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asecondduck
Feb 18, 2011

by Nyc_Tattoo

Walh Hara posted:

So while looking for an IRC client with XDCC support that runs on chrome os or android I found some articles about this crostini project which seems really cool. Basically it's an ongoing project at google that will allow chrome os users to run native linux apps in a container.

https://chromeunboxed.com/news/run-linux-apps-pixelbook-container-crostini-video/

Yeah, I've been following this with great interest over at r/ChromeOS. I mean, it was easy enough to get Crouton installed and set up for Steam (heck, I even managed to get WINE installed and the Windows-only StudioOne DAW 99% working in it, which is kinda nuts) but being able to run Linux apps natively in ChromeOS would be awesome.

Hopfully Linux apps don't end up being a Pixelbook-exclusive feature.

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fanny packrat
Mar 24, 2018

Thermopyle posted:

It sounds like Drive is also a pain to use in a manner its not intended.

Have you tried getting help to fix your problems with GPM?

This is sounding suspiciously similar to an XY problem.

Agreed on all fronts. I didn't think there would be any harm in asking if anyone had a suggestion.

Atomizer posted:

If you have a networked printer, and another PC on the network set up for it, you can use GCP to take care of this easily (instructions in the OP;) this is exactly how I'm set up in my home.

You can possibly use the Plex Android app to play your music. It's intended for remote video streaming, but can play music, and can now access local files. I've never used it for this purpose but it's free and you can give it a shot. Of course, if you have the PC from the previous paragraph, you could just run PMS on that and have it stream your music (which is also the second function my GCP server PC provides) unless this is an issue of offline access.

The issue is that I want to print to a network at my university, and although I haven't asked, I'm pretty sure they won't be thrilled with me running my RPi as a print server on their network. Last year I got a Mint laptop printing, so I'm pretty sure it's possible. I'll bother the IT people soon because I don't have the time to devote to figuring this out right now. In any event, I'm not complaining about not being able to print. This machine rocks rear end regardless.

Also, Poweramp doesn't seem to be an app that works well with my machine. Not a knock on Chromebooks in general, just adding information to the community.

bull3964
Nov 18, 2000

DO YOU HEAR THAT? THAT'S THE SOUND OF ME PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK.


ChromeOS Linux support is going live in the Dev channel for Pixelbook today.

https://venturebeat.com/2018/05/08/chrome-os-is-getting-linux-app-support/

Thermopyle
Jul 1, 2003

...the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. —Bertrand Russell

Hot drat. I can finally use a chromebook for real.

RichterIX
Apr 11, 2003

Sorrowful be the heart
Is $130 too much for a lightly-used R11?

mystes
May 31, 2006

bull3964 posted:

ChromeOS Linux support is going live in the Dev channel for Pixelbook today.

https://venturebeat.com/2018/05/08/chrome-os-is-getting-linux-app-support/
This could potentially make me a lot more willing to consider chromebooks again in the future.

blunt
Jul 7, 2005

Slightly related I guess, Steam Link is getting an Android app so by the end of May you should be able to stream your Steam library to your Chromebook (without having to run Steam in Crouton).

SurgicalOntologist
Jun 17, 2004

This is really random but in case anyone else encounters this issue, I'll share my solution. My 2015 Pixel stopped taking a charge. I got a hint from a Google search and found this fix: open up the back cover, unplug the battery, attempt to charge it, then reconnect the battery.

I've now had to do this three times despite being careful not to let the charge go down. I think it's not getting itself to sleep properly and I have no idea why. Also unfortunately, the screws are under a rubber bar which is now all messed up, and one of the screws was stripped before I touched it (no idea how why) so I had to crack the plastic a bit. So, now my Pixel looks like a disaster. Oh well, it still has one or two good years left in it. I wish I could stop letting the battery drain though, it's a real pain in the rear end to open it up.

bull3964
Nov 18, 2000

DO YOU HEAR THAT? THAT'S THE SOUND OF ME PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK.


2015 Pixel huh?

Atomizer
Jun 24, 2007



RichterIX posted:

Is $130 too much for a lightly-used R11?

No, that's perfect, they still go for and are worth $200+.

bull3964 posted:

2015 Pixel huh?

Yeah, that's the good one, the one that improved on the first-gen's faults. :(

bull3964
Nov 18, 2000

DO YOU HEAR THAT? THAT'S THE SOUND OF ME PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK.


