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Jewce
Mar 11, 2008

Heners_UK posted:

At this point I wish I knew which Acer chromebook specifically was available for around that in Costco (actually in costco, not online). EDIT: You'll have to compromise on the bezel thing

Acer C423 is one I see like that. Also available on Amazon for $250. It seems like it could be good for her. Thanks!

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Rooted Vegetable
Jun 1, 2002

Jewce posted:

Acer C423 is one I see like that. Also available on Amazon for $250. It seems like it could be good for her. Thanks!

Great. I went for the actual physical in store Costco option as (at least here in BC) they seem to have a reasonably solid offering for a cheap Chromebook that I'd direct people to in a heartbeat over Windows "streambooks" etc. Also she could go and actually see it.

Atomizer
Jun 24, 2007



Occasionally we get requests for dirt-cheap CBs, e.g. for schoolkids or something. These Acer C720s on Woot are $75-80 for the 4 GB RAM versions. I carry one of these in my backpack to and from work just in case I have some downtime, and it's perfect for that purpose: it was cheap and it doesn't really matter if anything happens to it, while it still works just fine.

Rooted Vegetable
Jun 1, 2002

Atomizer posted:

. These Acer C720s on Woot are $75-80 for the 4 GB RAM versions.

...and they are perfect for the reasons you give, but I note they have reached the Auto Update Expiration date.

Atomizer
Jun 24, 2007



Heners_UK posted:

...and they are perfect for the reasons you give, but I note they have reached the Auto Update Expiration date.

Yup. They will still work as normal, just without any [guaranteed] future updates. My CB Pixel (2013) is in this state and it's still fine for miscellaneous use. And as I said, the price is right, although I got mine from eBay at an even lower cost.

ThermoPhysical
Dec 26, 2007




(copypasta from Tablet thread and Android Thread)

https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/06/20/report-google-gives-up-on-making-its-own-tablets/

No more tablets from Google. They've also cancelled two unreleased devices.

They will focus on laptops (and phones) in the future.

Atomizer
Jun 24, 2007



That makes sense. I've always thought ChromeOS tablets made less sense, because CBs are typically for things that require use of a keyboard (e-mail, browsing, forum shitpoasting, etc.) Conversely Android makes more sense on a tablet than in a laptop form-factor, because you're probably using a tablet more for media consumption and less for productivity.

ThermoPhysical
Dec 26, 2007




Atomizer posted:

That makes sense. I've always thought ChromeOS tablets made less sense, because CBs are typically for things that require use of a keyboard (e-mail, browsing, forum shitpoasting, etc.) Conversely Android makes more sense on a tablet than in a laptop form-factor, because you're probably using a tablet more for media consumption and less for productivity.

I agree with this. They'll probably keep making convertible laptops though like the Pixelbook as it's also been confirmed that they will still support Android on tablets and Chrome OS on tablets.

MrNemo
Aug 26, 2010

"I just love beeting off"

Quick update: had my Asus C302 in my bag for a few hours after work having turned it off. I pulled it out and it was hot, opened the lid and it booted up then had the battery warning. I plugged it in to charge and the Chromebook had power washed itself again.

Is this any kind of known problem where a turned off device will have a wake lock type issue? It's really annoying having to deal with a machine that will randomly decide to power wash itself, had now happened 4 times in the last couple of months. Googling produced people having larger than expected battery drains in sleep mode or defective batteries.

Cojawfee
May 31, 2006
I think the US is dumb for not using Celsius
Is it possible something pushes one of the buttons on the side to cause it?

Atomizer
Jun 24, 2007



MrNemo posted:

Quick update: had my Asus C302 in my bag for a few hours after work having turned it off. I pulled it out and it was hot, opened the lid and it booted up then had the battery warning. I plugged it in to charge and the Chromebook had power washed itself again.

Is this any kind of known problem where a turned off device will have a wake lock type issue? It's really annoying having to deal with a machine that will randomly decide to power wash itself, had now happened 4 times in the last couple of months. Googling produced people having larger than expected battery drains in sleep mode or defective batteries.

That's not normal at all, contact Asus support and see if you can send it in for service under warranty.

MrNemo
Aug 26, 2010

"I just love beeting off"

Cojawfee posted:

Is it possible something pushes one of the buttons on the side to cause it?

Would be possible in the bag but previously it happened while left out. I figured it might have been a wake lock thing while in sleep mode but this time it was definitely off and it was hot when I took it out.

I contacted Asus previously and they said it's no longer under warranty but having identified there's a real issue beyond a battery not holding charge I might try again.

