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Heners_UK posted:This thread taught me what MMX actually was. Yeah but combination of 2GB hard drive + dial up speeds to download MPEG2 video meant you could store 1.5 movies + windows and that was it, if you managed to download those in less than six weeks over dial up you were in pretty good shape. Of course, BitTorrent, Napster, gnutella (later limewire) wouldn't be invented for four years, and divx/mp4 (grandfather of h.264, what your Chromebook supports) came about around the same time MPEG2 was cool for doing real-time DVD playback on wheezy Pentium 166 where the DVD drive didn't have the built in decoding TL;DR watching video on computers wasn't exactly practical until about 2002/3/4 and my age is showing Hadlock fucked around with this message at 20:15 on Dec 3, 2019 |
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Dec 3, 2019 20:12
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Do you still have to use a program like PowerDVD to watch DVDs on a computer?
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Dec 3, 2019 21:12
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Cojawfee posted:Do you still have to use a program like PowerDVD to watch DVDs on a computer? VLC will do it just fine
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Dec 3, 2019 23:23
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Rhyno posted:The really nice ASUS C425 is down to $380 and has been as low as $320 this week. I bought one but it wouldn't retain a charge so I returned it and am pondering if I want to buy another. It's down to $330 right now, and even though I just spent about that much on an HP x360 I'm curious as to how the two compare.
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Dec 3, 2019 23:23
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Hadlock posted:Yeah but combination of 2GB hard drive + dial up speeds to download MPEG2 video meant you could store 1.5 movies + windows and that was it, if you managed to download those in less than six weeks over dial up you were in pretty good shape. God drat I remember teenage me being flabbergasted at how much of a pain in the dick watching a DVD was Bitch just let me see the matrix again for the 30th time it's my only dvd
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Dec 3, 2019 23:30
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Brydge out of stock in the google store.  I think I may jump at this deal with the slate keyboard anyway.
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Dec 4, 2019 00:57
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fondue posted:Brydge out of stock in the google store. Buy it with the Slate keyboard, by the Brydge elsewhere, flip the Slate keyboard. You'll probably break even at least.
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Dec 4, 2019 03:10
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Just got the chromebook. I'm writing this post on it. You guys are right the display situation is pretty rough. Also it is pretty slow but streaming video is working great. I also really like the keyboard and trackpad. I'm glad that the keyboard is pretty much full sized and has a decent feel to it. I type really fast (140wpm) so I'm usually pretty picky about laptop keyboards (and keyboards in general) and for a small laptop like this it's very much acceptable, esepcially considering I'm bought this thing primarily to shitpost from my couch/bed. For a little bit over $100 it's totally worth it but I would never pay the MSRP suggested $250 for this thing. I would honestly feel ripped off. For about $120 you really can't go wrong. I'll make a followup post about the battery life. The system is estimating about 9 hours after a top up.
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Dec 4, 2019 03:55
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TITTIEKISSER69 posted:It's down to $330 right now, and even though I just spent about that much on an HP x360 I'm curious as to how the two compare. On that I am no help. I will probably grab another one after the holidays.
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Dec 4, 2019 04:47
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Wish I could find one in a store to try out. It's almost a full pound lighter than this HP, and I'm guessing the m3 will keep things quieter than the i3.
