Chromebooks and the Cost of Complexity

http://stratechery.com/2014/chromebooks-cost-complexity/

by monkbent • 13 years ago

9 4 13 years ago

It's the return of the netbook. Microsoft and Intel killed the netbook, it took someone the size of Google to bring it back.

This excellent Register piece may need updating: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02/01/goodbye_netbooks/

Man. I was so happy when netbooks came along. I'd wanted something like a netbook ever since I got onto the Internet. I suspect my next laptop will be a Chromebook with Xubuntu installed.

ralphc• 13 years ago

I bought a netbook last year for the express purposes of being a low-powered ssh etc. server for the house. Works good for that.

blueskin_• 13 years ago

"...it does so with basically a 0% chance of my screwing something up, or not understanding what is happening."

This, to me, is exactly what is wrong with them. They are teaching people complacency, to be consumers and not have any involvement. Ironically, it's much like how TV used to be before the emergence of the internet and PVRs forced it to change - people have to accept what's handed down to them and discovering features, experimenting and DIY is discouraged if not actively worked against. A classic example is google's steady elimination of anything resembling user choice - if you want something of theirs to work a way other than their imposed default, your options shrink practically every month, as does your privacy.

People who are "scared of computers" are a rapidly dying breed, and designing a product to appeal to them seems counterintuitive compared to encouraging emerging users to experiment, hack and learn.

The best thing about chromebooks is that they can be turned into a cheap low-end linux system.

I considered buying a netbook at one time (decided against it, but after some thought); I've never seriously considered a chromebook appropriate for my own use in its intended use case, and only briefly before discarding the idea as something to root and install linux onto.

bergie• 13 years ago

You can still fulfill your hacking needs by switching it to developer mode. I use mine every day for programming, and even recently some hardware hackery with an Arduino and MicroFlo

Chromebooks and the Cost of Complexity

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