Two years ago, a journalist from InfoWorld switched from a MacBook Pro to a Chromebook. For Simon Phipps, swapping Apple’s walled garden for Google’s fenced yard was the right move.
In the linked article below, he discusses how Chromebooks have simplified his work and home computing requirements, and saved him and his family a considerable amount of money while doing so.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/2858879/open-source-software/macbook-to-chromebook-no-regrets.html
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Macbook to Chromebook - No Regrets
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(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 20 2014, @02:31AM
Frost Pist!
Lest we forget.
(Score: 2) by buswolley on Saturday December 20 2014, @02:40AM
Sure, you can go to Chromebook or whatever for your light home entertainment purposes... but when I use a computer it has at least 48 logical cores and 128 Gigs of RAM, and that runs Linux/Debian/whatever flavor. And when I'm done with my real work after a long tired day, I'd rather turn off my screens and read a novel or hug on my wife.
subicular junctures
(Score: 2) by dlb on Saturday December 20 2014, @03:37AM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 20 2014, @03:41AM
That's less powerful than even a timy render cluster.
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Saturday December 20 2014, @08:53AM
sudo mod me up
(Score: 2) by dlb on Saturday December 20 2014, @01:03PM
It actually worked well for learning. I really double and triple checked my code before committing to a compile, and then I sat back and studied, using the time between compiles to learn what I wanted to try next. (Unlike today where the faster compiles tempt me to be lazy and learn by trial and error--which can be fun, and even productive, but not always efficient.)
With that said, I'm not about to trade in my current i7 with 16 Gigs RAM for reliving the good ol' days of computers measured in megs rather than gigs.
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Saturday December 20 2014, @09:40PM
sudo mod me up
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 20 2014, @04:34PM
I do 3d image processing analyses with image matrices reaching upward of 700x700x400=196 million voxels(pixels). Taking that kind of image and performing non linear deformations and calculating similarity and cost metrics can quickly bring a beast to its knees.
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Saturday December 20 2014, @03:50AM
And wtf "walled garden" is there for MacOSX? You can run whatever app from whereever you feel like downloading it from.
Or is clicking "ok" in the dialog asking you to accept executing the app the first time after you download/install it too high a fence for you to clear?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 20 2014, @03:54AM
Apparently it was for the dunce who wrote the article. From one of his comments:
* iOS is a walled garden, and the changes to OS X trust defaults can easily make it appear the same to new users, as my experiences moderating certain user mailing lists reflect. I continue to predict it will head further in that direction.
Basically the same FUD people have been trying to claim for over 4 years or so now.
(Score: 1) by RedGreen on Saturday December 20 2014, @06:31AM
Left out the install apps from anywhere option being enabled that Apple so helpfully disables all the time on updates to lock you into the app store method of installing.
"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Saturday December 20 2014, @09:18AM
Really? I turned it off pretty much right after Apple put the radio buttons in the Security pref, just use the full-patches [don't use the delta's anymore because more than once they've been botched], and the 10.10 update on a 10.9.4?5? system, and the config has never changed to the Mac App Store.
Excellent FUD.
(Score: 1) by RedGreen on Saturday December 20 2014, @09:36AM
BS unless Apple somehow only does it with my machine on the point upgrades your full of it.
"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
(Score: 1) by RedGreen on Saturday December 20 2014, @09:40AM
And I would add on all three of my machines this happens.
"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Saturday December 20 2014, @09:52AM
Well, it doesn't happen for me. It's been so long since I changed that setting, I had to look for where it was.
(Score: 1) by Lunix Nutcase on Saturday December 20 2014, @01:42PM
It's not BS. The setting does not change. And This is across around a dozen Macs.
(Score: 1) by RedGreen on Saturday December 20 2014, @07:47PM
Well I guess Apple is just messing with me specifically then, I guess I should feel special for this exception they make for my machines.
"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
(Score: 2) by Geotti on Sunday December 21 2014, @12:19AM
Maybe you should try a combo-update next time.
(Score: 1) by RedGreen on Sunday December 21 2014, @01:09AM
Since I am running 10.9.5 ATM I doubt I will get the chance Apple has abandoned that OS.
"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
(Score: 2) by Geotti on Monday December 22 2014, @01:47AM
I'm still on 10.7 and 10.6. You don't really need Apple's updates, when you replace the userland tools with the originals through e.g. homebrew, fink, macports, etc.
(Score: 1) by Lunix Nutcase on Saturday December 20 2014, @01:39PM
Bull. The setting has never changed from every upgrade since introduction to 10.10.1.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Sunday December 21 2014, @09:49AM
Apps are for devices. Computers run programs, or at worst applications.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Hairyfeet on Saturday December 20 2014, @06:54AM
He went from a walled garden controlled by Apple...to a walled garden controlled by Google. Other than price what did he gain? the Chromebook is a glorified thinclient with every single thing you do being sent to the NSA...er I mean Google, hell if anything I'd argue the Macbook is MORE open as not only is it trivial to run other browsers and email clients but its also trivial to dual boot with another OS since its just a bog standard X86 laptop!