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Dec 4, 2019 06:31
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Cojawfee posted:Do you still have to use a program like PowerDVD to watch DVDs on a computer? Yeah once the "encryption" was broken any open source app could decode it Also the patents on MPEG2 expired so commercial software doesn't have to pay a licensing fee to those German fucks anymore to decode it Open source used to be a lot more crufty and you would go to CompUSA or best buy and get a commercial cardboard box with a CD in it, and that price included the MPEG2 decode license fee etc etc
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Dec 4, 2019 10:10
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Got the Pixel Slate combo on Black Friday but unfortunately too big for me, so selling at a discount here if anyone's interested: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3905621
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Dec 5, 2019 00:50
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My Dad's Toshiba Chromebook 2 (I know there were two generations but don't remember the years, this one is the 1080p variant of the original generation) battery seems to have died, it basically won't work unless connected to AC. It's battered as hell and time for a replacement. I got a Pixel 4 XL which, in the UK, came with a free Chromebook but it seems to be some hot garbage thing. It's specifically listed as the "HP 14-DB0003NA 14" AMD A4 Chromebook". The touchpad is squidgy as hell and the screen is If he decides he doesn't like it, what's a good Chromebook I can buy in the UK that's around the same screen size, has a decent 1080p panel like the Toshiba (touchscreen not needed), has Android app support, and isn't stupidly flimsy? Budget would ideally be around the same as the Toshiba was (~£250ish I think) but I think that'll be a tough find so not a hard limit. Specs don't need to be high, he mostly only uses it for basic web browsing and video streaming, though would like to play some relatively basic Android games like Zen pinball as well. Tunga fucked around with this message at 00:04 on Dec 9, 2019 |
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Dec 6, 2019 14:04
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asecondduck posted:Buy it with the Slate keyboard, by the Brydge elsewhere, flip the Slate keyboard. Is the Brydge that much better? Why is it less expensive?
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Dec 6, 2019 14:11
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Tunga posted:(touchscreen not needed) I completely get why you say this. I don't think a touchscreen is truly needed, but I do find that, if I have it, I use it, especially one Chrome OS. The first point withstanding, you might find it desirable, especially if Android apps are in use, which generally assume direct input.
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Dec 6, 2019 15:55
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fondue posted:Is the Brydge that much better? Why is it less expensive? The Brydge essentially turns the Slate into a Pixelbook. It uses Bluetooth, but it connects almost immediately and from what I can tell is actually smart enough to send the last keypress before it connects. You do have to keep it charged, but it comes with a C-C cable that you can plug directly into the Slate to charge it. As for why it's less expensive, I couldn't really tell you, but it's half off on their website right now probably because the Pixel Slate failed.
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Dec 6, 2019 16:32
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So what does everyone do with their pen? Does someone sell a holder?
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Dec 7, 2019 19:49
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I lost mine
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Dec 7, 2019 22:32
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Heners_UK posted:I completely get why you say this. I don't think a touchscreen is truly needed, but I do find that, if I have it, I use it, especially one Chrome OS. The first point withstanding, you might find it desirable, especially if Android apps are in use, which generally assume direct input.
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Dec 9, 2019 00:02
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asecondduck posted:The Brydge essentially turns the Slate into a Pixelbook. It uses Bluetooth, but it connects almost immediately and from what I can tell is actually smart enough to send the last keypress before it connects. You do have to keep it charged, but it comes with a C-C cable that you can plug directly into the Slate to charge it. Isn’t the base model Slate much slower than the base Pixelbook?
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Dec 10, 2019 06:10
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I found myself a couple dozen bad boys sold as scrap for pretty cheap. I did some schooling for electronics engineering so I've got all the equipment and technical knowledge for fixing those I can and parting the others. But does anyone have any recomendations for compatible off brand 11.6" and 10.1" touchscreen displays? I talked with my usual vendor and the cheapest he could source was ~45/unit.
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Dec 10, 2019 08:30
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I was using CloudReady last week and like it a lot. I'll do a full write up on it later, but suffice it to say for now, if you have a spare laptop or desktop (especially one with a touchscreen), it's a great option for keeping it useful. However, I had a question that may apply more broadly, has anyone either installed Steam or otherwise used Steam Link using the Linux apps functions (not the Android app) on a Chromebook? Ideally on CloudReady but anywhere is useful. I was able to install it last week and run Steam Home Streaming to my gaming vm, but performance on the clientside was unusuable (1-5fps at a guess, with lots of tearing). Guess is that the Chrome Linux VM cannot access any hardware acceleration. By contrast, Xubuntu + Steam on the same machine has been excellent (just a little tearing, XFCE issue). Furthermore, Steam Link on my (Android) phone has been flawless to. Rooted Vegetable fucked around with this message at 18:27 on Dec 11, 2019 |
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Dec 11, 2019 18:18
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$449 Pixel Slate with free pen and Brydge keyboard back on at the Google Store, fyi
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Dec 16, 2019 06:32
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Is there a better low cost flip chrome book like this one? Or a newer version? The one I am referencing below is the Asus c101 flip. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075KFFMZS/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_i_djM.DbAS55RTC I have this one and its great but was gonna get one for a relative and haven't kept up with upgrades. Or is there a different alternative that's better now?