You know, I thought I was in the Android thread and got really confused there.

So, I had an image in my head of someone disassembling a 2015 Pixel Phone (which doesn't exist) every time a battery got low.

Tunga
May 7, 2004

Grimey Drawer
My number one Chrome OS annoyance is that I wish it had virtual desktops/workspaces like macOS. Switching between multiple apps is really clunky in comparison. As far as I can tell there's no way to achieve this though.

Worf
Sep 12, 2017

i'm OBSESSED with quibbling over minutiae!!!!!!!!
is the linux stuff coming to chromeOS basically in laymans terms

"chromebooks will be able to do (most) everything (ish) that linux can do"?

Thermopyle
Jul 1, 2003

...the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. —Bertrand Russell

From a layman's perspective...yes.

Theoretically, you will be able to run any apps that run on Linux.

Worf
Sep 12, 2017

i'm OBSESSED with quibbling over minutiae!!!!!!!!
so does that mean this will be the year of the chromebook desktop?

Volguus
Mar 3, 2009

Statutory Ape posted:

so does that mean this will be the year of the chromebook desktop?

No, since for a layman transferring files from linux to chromebook over ssh is not an appealing thought. And if the chromebook is one of the cheap ones, with a CPU that executes one instruction per decade, the nested layers of virtualization that running linux requires will make it completely unusable. For a layman.

bull3964
Nov 18, 2000

DO YOU HEAR THAT? THAT'S THE SOUND OF ME PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK.


Indications are that the transfer of files from chrome is to Linux will be transparent from chrome using just the file manager.

https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/05/08/linux-files-will-accessible-chrome-os-file-manager/

Thermopyle
Jul 1, 2003

...the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. —Bertrand Russell

Statutory Ape posted:

so does that mean this will be the year of the chromebook desktop?

Not really.

If it ever happens, it will take many years of incremental improvements.

mystes
May 31, 2006

In theory Google could make it possible to package individual linux apps for the app store, which would be pretty amazing, but I don't think that would really be something they would be interested in (e.g. Google Docs would have to compete with Libreoffice on the chromebook) and I can't imagine that they're interested in creating a new type of app for chromebooks at this point anyway (even though the chromebook still supports apps after deprecating them for chrome on other platforms). I think this is more about making chromebooks more appealing to developers.

mystes fucked around with this message at 14:35 on May 10, 2018

SurgicalOntologist
Jun 17, 2004

Volguus posted:

the nested layers of virtualization that running linux requires

Wait, what? I haven't been following this development closely, but this can't be right. ChromeOS is already Linux, I'm sure there will be containerization or other security precautions, but will there really be virtualisation? I would like to switch from crouton.

bull3964
Nov 18, 2000

DO YOU HEAR THAT? THAT'S THE SOUND OF ME PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK.


mystes posted:

I think this is more about making chromebooks more appealing to developers.

Absolutely, though I would say not developers directly, but those that manage developer assets.

There's a lot of java development in my company and they use Macbooks. I know the desktop team hates them because it's rough to manage without 3rd party solutions.

Google has the possibility of displacing Apple in the development space with this. Apple is making zero effort in making their products easier to use in an enterprise setting and Google already has a full enterprise solution that only needs the ability to run the right tools.

They even have the right hardware, a Pixelbook will go toe to toe with MacBook hardware but for less money.

blunt
Jul 7, 2005

Volguus posted:

No, since for a layman transferring files from linux to chromebook over ssh is not an appealing thought. And if the chromebook is one of the cheap ones, with a CPU that executes one instruction per decade, the nested layers of virtualization that running linux requires will make it completely unusable. For a layman.

It's not virtualization, it's containerization same same way that Android apps presently run (shared underlying kernel, chrome desktop environment in a container, android environment in a container, now linux desktop environment in a container). Performance will be roughly the same as the android apps.

mystes
May 31, 2006

blunt posted:

It's not virtualization, it's containerization same same way that Android apps presently run (shared underlying kernel, chrome desktop environment in a container, android environment in a container, now linux desktop environment in a container). Performance will be roughly the same as the android apps.
Are you sure? Various people having been saying that it runs a container inside a VM (using KVM) or something like that.

Atomizer
Jun 24, 2007



Tunga posted:

My number one Chrome OS annoyance is that I wish it had virtual desktops/workspaces like macOS. Switching between multiple apps is really clunky in comparison. As far as I can tell there's no way to achieve this though.