But I have to give 'em credit, because if ANY other company said "We are gonna take an X86 laptop, lock it down so that you can only run OUR OS or a handful that come up with a hacked bootloader, make our OS so you can't run shit that doesn't go through us (oh and we WILL data mine the fuck out of you!) and tie everything together so we can build a hell of an accurate profile on you and the ONLY advantage you will get is it'll be SLIGHTLY cheaper than those laptops on special at Best Buy" it would be treated as plague blankets and would quickly join the cuecat and WinME in the "WTF were they thinking?" bin!
I will give Google credit, only they could make bending over for a righteous data collection something people would actually PAY MONEY to have done! Bravo Google, bravo.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 1) by Lunix Nutcase on Saturday December 20 2014, @02:50PM
OS X is not a walled garden.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 20 2014, @09:44PM
A device that ships with ChromeOS preinstalled isn't in a walled garden either.
Since the first week there were Chromebooks, folks have been putting GNU/Linux on those things. [google.com]
...or maybe Hairyfeet is saying there are still fools who would want to install The Reboot-Reboot-Reboot Malware Magnet(tm).
It would be interesting to see a list of what tasks can't be done on these things.
-- gewg_
(Score: 1) by Pino P on Sunday December 21 2014, @01:32AM
Say I buy a Chromebook and install some Xfce distro, and then the screen hinge or the power connector breaks. Does having installed GNU/Linux void the hardware warranty?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 21 2014, @02:07AM
We've been over this before.
No, it doesn't.
If a vendor gives you grief over the software you have installed, you tell everyone to avoid that vendor. [soylentnews.org]
You make sure that you cost them much more than they "saved" by screwing you.
What you DON'T do is just accept it.
You take them to small claims court and beat their brains[1] in.
[1] I use the term loosely.
-- gewg_
(Score: 1) by tftp on Saturday December 20 2014, @02:46AM
A one time expense on hardware does not even compare with everyday expenses of labor if you do not have the best software for whatever you are doing. I must admit that I know nearly nothing about Chromebooks, but this article failed to educate me. From what I know, they are a plug into the Google's mothership.
(Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Saturday December 20 2014, @03:43AM
True, and the cost of administration is very large as well. For now you need to decide which of those you want, a thick client for powerful software, or Chrome OS for simple administration. I don't think Chrome will ever have *equal* software to 'real' computers, but it may get enough to be a good option for *most* people. It's already pretty close.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 20 2014, @02:58AM
How exactly is OS X a "walled garden"? I can install whatever I want on my MacBook Pro.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by NoMaster on Saturday December 20 2014, @03:27AM
"Apple's walled garden" is simply one of those stock phrases that gets used instead of real journalism or analysis.
Kinda like "[We] can reveal" or "controversial muslim cleric" or whatever...
Live free or fuck off and take your naïve Libertarian fantasies with you...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 20 2014, @03:31AM
Obama is a Kenyan Muslim!!!
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday December 20 2014, @04:10AM
"Apple's walled garden" is simply one of those stock phrases that gets used instead of real journalism or analysis.
We are not journalists here.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 20 2014, @04:15AM
He was clearly referring to the article writer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 20 2014, @09:16AM
TFA didn't have those words. Only the summary,
(Score: 1) by Lunix Nutcase on Saturday December 20 2014, @01:41PM
Yes it did. Here is the second paragraph:
Not only am I still using my Chromebook, now my business and family do too. Swapping out of Apple’s walled garden for Google’s fenced yard was the right move. I still long for a fully open source solution — an open field in the commons — but I don't want to make a full-time hobby of keeping my laptop working.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Subsentient on Saturday December 20 2014, @04:26AM
This is SoylentNews. People here have brainstems. A browser is not an operating system. Save the cloud BS for the cupholder crowd.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
(Score: 2, Insightful) by goody on Saturday December 20 2014, @05:42AM
My work and home computing requirements would be simplified too if I used a modern day Wyse terminal.
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Saturday December 20 2014, @05:52AM
If a walled garden gives me a compiler then I'd gladly take that over a fenced in feeding trough.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Appalbarry on Saturday December 20 2014, @07:19AM
I still long for a fully open source solution — an open field in the commons — but I don't want to make a full-time hobby of keeping my laptop working.
Meaning "I never actually bothered to try."
(Score: 2) by meisterister on Saturday December 20 2014, @08:31AM
Is this the first one on the site so far?
(May or may not have been) Posted from my K6-2, Athlon XP, or Pentium I/II/III.
