

Chromebook: Ubuntu alongside stock Chrome OS - platz
https://plus.google.com/112449749826562830126/posts/ZS9WaegrZYH

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mjs
Looks like this is crouton:

<https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton>

"Anyone who wants to run straight Linux on their Chromium OS device, and
doesn't care about physical security. You're also better off having some
knowledge of Linux tools and the command line in case things go funny, but
it's not strictly necessary."

The bit about physical security seems to refer to the fact that for some
reason you can't even password protect your machine.

~~~
drivebyacct2
I'm fairly sure it's a reference to the generally disposable and fully
encrypted nature of Chrome OS. There's no reason it wouldn't be password
protectable and the link describes that the chroot can be encrypted as well.

~~~
mjs
To run crouton you need to put your machine into developer mode though, which
could mean that all bets are off. (e.g. if you power it off, it comes back up
without requiring a password, since this is annoying/unnecessary if you're
actually developing for Chrome OS.)

~~~
trsohmers
Uh, no. I have had my Samsung ARM chromebook in developer mode since day one,
and I always need to put in my Google password to log in, even if you are not
connected to a network.

~~~
drivebyacct2
Same here, not sure what mjs is talking about.

~~~
mjs
Huh, I wonder what the crouton developer was talking about then. No encrypted
disk? (I don't have Chrome OS, I was just guessing what the crouton README
might mean.)

~~~
yungchin
Further down in the Crouton Readme: "Note that developer mode, in its default
configuration, is completely insecure, so don't expect a password in your
chroot to keep anyone from your data. crouton does support encrypting chroots,
but the encryption is only as strong as the quality of your passphrase."

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zenocon
Y, the google+ article was a little light on details (i.e. what the heck is
Crouton?). Found this link with more info:
[http://datko.net/2013/02/04/ubuntu-is-just-a-keypress-
away-w...](http://datko.net/2013/02/04/ubuntu-is-just-a-keypress-away-with-
crouton/)

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nathansobo
It boggles my mind that Google isn't making Chrome OS more developer-friendly.
If they could bring developers on board, they'd have a good beachhead for
taking over the desktop market. They should enable us to build privileged
native applications that use the DOM for their user interface but have
unfettered access to the underlying OS just like any other application would.

~~~
EvanYou
Take a look at Chrome packaged apps:
<https://developer.chrome.com/apps/about_apps.html>

It's probably not as powerful as you want but it already can do quite a lot.

~~~
chrisbuc
Yes, to clarify, you have sandboxed access to filesystem, also access to usb,
bluetooth, serial...

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3pt14159
That is f'ing awesome. The only thing holding me back from completely jumping
in is Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. Right now I'm dual booting Mac and Ubuntu
and it is a massive pain. It crashes frequently enough for me to think about
it and switching OS just to touch up some photos or cut some assets sucks.

Disclosure: I have financial interest in Apple succeeding. I also have worked
on a project for Google regarding the new Chromebook pixel.

~~~
taligent
Why don't you just run Ubuntu in VirtualBox/Parallels ?

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lucian1900
Likely because Ubuntu is his/her preferred OS, and switching to OS X is only
done when strictly necessary.

~~~
3pt14159
This is correct. I find Ubuntu to be the most usable operating system, but the
photo development software is still in its infancy.

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untog
My initial thought about the Chomebook Pixel is exactly that it would be a
good Linux machine. But with a maximum of 64GB storage, it'll never be my main
machine, sadly.

~~~
harpastum
The 13" Retina MacBook Pro [1] matches the wifi Pixel in almost every
characteristic except the touch screen, and is just $200 more expensive for
the model with 128GB storage. However, there's no LTE option.

[1] <http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs-retina/>

~~~
morsch
Cheapest 13" rMBP has:

\- faster CPU (i5 2.5 vs 1.8 GHz)

\- double the RAM (8 vs 4 GB)

\- bigger HD (as you say)

\- wider aspect ratio (Pixel has 100 extra pixels along the bottom in an
overall smaller package)

\- a bit higher (1.9 vs 1.6 cm)

\- a bit heavier (1.62 vs 1.52 kg)

\- bigger battery and runtime (74 vs 59Wh, reportedly 7 vs 5 hours)

Overall, a lot to be said for the rMBP. Good to have options.

~~~
taligent
The MacBook Pro also has:

\- Thunderbolt

\- USB 3.0

\- Bluetooth 4.0

\- Optical In/Out

\- MagSafe

\- Better Trackpad

Not to mention a company with a history of great support. There really isn't
any good reason to buy a Pixel.

