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Thread: Dell Chromebook 11?

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    Dell Chromebook 11?

    Hey folks,

    On top of my desktop I currently own a 15" Late 2011 MacBook Pro, and I never use it. Too heavy... I no longer need portable performance to that extent. I have been thinking of giving it to my parents as they're currently using a 2007 MacBook, which is getting rather long in the tooth (Core 2 Duo, DDR2). The Pro would probably last them 5+ years.

    Due to the annoyance of carrying the MBP (2.6kg + charger) at uni I normally just carry an iPad mini (can't take notes on a computer for astrophysics anyway). The thing that I *need* to be able to do on my portable device is access our campus' servers. The iPad does this fine and I can get all the PDFs. However the iPad is a terrible LaTeX editor (which I use for all my lab reports and papers etc.) and its programming capabilities are downright nonexistent.

    I was therefore thinking of getting Google to subsidise a cheap laptop for me and then put Bodhi or Chrubuntu on it. Websites would probably run better than on my iPad, I can have a full TexLive installation and I see no reason why I couldn't run C++ and Python. (of course I wouldn't be using it for hardcore computational stuff. I can just use it to fiddle with programs when I'm on the move, test them and then run them on my desktop later).

    For ~£240 (for the 4GB model) this seems like a pretty good deal, what do you guys think? (Part of the value is the fact that my parents would end up buying another mac probably this year (I can't convince them to buy a 'desktop' either, even though the laptop gets used in one place). As it currently stands the only real reason why I won't let go of my MacBook is the fact that I can't stand only having one computer in case one blows up - I haven't even turned it on for ~3 weeks!).

    TL;DR Anyone have experience with this Chromebook when running linux for web, LaTeX and writing/testing code (C++ and Python)? Or just opinions on how it'd run?

    Cheers,
    Chris

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    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
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    Re: Dell Chromebook 11?

    I'm not sure, but I think commercial chromebooks might be BIOS locked to only work with Chrome OS. For a dual-core Haswell laptop with 4GB of RAM it's not terrible, but also remember that Chromebooks are largely designed for cloud storage - the Dell CB 11 only has a 16GB SSD - I'm not convinced that'll be enough for you.

    Personally, I'd look at getting something like this 11.6" Acer: http://www.ebuyer.com/623492-acer-as...p-nx-mfrek-001 it's about the same price but with a proper HDD (you could always invest a little to swap this out for a 64GB or 128GB SSD), and I reckon it'll hold resale value better if you decide you want to sell it when you've finished uni and upgrade to something beefier There's plenty of similar machines available between £250 and £300.

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    Re: Dell Chromebook 11?

    I run an old 11.6" AMD E350 based HP laptop which is set for dual boot Linux and Windows. That amount of CPU power should be fine for what you are after, but sadly most small laptops are getting the 1GHz tablet chips rather than the 1.6GHz cpu mine has in it.

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    Re: Dell Chromebook 11?

    Thanks for the replies, luckily they CBs are not bios locked, but even if they were there's a way to install linux using the original kernel (Crouton, the CBs use a modified 12.04 Ubuntu kernel).
    For the small price difference that acer may be better than the Dell, but I found this: http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Refurbis...on.asp?PID=688

    32GB SSD CB (only 2GB of RAM) for £160. If I plonk something like arch on it then I can just run the enlightenment window manager like I do on arch on my desktop, which uses 400-500MB of RAM on the desktop. I reckon that for a light linux, 2GB should be enough. The price is right too.

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    Re: Dell Chromebook 11?

    Quote Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix View Post
    ... sadly most small laptops are getting the 1GHz tablet chips rather than the 1.6GHz cpu mine has in it.
    Yeah, if I was AMD I'd be seething at either my partners or the arm of the company that should be working with them. The whole point of Kabini was to go into small, light and cheap laptops, yet the A4-5000 can barely be found in anything smaller than 15" or cheaper than £350. I was really hoping we'd see a decent number of cheaper 12"-13" laptops with Kabini, but it looks like they're mostly being used as a way to improve the big OEMs' profit margins...

    Quote Originally Posted by Goobley View Post
    ... there's a way to install linux using the original kernel
    Fair enough - it's not something I'm that interested in, so I hadn't looked into it closely (I'm more intrigued by the possibility of putting ChromeOS on old hardware to reuse it).

    Quote Originally Posted by Goobley View Post
    I found this: <snip> 32GB SSD CB (only 2GB of RAM) for £160.
    That's a decent find - 32GB would be a lot better for your purposes, and 2GB of RAM will be more than ample for any modern lightweight linux (I've run a number of distros in 1GB and even 512MB VMs without any issue).

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    Re: Dell Chromebook 11?

    Quote Originally Posted by scaryjim View Post
    Yeah, if I was AMD I'd be seething at either my partners or the arm of the company that should be working with them. The whole point of Kabini was to go into small, light and cheap laptops, yet the A4-5000 can barely be found in anything smaller than 15" or cheaper than £350. I was really hoping we'd see a decent number of cheaper 12"-13" laptops with Kabini, but it looks like they're mostly being used as a way to improve the big OEMs' profit margins...
    Looks like they do exist: http://www.casetac.com/index.php?rou...BP&language=en

    Why are they so hard to find though?

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    Re: Dell Chromebook 11?

    Quote Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix View Post
    Why are they so hard to find though?
    At a guess, lacklustre AMD partner relations added to the lure of high margin ultrabooks taking up all the smaller panels. Plus I think there's still a bit of a hangover from netbooks, which is making companies shy away from smaller screened cheaper laptops.

    For me 12.5" - 13.3" is the ideal balance of usability and portability - I still have my 13.3" Acer despite getting a new laptop months ago because I can just chuck it in a messenger bag if I want something when I'm out and about. My last work laptop was a 12.5" Dell which had similar benefits. I can't believe I'm the only person who feels that way (although I know my wife finds even the Acer a bit heavy to lug about all day), and I'm pretty sure there would be a market for one or two 12" - 13" laptops at or below £300....

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