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Comment by Pxtl | Hacker News Reader

Yup. Probably the only other OS you could use to pull this kind of platform off would be Win8RT, but nobody wants to sell win8RT devices because they're scared of users freaking out when they find out their new Windows notebook doesn't actually run real Windows.

Chrome and Win8RT are the only OSes that are good for an ARM-based notebook form-factor, and the ARM chip is necessary to make this device not suck at this end of the cost spectrum.

That and frankly, I think we're all sick of supporting Grandma's windows machine, so getting computer-illiterate people onto a "web-only" device is great.

I won't buy one, I don't need one, but I can see the niches it fills.

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>so getting computer-illiterate people onto a "web-only" device is great.

I recently replaced my wife's aging MacBook Air with the Samsung/ARM Chromebook - she much prefers it. It doesn't overheat, nor require frequent restarts. But she has a Masters in CS, and works from the command line, so let's add to, "computer-illiterate people" , "..and people who dont want to spend time nursing their computer".

I haven't used my Air since getting a Pixel. When I need to build something, I fire up Sublime in VT3.

What's VT3?

Virtual Terminal 3. If you press Ctrl-Alt-F2 (forward arrow), you'll get to VT2. You can install crouton and run xinit, which will start a window manager in VT3 (Ctrl-Alt-F3/Reload).

I've got my setup scripted here:

https://github.com/appsforartists/pixel_webdev

I think he means this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_console

I would also like to know what vt3 is

Don't have one yet, but are there any window managers with high-resolution support out yet? I may just get a Pixel if there are.

I know Unity hasn't, and Gnome 3 (my favorite) has pixel-doubling support on the way, but if there are any others or if you've been able to optimize an X WM to be readable and polished.

I've been using Openbox with no complaints. My setup is documented here:

https://github.com/appsforartists/pixel_webdev

All I use it for is Sublime Text, so things more-or-less look great for me. The problem with Linux is that there are multiple ways of doing any one thing. So, just because Openbox and Sublime can handle high DPI doesn't mean your run-of-the-mill KDE/GTK app will.

Another option is https://www.nitrous.io/app

Fully-featured web IDE; supports Ruby, Python, Go, and more. You provision a box to do your development on.

I've just started tinkering with nitrous.io - I have to say it's very impressive and it makes the chromebook an actual usable device for development out of the box without any tinkering

Good to hear. I haven't actually used it much yet but it's made me consider getting a Chromebook.

Why wouldn't you wife replace her own computer?

Good question! I'm sufficiently interested in technology for its own sake that I keep abreast of developments in the PC industry, so I already knew about Chromebooks, and that they would be a good fit for her. My wife does not keep abreast of developments in the PC industry (she wont mind me saying that :), so as far as she was concerned, there was no such thing as a $250 PC that would easily usurp her MBA, so she didnt even consider it.

and a 5 minute browse on Amazon didn't occur to her?

Your wife is right, there is no such thing as a sub $250 pc that would usurp her MBP

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