Hands-On With Google's MacBook Air-Style Pixelbook Go

[Donoban]

This guy and his bloody reviews.
Did not watch but money on he ends it by saying.
What do you think? Am I full or crap? Let me know in the comments below.

 

[Glockworkorange]

I got my MacBook Air for $899 during a flash sale at Best Buy. Best Buy has frequent sales on Apple products, especially around major holidays. Why would anyone who is part of the Apple ecosystem buy a Chromebook, which is a glorified web browser, to save $50?

Or open box items. Saw several heavily discounted iPad Pros at a Best Buy today (2018 ones).
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This guy and his bloody reviews.
Did not watch but money on he e see it by saying.
What do you think? Am I full or crap? Let me know in the comments below.

He said whether you should get one is a” loaded question.”

It’s a pointless video.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

That runs a web browser. On an ultraportable, you aren't going to be running Final Cut Pro or other heavy applications. You're going to be browsing the web, or else running productivity (email, calendar, chat, word processing) that can very well be replaced by a web app, if they haven't been already (Electron apps). The only real benefit is probably the full versions of Microsoft Office.

I run Final Cut Pro X and Xcode on my MacBook (2016, which has the same profile of the MacBook Air).
Also Pixelmator Pro, Affinity Photo and Designer, and other powerful apps. Not bad. When the time is right I will get a more powerful MacBook Pro (hopefully the rumored 16” MacBook Pro).

 

[falainber]

Web browser, keyboard and 1080p screen for $900 (I wouldn’t touch the low end)?

No thanks!
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It’s so much less of a device for the price.

For 50 bucks more, you can get a nicer machine that does everything a chrome book does and much more in a much nicer package.

What he said made perfect sense. What you’re saying does not. Apple refrigerator? What are you talking about, man?

These are very different devices. Chromebooks just work, MaBooks don't. Because of how low maintenance Chromebooks are they are winning at schools and for senior people.

 

[Tech198]

I wouldn't look crazy shouting out an, otherwise quiet Starbucks, at Google assistant. You may be helping out others.

I'd llke to see the PixelGo run at high speed..

My MBA 2017 fan feels like its taking off like a jet engine under heavy load.. a couple of virtual machines for sure..

SMC and PRAM is only a temp fix. And I thoght my previous MBP was loud.

 

[dogslobber]

They target different use cases. Besides, what's the best Apple laptop for $600?

I bought my 2017 MBA for 650$.

 

[falainber]

I bought my 2017 MBA for 650$.

One can buy Chromebooks for less than $200. If anything, one can get better discounts on non Apple products in general.

 

[Glockworkorange]

These are very different devices. Chromebooks just work, MaBooks don't. Because of how low maintenance Chromebooks are they are winning at schools and for senior people.

But...not at this price point. Surely you agree?

 

[mistasopz]

No, I wouldn't use it over a MacBook Air.. Only because one is a glorified web browser, and another is a .. computer.

You can run Linux natively on a Chromebook. Don't even have to reboot. They introduced it recently and have been rolling it out to all models. It's really awesome.

 

[falainber]

But...not at this price point. Surely you agree?

Yes. But then higher quality Chromebooks start penetrating other markets. Adoption of cloud storage helps with this.

 

[dogslobber]

One can buy Chromebooks for less than $200. If anything, one can get better discounts on non Apple products in general.

Enjoy your chrome book then.

 

[mistasopz]

The Chrome Book can’t run Windows software. It’s basically an Android phone in a laptop form factor.

The Mac can run Mac OS X software, and it can boot into Windows and run Windows software. It’s a real computer.

You can run full Linux side-by-side without rebooting, plus Android apps, PLUS it's a chromebook.

 

[waterfta]

I love all of the comments about how these are "Browsers with keyboards" 🙄
What do you all consider an iPad Pro to be (many of which I see in public being used with keyboards)?
I find this product to fit more into that space than it does into the space of a MacBook Air.

That being said, Apple doesn't seem to want the MacBook Air to fit into the space it used to. The previous generation was a normal computer and would never be compared to a Chromebook. These new gimped versions are not what I want to carry around as my main computer which is what I could do with my 2013 MBA at the time.

 

[GubbyMan]

No, I wouldn't use it over a MacBook Air.. Only because one is a glorified web browser, and another is a .. computer.

 

[user_xyz]

And then there's that privacy thing ...

^^ Yep ^^

 

[Mooey]

Haha, I stopped listening when he said he preferred the Macbook keyboard.

 

[evacristina]

Wow! I can't believe this article is even being taken seriously. Sign of the times...

 

[Mooey]

Why do people always bring up Linux? It’s not like anyone uses it. Hate to break it to you, but Windows won the desktop OS wars. macOS came in second. Linux is so far behind it’s irrelevant among normal consumers.