Rooted Vegetable
Jun 1, 2002
Well there's hope of ever seeing a good retailer have consistent stock of the C434 in Canada. Costco Canada has the 64gb Storage/4gb RAM version (four! Friends don't let friends unknowingly buy 4gb ram) on their website for CAD$689.99 (-$10 off the usual retail price).

Based on this article, if and when the 8gb version of the same comes out we could expect about a CAD$90 (USD$70) price step for that, although Costco might knock a buck or two off.

Cojawfee
May 31, 2006
I think the US is dumb for not using Celsius
I'm just now finding out that the top of the screen of my C302A is lined with magnets. I bought a stylus for using with Mario Maker 2. I was holding it near my closed chromebook and then the stylus stuck to the screen.

Atomizer
Jun 24, 2007



Yeah that's pretty common for laptops nowadays. Can you recall the last time you bought a laptop with a switch to retain the lid while closed? :)

Hadlock
Nov 9, 2004

Amazon sells an Amazon branded wool laptop sleeve, they're actually quite good quality (I think my oldest one is 5 years old now) and keep them from opening up

I had a laptop that I shut it down and closed the lid and stuck it in the sleeve and then drove home for an hour. Turns out something prevented it from shutting down and it just baked the battery/itself at 150F inside the sleeve for probably 45 minutes until thermal shutdown finally kicked in

Atomizer
Jun 24, 2007



Oh on many occasions I've had Windows (10) systems not shut down due to programs that I've left running just can't be closed by the OS for some reason. It can be random stuff like CrystalDiskInfo or whatever. At least it tells you what it's trying to close, but be ready to "force shutdown" just to be sure.

Worf
Sep 12, 2017

If only Seth would love me like I love him!

I find the faux shutdown infuriating. It manages to end any task I might actually want data saved in anyway

E: well, annoying anyway

Doh004
Apr 22, 2007

Mmmmm Donuts...
My wife has been using this guy for the past year or so and it's been working great: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N5G5PG2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We're looking to get her a monitor to give her more real estate to work with. What would we say is the max resolution we should be outputting with this? Keep it at 1080? 1440p? She blogs and does basic photo editing (in web apps) so nothing super intensive.

Hadlock
Nov 9, 2004

Find the cheapest 27" IPS 1440 display with good reviews and call it a day.

If you're looking for a specific recommendation, I personally have the Dell UltraSharp U2717DA. That's the 2017 27" model, with their new-for-2017 monitor arm, and the arm is. awe. some. Makes the monitor look like it's floating above the desk. A little pricey at $500 but it should last you for the next 3-4 laptops.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01D402VQS

Generally I don't mind spending double for a really good monitor as you end up keeping them way way longer than you expected to, plus it's often times the most visible piece of furniture in that room

But there are a ton of nearly equally as good monitors with less good stands for $200 out there

Hadlock fucked around with this message at 04:10 on Jul 9, 2019

dbcooper
Mar 21, 2008
Yams Fan
Looking for any minimum Chromebook recommendations or possible sale suggestions for the following use case:
  • Development - typically Linux targets/cloud, backend mostly. SSH, VPN will be required. Inspired by [1][2]
  • Android app
  • Container/Linux support (via Crostini? Whatever is native/“SOLID”[1]). I think that means I should make sure whatever I buy is a supported device[3]?
  • Get familiar with ChromeOS in preparation of swapping my Dad’s PC for a Chrome device
  • Don't plan to use as tablet/convertible
  • Maybe cloud gaming[3][4]? Just for fun

From the OP I gather I should target a minimum:
  • 4gb RAM
  • Quad core (N31x0?) Celeron
  • 32GB storage
  • 1920x1080 (FHD) 12.5"-14” (preference)

I’m looking for a deal (ideally < $300 since this is a trial run) but gather that new(er) Chromebooks are more expensive than previous years. Also willing to buy used/refurbished.

Concerned about buying something too underpowered for my use case and possible impact of lack of updates on utility/lifespan.

Thanks for reading.

Edit: Looks like there are some ASUS C302CA-DHM4 m3 used (“like new”) in stock at Amazon Warehouse and at checkout they’re $320. That’s at the upper end of my budget but looks like a good deal. Thoughts? Is that a good price? Anyone know if sales are coming up?
——
[1] https://dev.to/petermbenjamin/a-minimal-chromebook-setup-for-development--hacking-5292
[2] https://blog.miguelgrinberg.com/post/coding-on-a-chromebook-revisited
[3] http://dev.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices
[4] https://lg.io/2015/07/05/revised-and-much-faster-run-your-own-highend-cloud-gaming-service-on-ec2.html
[5] https://medium.com/@cloudymike/using-google-cloud-platform-for-cloud-gaming-on-chrome-os-b1618cc34d8c

dbcooper fucked around with this message at 00:44 on Jul 15, 2019

Hadlock
Nov 9, 2004

dbcooper posted:

Looking for any minimum Chromebook recommendations
[*] Container/Linux support (via Crostini? Whatever is native/“SOLID”[1]). I think that means I should make sure whatever I buy is a supported device[3]?