The OS kind of already can do this, it has a VC/VT switching thing but it's only usable after you've used Crouton to install a full Linux distro. Then you use the Alt+F# (IIRC) commands to switch between Chrome and, say, Ubuntu.

Statutory Ape posted:

is the linux stuff coming to chromeOS basically in laymans terms

"chromebooks will be able to do (most) everything (ish) that linux can do"?

As has already been mentioned, ChromeOS is a Linux distro. This is described in the second paragraph of the OP.

Statutory Ape posted:

so does that mean this will be the year of the chromebook desktop?

ChromeOS desktops have existed for years, they're called ChromeBox and ChromeBase (for the AIO.) They're mentioned in literally the second sentence of the OP.

blunt
Jul 7, 2005

mystes posted:

Are you sure? Various people having been saying that it runs a container inside a VM (using KVM) or something like that.

My bad, one of the project commits does specifically mention a Linux VM.

bull3964
Nov 18, 2000

DO YOU HEAR THAT? THAT'S THE SOUND OF ME PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK.


It's a Debian Stretch VM.

I honestly wouldn't worry too much about performance, being virtualized should be a minimal hit.

I'm guessing the reason they are doing virtualized rather than a container is they want to use a broadly distributed stable kernel for maximum app compatibility.

bull3964 fucked around with this message at 18:18 on May 10, 2018

Thermopyle
Jul 1, 2003

...the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. —Bertrand Russell

It works just like Docker does on a Windows host.

Namely, it runs a Linux VM and then runs apps in containers inside that VM.

As long as the CPU supports vmx, the VM might be a percent or three performance hit over the same app running natively. NBD

Worf
Sep 12, 2017

i'm OBSESSED with quibbling over minutiae!!!!!!!!

Atomizer posted:

The OS kind of already can do this, it has a VC/VT switching thing but it's only usable after you've used Crouton to install a full Linux distro. Then you use the Alt+F# (IIRC) commands to switch between Chrome and, say, Ubuntu.


As has already been mentioned, ChromeOS is a Linux distro. This is described in the second paragraph of the OP.


ChromeOS desktops have existed for years, they're called ChromeBox and ChromeBase (for the AIO.) They're mentioned in literally the second sentence of the OP.

i mean, first off, the OP is garbage for this thread


secondly, the "year of the chromeos desktop" thing was a joke

if what you're saying was so obvious to everybody then i suspect, haha, wow, google probably wouldnt have bothered announcing anything to begin with

Chimp_On_Stilts
Aug 31, 2004
Holy Hell.
This makes me strongly consider switching to a Chromebook from OSX, given how OSX seems to be stagnating.

There's all the developer stuff which is great, but it also (probably?) means I could run Steam and keep a few older / simpler games on my Chromebook.

I'd like to know more about compatibility. Will IDA Pro work?

I'd also like to know how cloud save-y it is. One of the best things about Chromebooks is the fact that you can basically hotswap into a new one by logging in with your Google account, and all your settings and stuff appear immediately. That seems a lot harder to do within the Linux VM.

RichterIX
Apr 11, 2003

Sorrowful be the heart

Atomizer posted:

No, that's perfect, they still go for and are worth $200+.

I went to pick up the R11 from a dude and we ended up shooting the poo poo for so long about troubleshooting games in DOS in the 90s and how we spent the early years of our media consumption dreaming of something like the Chromecast that he ended up giving it to me for a hundo so I'm loving stoked.

As someone who knows Literally Nothing about Linux besides the time I've spent loving around with a Raspberry Pi, I'm having a hard time parsing the new stuff about Linux. Will it extend to older Chromebooks like the one I just got? Should I even bother with Crouton now if I'm not in any hurry, or should I wait and see how this all ends up panning out?

redeyes
Sep 14, 2002

by Fluffdaddy
This is pretty interesting to me. Running linux apps on chrome OS. If only there were a way to load it on a desktop box.

Thermopyle
Jul 1, 2003

...the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. —Bertrand Russell

RichterIX posted:

Will it extend to older Chromebooks like the one I just got? Should I even bother with Crouton now if I'm not in any hurry, or should I wait and see how this all ends up panning out?

No one knows.

mystes
May 31, 2006

Based on the experience with Android apps who knows how well it actually work or when it will roll out to other devices. If you just bought a Chromebook you might literally be better off returning it (presumably not an option in your case though) and then buying a new one when you know what level of support there will be.