(Score: 2) by NoMaster on Saturday December 20 2014, @08:52AM
If it is, it's a hell of an ad for Chromebooks - "To start with, the hardware has failed once or twice", and "an update ... caused a permanent failure mode that looked like a hardware problem ... that had me using a backup device for several days before Google was able to ... fix it".
Got me sold! Certainly sounds better than my Macbook which ... um, needed a replacement battery after 7 years.
Live free or fuck off and take your naïve Libertarian fantasies with you...
(Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Saturday December 20 2014, @12:37PM
I think my hackintosh laptop gave me less problems than that...
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 2) by meisterister on Saturday December 20 2014, @08:27PM
Fair point if you read TFA, but from the summary alone it sounds uncannily glowing.
(May or may not have been) Posted from my K6-2, Athlon XP, or Pentium I/II/III.
(Score: 2) by NoMaster on Monday December 22 2014, @09:36PM
Ah, I see my mistake ;)
OTOH, this [soylentnews.org] is a pretty good candidate for the first "Soyle-vertizement" - but it's Linux-related and that makes it ok...
Live free or fuck off and take your naïve Libertarian fantasies with you...
(Score: 4, Informative) by theluggage on Saturday December 20 2014, @12:16PM
For the benefit of non-Mac users: people seem to confuse OS X and iOS.
Macs run OS X. Which is Unix (Apple have paid their tithe to Open Group so it really *is* Unix, for what that's worth). It lets you choose whether to allow apps from Apple store only, registered developers or anywhere. It comes with Perl, Python, PHP, Ruby (if not more). The SDK and Objective C/Swift compilers are free. There's a termimal that gives you a proper bash command line. There's a choice of at least 3 package managers that give you access to zillions of Linux/Unix open source projects (it principle you could just build from a tarball). Oh, and it comes with a free utility to set up dual-boot with Windows, plus there are at least 3 virtualization products (one free) that let you run guest operating systems (including ChromeOS if you must) Calling that a "walled garden" is nonsense.
The lock-in with OS X is that you have to buy a Mac to (legally) use it.
N.B. I think the SMB issue mentioned in TFA is that Apple dropped support for obsolete, insecure authentication methods. Apart from that, they recently switched to SMB instead of their old proprietary file sharing protocol.
iPads/iPhones, on the other hand, run iOS - which is an aggressively-walled garden and you can only install native apps from the Apple store (although you can run web apps).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 20 2014, @03:05PM
Yes, I use SMB all the time on my MacBook. I also compile my own programs and use programs that I download from various sources on the internet, so the idea of a mandatory "walled garden" is pure FUD. Besides, the anti-installation measures only work in Finder; you can install anything via the command line. I do appreciate the ability to prevent installation of software from sources outside Apple's app garden: I don't trust my 70-year-old mother not to install something malicious, so I have her computer set at a strict security level. Apple managed to get the garden model right, in that you can wall yourself in if you want to prevent casual errors, or wander freely through the world if you choose. Choice is important.
That said, what happens if I want to use Firefox on a Chromebook?
(Score: 2) by Geotti on Sunday December 21 2014, @12:27AM
AFAIK only 10.5 Server (and only on Intel) is unix. Anything else would have had to be recertified.
Strike that, according to The Open Group [opengroup.org] 10.10 is an official UNIX 03 too. But 10.10.1 is not. ;)
(Score: 3, Insightful) by theluggage on Sunday December 21 2014, @04:27PM
AFAIK only 10.5 Server (and only on Intel) is unix. Anything else would have had to be recertified.
I distinctly remember reading "OS X Is Unix(tm)" on the packaging for 10.4 Tiger (PPC, Desktop).
Strike that, according to The Open Group 10.10 is an official UNIX 03 too. But 10.10.1 is not. ;)
[Citation needed] that every maintenance release needs to be re-certified.
Point is, OS X is Unix-compliant.
(Score: 2) by Geotti on Monday December 22 2014, @01:59AM
I distinctly remember reading "OS X Is Unix(tm)" on the packaging for 10.4 Tiger (PPC, Desktop).
Picture, or it didn't happen ;)
Leopard is an Open Brand UNIX 03 registered product on the Intel platform. It was also the first BSD-based OS to receive UNIX 03 certification.[1][27]
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_OS_X#Version_10.5:_.22Leopard.22)
See also here: https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/releasenotes/Darwin/RN-Unix03Conformance/ [apple.com] (they only talk about 10.5)
And from 4.2 of the Open Group UNIX03 Certification Guide:
If you make any changes to your Certified Product, you may be required to re-test or re-certify. Please consult the Certification Authority for guidance. In some cases, a complete "full certification" may be required if the update is considered to be equivalent to a new product in certification terms.
(http://www.opengroup.org/openbrand/docs/UNIX03_Certification_Guide.html#Renewals)
So yeah, they *might* have to recertify, so I'm probably wrong about 10.10.1, and [citation still needed], though I was tempted to snarkily reply with a link to an economics handbook of some sorts ;)