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Dec 21, 2019 19:22
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https://www.cnet.com/news/lenovo-doubles-up-on-2-in-1-chromebooks-at-ces-2020/ That flex 5 might be interesting The Samsung Galaxy one is .4 inch lol
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Jan 7, 2020 02:42
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I don't know how many of these they have in stock, but for ~$265 this HP X2 detachable CB has great specs!
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Jan 15, 2020 07:15
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Bummer I don't need one tbh. Solid find. 12 is a good size too imo
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Jan 15, 2020 11:11
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Statutory Ape posted:Bummer I don't need one tbh. Solid find. That's what she said.... 
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Jan 16, 2020 07:36
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Ok, here's a legitimate, good, cheap-as-possible CB: Dell 13 (7310) for $100. It's got a Broadwell Celeron (dual-core, but based on the 5th-gen Core microarch so it's like a low-end i3 without HT,) 4 GB RAM, 13" FHD display, and is supported through 6/2021. As always, the Woot listing is good for 24 hours.
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Jan 17, 2020 07:16
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Atomizer posted:Ok, here's a legitimate, good, cheap-as-possible CB: Dell 13 (7310) for $100. Well, that's gone. Would have driven to the states to get it too.
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Jan 17, 2020 15:53
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Apparently, Intel is partnering with Google to bring their Project Athena to Chromebooks as well. https://chromeunboxed.com/google-intel-project-athena-chromebooks-samsung-asus/ The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook and ASUS Chromebook Flip C436 are the first two Project Athena chromebooks. Project Athena imposes minimum hardware standards for devices. Here are the minimum standards for devices quote:quickly waking from sleep in less than a second Some of it seems a little overkill for chromebooks, but it's also an easy way to know if the device you are looking at has one of these specs. This seems to dovetail nicely with this: https://9to5google.com/2020/01/17/report-google-steam-chromebook-official-support/ Since running steam games will of course require some baseline hardware requirements.
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Jan 17, 2020 16:49
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Heners_UK posted:Well, that's gone. Would have driven to the states to get it too. Yup, looks like it sold out within 3 hours, and I managed to grab one when I realized it's the 2015 professional/business model, which is very nice and built like a tank. Excellent keyboard, touchpad, display, battery life; I don't think the display is the touchscreen and I'm not sure if the keyboard is backlit, but even if not it's a good deal, as evidenced by 70% of purchasers buying at least 3 of them!  It's pretty much the perfect "throw it in your bag and haul it with you just in case" cheap CB.Also, for anyone who hasn't purchased anything like this with variable specs (particularly laptops) from Woot, it's entirely possible for there to be some higher-spec'd variants (like with the touchscreen, better CPU, etc.,) mixed in and sent instead to some lucky buyers, as I've received these before (e.g. a Razer Blade Stealth, the HP 13 CB I regularly use, etc.) and they're not going to list 12 different variants of which they only have a handful when they mainly are selling a bunch of the base variant. bull3964 posted:Apparently, Intel is partnering with Google to bring their Project Athena to Chromebooks as well. I agree that some of the specs are overkill, like an i7, a large amount of NVMe storage, TB3, as the main draw of CBs is good performance on modest hardware at affordable prices. The only real need for the higher-end specs would be to add greater offline software support (e.g. for gaming, although a dGPU is then going to be a requirement and additional cost, or multimedia transcoding, etc.)
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Jan 18, 2020 01:11
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Ice lake is surprisingly competent for indy games.