RichterIX
Apr 11, 2003

Sorrowful be the heart
In the time between posting that and then seeing these replies I went ahead and installed Crouton anyway lol

It was so easy to do, if the support that comes down the line ends up being better it's not like I'll feel like I put a ton of work in for nothing

Atomizer
Jun 24, 2007



Statutory Ape posted:

i mean, first off, the OP is garbage for this thread


secondly, the "year of the chromeos desktop" thing was a joke

if what you're saying was so obvious to everybody then i suspect, haha, wow, google probably wouldnt have bothered announcing anything to begin with

Uh, a thread's OP basically defines it. This thread's OP tells you about ChromeOS and the devices that run it, the Laptop Megathread's OP tells you all about laptop recommendations, etc. The point is for you to read it so you don't ask questions that have already been addressed and waste everybody else's time. If you're going to be a dick about this then :frogout:

Chimp_On_Stilts posted:

This makes me strongly consider switching to a Chromebook from OSX, given how OSX seems to be stagnating.

There's all the developer stuff which is great, but it also (probably?) means I could run Steam and keep a few older / simpler games on my Chromebook.

I'd like to know more about compatibility. Will IDA Pro work?

I'd also like to know how cloud save-y it is. One of the best things about Chromebooks is the fact that you can basically hotswap into a new one by logging in with your Google account, and all your settings and stuff appear immediately. That seems a lot harder to do within the Linux VM.

I'm not sure about IDA Pro, but if it's compatible with your device's hardware then it should run fine.

ChromeOS synchronizes everything about your account (although like in Android, you can choose not to sync specific items, like passwords, history, etc.) Once you have a device set up in terms of extensions, bookmarks, etc., when you sign into another device it will set it up exactly like the first. The only thing that doesn't sync is local storage.

RichterIX posted:

I went to pick up the R11 from a dude and we ended up shooting the poo poo for so long about troubleshooting games in DOS in the 90s and how we spent the early years of our media consumption dreaming of something like the Chromecast that he ended up giving it to me for a hundo so I'm loving stoked.

As someone who knows Literally Nothing about Linux besides the time I've spent loving around with a Raspberry Pi, I'm having a hard time parsing the new stuff about Linux. Will it extend to older Chromebooks like the one I just got? Should I even bother with Crouton now if I'm not in any hurry, or should I wait and see how this all ends up panning out?

I saw your update; there's really little reason not to try out Crouton (which is the set of scripts that installs a full Linux distro, and is detailed in the OP) aside from the fact that in order to use it you have to enter into Developer Mode; transitioning to and from Dev Mode, similar to switching between the Stable/Beta/Dev channels, requires a Powerwash which at worst requires you to manually back up your local storage.) Beyond that you can set up as many chroots as you'd like and dick around without any real penalty; there's no harm in experimenting!

We're not sure if full Linux app support will extend to older devices. It's something that they're likely to roll out over time like with Android app support, and if it's anything like that then upcoming devices will have full support but support for older devices will be more sparse. (For what it's worth, the R11 is one of the first 3 devices to have Android app support, along with the Asus Flip C100 and the 2015 Pixel.)

mystes posted:

Based on the experience with Android apps who knows how well it actually work or when it will roll out to other devices. If you just bought a Chromebook you might literally be better off returning it (presumably not an option in your case though) and then buying a new one when you know what level of support there will be.

There's no reason to try to return a $100 R11 even if that was possible; that's still a solid device and you could most likely resell it for more than you paid. Worst-case scenario is, you'd just have to be content running Android apps and Linux apps in a chroot. On a full laptop that cost only $100.

Humerus
Jul 7, 2009

Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.


I'm having a difficult time deciding between the Samsung Chromebook Plus and the Asus C302.

The aspect ratio is kind of a wash for me, I think the Samsung would be better for my purposes (school work and web browsing) but I also don't think I would mind the Asus' ratio. Mainly what I'm having trouble with is whether the stylus in the Plus is worth it. My idea is that I'll be using the Chromebook itself to write notes rather than use a pen and paper. I know I can get a stylus that will work with the Asus, but is the Samsung's purpose-built? As in, will it feel better/be easier to write with the Samsung vs. the Asus with a stylus?