C302 famously will never get Crostini support because there's no way to upgrade the kernel (the kernel doesn't have support for containers) which is going to make it really hard to use it as a full time dev/Crostini machine. I've spent a lot of time trying to find a good sub-$350 development Chromebook but unfortunately the C302 is not one.

If you find one please post here

My current tiny low power dev laptop is a Asus Vivobook E203MA running Ubuntu 18.04 which isn't a Chromebook but gets the job done and hardware has good Linux support

Atomizer
Jun 24, 2007



If I see any notable Prime Day deals I'll post them here, but my minimum recommendations remain the same: a decent quad-core CPU and at least 4 GB of RAM. Local storage is more variable, depending on how much space you need for Android and/or Linux apps.

This isn't within your price range, but the top-end Pixelbook is available refurbished for $800 on eBay, which is about half it's new price. :eyepop:

utonium
Dec 17, 2002
This Acer Chromebook Spin 13 with an i5 and 128GB storage for $600 is pretty good, right? I keep circling back to it while researching higher-than-FHD-screen Chromebooks to buy, so I may have to buy one for those specs at that price.

dbcooper
Mar 21, 2008
Yams Fan

Hadlock posted:

C302 famously will never get Crostini support because there's no way to upgrade the kernel (the kernel doesn't have support for containers) which is going to make it really hard to use it as a full time dev/Crostini machine. I've spent a lot of time trying to find a good sub-$350 development Chromebook but unfortunately the C302 is not one.

If you find one please post here

My current tiny low power dev laptop is a Asus Vivobook E203MA running Ubuntu 18.04 which isn't a Chromebook but gets the job done and hardware has good Linux support

Good to know. Glad I didn't jump on the C302 deal I saw previously.

Does Acer Chromebook 14 (CB3-431) meet your definition of "good" ? It meets my minimum hardware specs and is listed in the known Crostini devices[1][2]. Does the following mean it only supports Linux kernel v3.18 or it's still/currently supported and that was the first kernel version it received? Edit: Ooh, is this what you meant by unable to upgrade the kernel?



I can find at least two refurbished resellers for it on Amazon[3][4] at ~$200 (although one cites the base CPU frequency and the other the burst), but the cheapest I see on eBay is ~$100.

Edit: There seem to be quite a few used Pixelbooks for sale on eBay. Atomizer, any particular reason you linked the highest end one? Was it b/c manufacturer refurbished w/ 1 year warranty?

----
[1] https://dev.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices
[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/Crostini/wiki/getstarted/crostini-enabled-devices#wiki_known_working_devices
[3] https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B078WZLFDB/
[4] https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07LDQCCHG/

dbcooper fucked around with this message at 01:42 on Jul 16, 2019

Atomizer
Jun 24, 2007



utonium posted:

This Acer Chromebook Spin 13 with an i5 and 128GB storage for $600 is pretty good, right? I keep circling back to it while researching higher-than-FHD-screen Chromebooks to buy, so I may have to buy one for those specs at that price.

The Spin 13 is indeed a solid choice if you want a convertible; notably it uses a full (mobile) Core CPU instead of the Core M (extra-low power) so it should be quite performant.

dbcooper posted:

Good to know. Glad I didn't jump on the C302 deal I saw previously.

Does Acer Chromebook 14 (CB3-431) meet your definition of "good" ? It meets my minimum hardware specs and is listed in the known Crostini devices[1][2]. Does the following mean it only supports Linux kernel v3.18 or it's still/currently supported and that was the first kernel version it received? Edit: Ooh, is this what you meant by unable to upgrade the kernel?



I can find at least two refurbished resellers for it on Amazon[3][4] at ~$200 (although one cites the base CPU frequency and the other the burst), but the cheapest I see on eBay is ~$100.

Edit: There seem to be quite a few used Pixelbooks for sale on eBay. Atomizer, any particular reason you linked the highest end one? Was it b/c manufacturer refurbished w/ 1 year warranty?

----
[1] https://dev.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices
[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/Crostini/wiki/getstarted/crostini-enabled-devices#wiki_known_working_devices
[3] https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B078WZLFDB/
[4] https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07LDQCCHG/

The Acer 14 is on the lower end in terms of performance, but it meets my minimum recommended specs. More significantly, it's physically quite nice (like a knockoff Macbook Air) and feels more premium than it costs. I sent mine to a relative who loves it.