Bless your heart. You must write C# code all day.

 

[Glockworkorange]

Bless your heart. You must write C# code all day.

Or maybe he doesn’t write code, like the vast majority of computer users and purchasers?

 

[Mooey]

Or maybe he doesn’t write code, like the vast majority of computer users and purchasers?

Maybe he does - maybe he doesn't; what does the vast majority of computer users and purchasers have to do with writing code? Most programmers prefer Linux.

ChromeOS is the _easiest_ and safest (no need to mess with drivers and what not) gateway into Linux. It is a good alternative for those do not want to get into the closed Apple ecosystem or for those who are stuck programming on Windows machines.

 

[Glockworkorange]

Maybe he does - maybe he doesn't; what does the vast majority of computer users and purchasers have to do with writing code? Most programmers prefer Linux.

ChromeOS is the _easiest_ and safest (no need to mess with drivers and what not) gateway into Linux. It is a good alternative for those do not want to get into the closed Apple ecosystem or for those who are stuck programming on Windows machines.

I guess my point was.....nobody cares about Linux. Well, maybe not nobody. But not enough people to make a difference.

So I guess rejoice about the Chromebook...

For MOST PEOPLE, it is a glorified web browser and for MOST PEOPLE, you can do everything THIS CHROMEBOOK can do on a similarly priced MacBook (Air) or cheaper Windows machine or cheaper Chromebook. For MOST programmers, you can get into Linux of whatever for a lot less money.

Personally, I think Chromebooks are garbage because I don't want to use Chrome and Google services and Office products, which I make my living using, just work better on an OS that is not just a glorified web browser.

 

[Aston441]

DOES IT ALSO HAVE A STUPID LOUD FAN

WHAT I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER THIS STUPID FAN

 

[macfacts]

Of course you’d bring up niche useless Apps like torrents while dismissing actual powerful and high-end Apps like Affinity. I mean, when that’s all you’ve got I guess you need to play it up, right?

You never heard of Shortcuts on iOS? Or what it can do in iOS 13 with the latest updates?

There are no high-end/powerful Android Apps. Period. And the best that’s available pales in comparison to what’s on the iPad.

But hey, feel free to name the Top 10 Android Apps (phone or tablet). The kind of Apps that can do real work and will stress your processor performance. I bet $$$ you can’t find one that’s better than the iOS equivalent. Not one.

Not everyone is an artist, only they would care about affinity. Here is one app that is a top10 app on android, TWRP. You can do a full backup and restore of the phones data to SD card, no internet connection needed. Nothing comparable for iOS.

 

[Aston441]

MacOS is a niche OS with limited hardware options and software titles. Although some people like it, most people do not care for it.

Sadly, and I do mean sadly, MacOS is the most powerful and stable OS ever devised. Well a few of the previous versions were anyway.

And I’m an old hard core “programmer” from way back.

like assembler hardcore.

BeOS had such potential. Sad.

 

[realtuner]

Apps that stress processor performance are targeted for servers and workstations not for mobile devices. And the top 10 apps are identical on both platforms: facebook, Instagram, WhatsUp, Google maps, MS Office, Chrome (browser), camera, music player, e-mail etc. The example of the app you are looking for is the VR headset apps. iOS does not have those so, obviously, Android version is superior.

Good thing people in the industry don't have such a crappy attitude as you. Oh, and thanks for playing right into my hand.

Everything we do on our devices today was at one point out of reach to all except companies with deep pockets. In the 80's it would cost you $150K to do a fraction of what Photoshop does today (Quantel Paintbox). Non-linear editors were ridiculously expensive (also over $100K) and today a smartphone can do more. Literally every useful feature we have on our current computing devices trickled down from previously unaffordable computing hardware.

Imagine if all those developers and hardware engineers thought like you and said that "insert feature here" should only be done on servers or workstations? What a horrible world we'd be in. Thankfully, they have vision (unlike you) and because of their vision we're doing all sorts of amazing things on our mobile devices.


As to your ridiculous list, it's what I expected. You can't find any high-end Apps on Android (and I'm sure you looked) so you tried to deflect to the 10 most commonly used Apps, not the actual 10 best Apps. You know what's on the list of most popular Windows programs? Solitaire and Minesweeper. Not because they're amazing but because pretty much everyone with a PC has played them at one time or another. So you bringing up simple/popular Apps like Facebook does nothing to counter my point than me saying it doesn't matter if professional high-end software exists on Windows when all people do is browse the Internet or play Solitaire or Minesweeper.

The most popular Apps run great on iOS or Android devices. If that's all you want to do (the basics) the Android is just as good as iOS. Where Android (and ChromeOS) fall apart is when you want to do more than just the basics. On iOS I have a choice. On Android/ChromeOS you don't - they simply don't exist.