Cheesemaster200
Feb 11, 2004

Guard of the Citadel
I have had my pixelbook for about six months now. So far it has been a great device for browsing, videos and the majority of what I use it for (including Citrix VPN). However I must say that the port of Android apps to the ChromeOS environment is loving garbage. I primarily use Google's own apps (Google Play Music, Movies, etc) and they constantly crash. Right now I can't even get into Google Play Store; the default app.

Most frustratingly, apps that have content download for offline viewing (Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Google Play Movies) are super flaky. Sometimes they works, sometimes they completely don't. Sometimes they are laggy, of bad quality, etc. I travel a lot, so having movies to watch on the plane is a nice thing to have. Nothing like coming back from London on a seven hour flight to realize that none of your downloaded movies don't actually work.

I now use the ChromeOS app for Google Movies because it is a little more reliable, if not as flashy. I just set up a iPad that I got for my mom, and I am seriously considering going to the dark side to get a reliable experience with this poo poo. I don't know why Google sucks with user experiences; it is why Apple keeps trouncing them in these markets.

asecondduck
Feb 18, 2011

by Nyc_Tattoo

Cheesemaster200 posted:

I have had my pixelbook for about six months now. [snip]

Dumb question I suppose but have you tried power washing?

Atomizer
Jun 24, 2007



Humerus posted:

I'm having a difficult time deciding between the Samsung Chromebook Plus and the Asus C302.

The aspect ratio is kind of a wash for me, I think the Samsung would be better for my purposes (school work and web browsing) but I also don't think I would mind the Asus' ratio. Mainly what I'm having trouble with is whether the stylus in the Plus is worth it. My idea is that I'll be using the Chromebook itself to write notes rather than use a pen and paper. I know I can get a stylus that will work with the Asus, but is the Samsung's purpose-built? As in, will it feel better/be easier to write with the Samsung vs. the Asus with a stylus?

First, keep in mind that the Plus has an ARM CPU, which is fine for general use (and perhaps better for Android apps) but the Samsung Pro has (or starts with) the same Core m3 CPU as the [base] C302.

The Asus has a nice FHD display, and I'm sure you've seen plenty of them on other devices. The Samsung's 3:2 display is ideal for reading/browsing; really a 16:9 display is only ideal for watching HD-format video.

The Samsung has a stylus that works better than those generic, soft-rubber capacitive styli that otherwise can be used with any touchscreen; it's basically the same type of stylus that has come with the Galaxy Note series. As far as actually taking handwritten notes goes, this isn't something I do on my own devices but I think it's totally doable (I mean otherwise there'd be no point in adding the hardware.) Perhaps someone else does drawing/writing on their Samsung or Pixelbook and can chime in?

Cheesemaster200 posted:

I have had my pixelbook for about six months now. So far it has been a great device for browsing, videos and the majority of what I use it for (including Citrix VPN). However I must say that the port of Android apps to the ChromeOS environment is loving garbage. I primarily use Google's own apps (Google Play Music, Movies, etc) and they constantly crash. Right now I can't even get into Google Play Store; the default app.

Most frustratingly, apps that have content download for offline viewing (Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Google Play Movies) are super flaky. Sometimes they works, sometimes they completely don't. Sometimes they are laggy, of bad quality, etc. I travel a lot, so having movies to watch on the plane is a nice thing to have. Nothing like coming back from London on a seven hour flight to realize that none of your downloaded movies don't actually work.

I now use the ChromeOS app for Google Movies because it is a little more reliable, if not as flashy. I just set up a iPad that I got for my mom, and I am seriously considering going to the dark side to get a reliable experience with this poo poo. I don't know why Google sucks with user experiences; it is why Apple keeps trouncing them in these markets.

I've gone over this before, but the Android app implementation seems to be wildly YMMV. You can first try removing the Play Store, then reinstalling it and go from there, installing apps a few at a time in the hopes of finding one that's misbehaving. As leland added, a Powerwash would be the next step. I've had Android apps work fine on a device, and then cause system instability on another, and certainly the Pixelbook should work fine with them so it's either a wonky configuration issue (hence the suggestion to start over) or a problematic app.

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Humerus
Jul 7, 2009

Rule of acquisition #111:
Treat people in your debt like family...exploit them.


gently caress me I wrote that whole post meaning the Pro, not the plus. I have an old Chromebook (Intel 2840 I think??) and while I know its age and 2GB of RAM are probably why it's so slow I've decided that moving forward I'm definitely going with an m3. I guess I'll try to check out the Pro at Best Buy, I went to one a couple weeks ago that had a Pro on display but it was missing the pen.

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