I specifically linked the top PB partially because of the specs, the well-rated seller, and the price; it's about half the original MSRP. You don't need to go with the top one though; a base model PB refurb'd at around $400-500 would be a similar deal (off an MSRP of $1k) and offer plenty of performance (just note the lower RAM and storage.)

As far as Prime Day CB deals go, I glanced over that category at Amazon, and although I can't find it again at the moment, I generally agree with the recommendations from Chrome Unboxed. The Asus, Acer, and Samsung convertibles are favorites and are good buys at their modest prices, but if you want something $300 or less, I'd go towards the Acer R13 or the Acer 15, otherwise just follow the recommended specs and you can find something good refurb'd/used on eBay or wherever.

ICHIBAHN
Feb 21, 2007

by Cyrano4747
Apologies if this is the wrong thread to ask in but is it possible to have the home button open more than one page, in Chrome? Thanks.

Worf
Sep 12, 2017

If only Seth would love me like I love him!

ICHIBAHN posted:

Apologies if this is the wrong thread to ask in but is it possible to have the home button open more than one page, in Chrome? Thanks.

Make a folder of bookmarks on bookmark bar, right click, enjoy

That's how I do it anyway

E: also, good thread to ask imo. There's also a chrome specific thread somewhere I think ?

ICHIBAHN
Feb 21, 2007

by Cyrano4747
Thanks! That worked a treat. Anyone know how to set up profiles and have one the dominate profile? Want links in Slack to open in one window / profile. Thanks again.

Rooted Vegetable
Jun 1, 2002
There are some tidy deals on the Acer Chromebook Spin 13 at the moment. The i5/8gb ram/128gb storage one is CAD$849 on Amazon.ca. Wondering if this will unseat my Asus C434s lust, which has been dampened by build quality and availability issues.

Worf
Sep 12, 2017

If only Seth would love me like I love him!

Didn't realize that the 434 was having build quality issues, thats a shame!

Rooted Vegetable
Jun 1, 2002

Statutory Ape posted:

Didn't realize that the 434 was having build quality issues, thats a shame!

I'll try and substantiate what makes me think that today. Mainly Reddit horror stories. Couldn't during my post due to kid disturbance

UncleGuito
May 8, 2005

www.ipadbackdrops.com daily wallpaper updates deserving of your iPad
Have a Pixelbook and Samsung Chromebook Plus for sale (cheapish) here if anyone's interested!

https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3894662

TITTIEKISSER69
Mar 19, 2005

SAVE THE BEES
PLANT MORE TREES
CLEAN THE SEAS
KISS TITTIESS




What year Pixelbook is that?

UncleGuito
May 8, 2005

www.ipadbackdrops.com daily wallpaper updates deserving of your iPad

TITTIEKISSER69 posted:

What year Pixelbook is that?

Hmm not sure- had no idea there were different releases of the Pixelbook.

TITTIEKISSER69
Mar 19, 2005

SAVE THE BEES
PLANT MORE TREES
CLEAN THE SEAS
KISS TITTIESS




Don't mind me, I think I was conflating Pixelbook with Chromebook Pixel.

dbcooper
Mar 21, 2008
Yams Fan

UncleGuito posted:

Have a Pixelbook and Samsung Chromebook Plus for sale (cheapish) here if anyone's interested!

https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3894662

Have you ever used Crostini on the Samsung Chromebook Plus[1]? It's the one with the Rockchip RK3399 (OP1), released in 2017[2], yes ?

AFAICT it supports Crostini.



----
[1] https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/chromebooks/12-14/xe513c24-k01us-xe513c24-k01us/#specs
[2] https://zipso.net/chromebook-specs-comparison-table/

UncleGuito
May 8, 2005

www.ipadbackdrops.com daily wallpaper updates deserving of your iPad

dbcooper posted:

Have you ever used Crostini on the Samsung Chromebook Plus[1]? It's the one with the Rockchip RK3399 (OP1), released in 2017[2], yes ?

AFAICT it supports Crostini.



----
[1] https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/chromebooks/12-14/xe513c24-k01us-xe513c24-k01us/#specs
[2] https://zipso.net/chromebook-specs-comparison-table/

I believe so- it has Linux support but never tried it. The thing is speedy for its price.

Moey
Oct 22, 2010

I LIKE TO MOVE IT
This thread always has solid advice, but AC has a newer article as a supplement.

https://www.androidcentral.com/best-chromebook

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iastudent
Apr 22, 2008

Planning on getting a chromebook to use as a travel companion for some article writing and video/stream viewing.

Getting close to pulling the trigger on this one, any thoughts from those that have used this one?
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-2-i...p?skuId=6301869

iastudent fucked around with this message at 02:37 on Aug 1, 2019

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