GWT web
app), so I'm dealing with Eclipse, XCode, the iOS simulator, and a few browser
windows. The secondary screen tends to be where I park reference material, IM,
and sometimes logs. Eclipse likes to have a lot of pixels, but is a necessary
evil to make Java development bearable.

How does Google deal with Java IDE's? Remote desktop?

~~~
codeka
This wouldn't be the primary development device. This is what you take to
meetings and on the train. Googlers all have pretty beefy development
workstations for the "real" work.

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t0
Price = Quality

When something is $1299, you don't even need to read the specs. You just know
it will be worth it. But when something is $249, hmm better check the specs to
see why it's so horrible.

It's just basic human nature. Google isn't wrong to capitalize on this
principle the same way Apple has been doing from the start.

~~~
Wingman4l7
Except that's not true at all. Plenty of people check out the specs and build
quality of expensive items. If anything, some people are more picky, because
they're spending more and they want to make sure they're getting their money's
worth.

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suyash
Whatever Google's Goals might be, I won't buy it since you can run native
apps. I need my IDE, my server setup and want to install and remove native
apps as and when I want. That is why developers are not impressed with
Chromebooks, agree?

~~~
dragonwriter
> Whatever Google's Goals might be, I won't buy it since you can run native
> apps.

I think you mean "can't" (though that's arguably inaccurate, given Native
Client), unless you are saying that having Native Client is the reason you
don't want it, which doesn't make a lot of sense.

> I need my IDE, my server setup and want to install and remove native apps as
> and when I want.

Okay.

> That is why developers are not impressed with Chromebooks, agree?

I would say that that's why people who are attached to traditional desktop
environments aren't impressed with Chromebooks, but I don't think that has
much to do with "developers". Some developers are interested in cloud IDEs and
apps running on cloud-based servers, and I would suspect that they would be
well-served by Chromebooks.

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cageface
I really wish they'd focus all their energy on Android instead. They've come a
long way in the last few years but there are still a lot of holes to stop up
and I don't see why Android couldn't be adapted to run well on hardware like
this too.

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pasbesoin
If they really are going with those stores (I have no idea), they need
something better to show off, and to sell to those with the dollars (leaving
aside the "more dollars than sense" debate), than the current line up.

Picture a Mac store and a Google store side by side. (Not that this is going
to happen.) Where are people going to hang out, given the current line ups?

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rkuykendall-com
Just a note, but this is actually very likely to happen, at least somewhere.

They built a new Microsoft store at La Canterra mall in San Antonio directly
across from the Apple store. I think it used to be a Victoria's Secret.

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programminggeek
Google's goal with the Chromebook Pixel - to make money.

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ebiester
But is it a direct or indirect goal? If they're using ChromeOS as an indirect
way to make more money through something such as user feedback in some way...
then it might make sense.

Or, it's a long term initiative.