~~~
drivebyacct2
Unless you can't stand OS X. Also the "Better Trackpad" is arguable. And I'll
take the Pixel's screen.

MagSafe is a big draw though, arguably as important as almost anything else.
Comparing the screen on my MBA to the screen in the new Dell Developer laptop
with IPS is a bummer though.

In all honesty, I've never even seen a USB3.0 device in the wild either. Not
an argument against the option, of course.

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pfedor
Is there anything to stop you from installing Linux or Windows on a macbook?

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drivebyacct2
Nope, Ubuntu 13.04 works perfectly out of the box on my Air. With older
versions you have to install more stuff to make sure the fans kick in, etc.

edit: Actually, hotplug Thunderbolt is touchy in Linux 3.8 because Apple's
thunderbolt implementation is back-ass-ward stupid, but that's not really a
biggie, I don't use Thunderbolt for anything really (the display out is fine)

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danellis
Is it possible to entirely replace Chrome OS, though? I have a Chrome box that
I don't use, and I'd like to entirely replace the installed OS with straight
Debian.

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EwanToo
Yes you can wipe the SSD and replace it with Ubuntu (or with some fiddling,
Debian).

It's what Chrubuntu does, you can even choose to install to an SD card leaving
the existing OS in place.

<http://chromeos-cr48.blogspot.co.uk/>

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micro_cam
I set this up on my io chrome box. It is pretty great. I hope it becomes a
fully supported feature with better security and x integration...I word love
to have my dev setup in a chroot on google drive that I could use from any
(x86) chrome device.

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rwmj
Or Fedora:

[https://www.berrange.com/posts/2012/11/30/installing-
fedora-...](https://www.berrange.com/posts/2012/11/30/installing-
fedora-17-arm-on-a-samsung-google-chromebook/)

Or countless other Linux distros.

~~~
ch0wn
This doesn't run in a chroot, but boots from an SD card, so this is quite a
different approach.

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craigerrington
I wrote this technique up in detail a few weeks ago - about how to do this on
the internal storage, another guide on doing it from SD... etc etc, all here:
<http://craigerrington.com/blog/>

~~~
Splendor
Thanks! I used your instructions last night.

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bernardom
OK, I need a portable dev machine. I thought about installing Ubuntu on my old
2008 Macbook Air (1,1), but the Ubuntu page itself says that it's a painful
install.

How good would a chromebook be for, say, developing a small rails app?

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btgeekboy
Highly depends on your workflow and the hardware you've chosen. If you're
developing locally and have the $249 Samsung Chromebook, it only comes with
2GB RAM and 16GB disk soldered onboard, so things are going to get pretty
tight.

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bryanlarsen
I really hope that "Ubuntu for Android" does well, which promises to deliver
something similar but even better integrated, except on Android rather than
ChromeOS.

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justatdotin
I've done this with the 550. I'm using the secure shell app to shell into a
chroot running sshd, monogdb and node. pixel? _shrug_ don't (won't) get it.

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sgarman
If this is good enough to replace a macbook air why does this exist?
[http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebooks.htm...](http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebooks.html#pixel)

This product seems way out of line with Google's strategy.

~~~
dman
I think its about time Apple got challenged on the high end. For the rest of
the market to survive they eventually have to pierce the myth that Apple is
the upper bound in terms of quality in every market that they operate in.

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r00fus
Chromebook Pixel doesn't really challenge Apple in this regard yet.

It's underpowered, underfeatured hardware costs equivalent to an MB Air and
almost MBP-r.

It's a shot across the bow of battleship Apple, but the low-cost Chromebooks
are far more of a threat to both MS and Apple.

~~~
dman
Apple doesnt compete on the power of their hardware - they compete on
desirability. I would say hardware wise this is at least as desirable as
anything that apple ships. This with a haswell refresh is going to be sweet.

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karanmg
Please look at <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5296238>