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Jan 18, 2020 02:07
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bull3964 posted:Ice lake is surprisingly competent for indy games. Yeah unless you're playing shooty mcgunface 2022 @ 144hz @4k in ultra mode, integrated graphics got good around 2013 and they've gotten pretty great since then
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Jan 18, 2020 04:33
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Atomizer posted:Yup, looks like it sold out within 3 hours, and I managed to grab one when I realized it's the 2015 professional/business model, which is very nice and built like a tank. Excellent keyboard, touchpad, display, battery life; I don't think the display is the touchscreen and I'm not sure if the keyboard is backlit, but even if not it's a good deal, as evidenced by 70% of purchasers buying at least 3 of them! Yeah, I'm sad I missed that woot deal, just like I'm sad I missed a ~$200-250 deal on the same chromebooks when dell stopped making them a couple of years ago. IIRC that model (or maybe just the higher end i3/i5 version?) had removable storage
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Jan 18, 2020 04:53
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bull3964 posted:Ice lake is surprisingly competent for indy games. Eh, "can play indie games" isn't exactly a ringing endorsement considering basically any Intel iGPU can do that. That means these likely higher-end CBs would be able to play some Linux-compatible games almost as well as a cheaper entry-level Windows laptop can. I mean it's better than nothing, but it's not "good." Hadlock posted:Yeah unless you're playing shooty mcgunface 2022 @ 144hz @4k in ultra mode, integrated graphics got good around 2013 and they've gotten pretty great since then Intel iGPUs are definitely better than they were in the GMA900 days, but I'd call them "passable" rather than "pretty great." Clark Nova posted:Yeah, I'm sad I missed that woot deal, just like I'm sad I missed a ~$200-250 deal on the same chromebooks when dell stopped making them a couple of years ago. IIRC that model (or maybe just the higher end i3/i5 version?) had removable storage Oh I believe you're right; the Dell 13 takes a m.2 2242 SATA SSD! I actually have a 128 GB one from the GPD WIN 2, although it's DRAMless, and I don't know if I'd bother doing an "upgrade" since I don't really use CBs' internal storage, but it's nice to know it's an option. I might be inclined to pop it open and take a look inside anyways, though. It already shipped earlier today, which seems like pretty quick turnaround time for Woot!
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Jan 18, 2020 05:19
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Atomizer posted:Eh, "can play indie games" isn't exactly a ringing endorsement considering basically any Intel iGPU can do that. How about this. My Ice Lake XPS 13 2:1 can play Doom 2016 at 720p on ultra at about 45fps.
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Jan 18, 2020 05:29
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That's great in my book. Great is very subjective depending on the user and various factors. I bet it plays fortnite like tits, which is all my coworker's three little brothers care about on their hand-me-down laptop.  If you already own a $2200 gaming laptop with rainbow led keyboard you might actually piss on an XPS out of spite. While wearing VR goggles 
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Jan 18, 2020 06:31
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bull3964 posted:How about this. My Ice Lake XPS 13 2:1 can play Doom 2016 at 720p on ultra at about 45fps. Yeah, but can it play Crysis? Also, Doom 2016 isn't exactly a tough game to run well, although if I were in your position I wouldn't be running it on Ultra settings; I'd rather lower the details and get 60+ FPS. As it stands, if I want to play a low-fidelity version of that game I'd do it on the $200 Switch (Lite). How much did your XPS 13 cost?
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Jan 18, 2020 08:00
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Atomizer posted:Yeah, but can it play Crysis? I wasn't really going for the best gaming for the buck here nor eeking the best performance out of it, only representing that Ice Lake graphics represent a pretty big jump over the last generation of integrated Intel and makes the prospect of Steam on a Chromebook a lot more useful. I didn't buy the XPS13 to game on, but I did want to see what it could do. On top of that, we're going to start seeing a lot more AMD APUs in Chromebooks with similar capability. My main point is that we don't have to wait for dGPU Chromebooks to have a huge library of PC games playable on the hardware.
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Jan 18, 2020 15:53
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