I have got an Acer Chromebook R13 and I will write about it from my perspective.
1. Background (this post)
2. As a casual computer
3. As a Linux development workstation
Background
The last 20 years I have used OS X since 10.0, Windows since NT4, and many Linux distributions. These systems all have their pros and cons. Last years Chromebooks running Chrome OS (which is Linux) have appeared. They are typically cheap and built for the cloud. However there are two things that make them particularly interesting:
- Chromebooks (modern ones) can run Android Apps
- Chromebooks are much used in schools, so children of today will start looking for jobs in a few years, knowing perhaps only Chromebooks
I am too curious not to want one (perhaps mostly to be disappointed).
A few years ago I thought about getting a Chromebook, but at the time I felt it was not going to satisfy me. I bought a MacBook Air 11 instead, which is a great laptop for my purposes. However I less and less agree with what Apple does and I would rather have a native Linux laptop, than a Mac.
There are several reasons why I bought an Acer Chromebook R13 as my first Chromebook
It has got good reviews (although it is not the latest Chromebook in the market).
I like the quality aluminium build (it almost reminds me of my Titanium PowerBook G4).
It has a touchscreen and can be used as a tablet or in tent mode.
It should run Android Apps very will with its ARM CPU.
I am enthusiastic and curious about the ARM CPU for several reasons. I like an underdog and after Spectre/Meltdown I think that we need all possible alternatives to Intel. I am also curious to see if the ARM performs decently enough for my needs (and I might get disappointed).
I hope to get decent quality and some new opportunities compared to MacBook Air.
As a standard user
Most of the time I am a very ordinary computer user. I browse the internet, pay my bills, send and receive emails, watch Youtube, write something using Google Docs and I do some basic photo editing. I kind of expect the Chromebook to do this just as well as my MacBook Air.
As a programmer
I am a programmer. I mostly code JavaScript for Node.js and the web, but I also code C, C++, Lisp, Python, Bash, or whatever I feel like (mostly for fun, sometimes for work). I don’t use very advanced tools (mostly Vim, actually) and I really feel comfortable with a Linux shell. Even Mac OS X with its many package managers feels foreign. Not to talk about how I am lost in Windows.
I understand Chrome OS is Linux. It comes with a terminal. It has a Developer mode. And I can install almost anything I want using crouton (or so I have read).
My hope is that my Chromebook, for most practical purposes, will work like Linux the way I expect (more so than OS X). My hope is also that the ARM CPU will have reasonaable JavaScript performance. I may end up disappointed.
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