If you view a Chromebook as a Android tablet with a keyboard, then we already know what it's like.
Software wise they've done a good job. It isn't some have hearted effort. For example, they've gone to the trouble of ensuring Debian GUI packages you "apt-get install" appear in the Chrome Launcher. The only downside is the Debian container is very isolated compared to solutions like termux, so tricks like port forwarding over ssh and rsync'ing your photos don't work so well. While the isolation is annoying, I'd take security provided by the app isolation model of ChromeOS / Android over what Linux Desktop's provide as a reasonable tradeoff.
But Linux Desktop apps need substantial hardware - at least 8GB of RAM, a CPU with at least I3/N100 single threaded performance. Developer tasks like vscode and kernel compiles require even more. Commonly available Chromebooks don't have that. The situation for phones is worse.
Maybe one day we will get to the point that I can replace my laptop with a phone that plugs into a Thunderbolt port, but that day is not today.
rstuart4133|1 year ago
Software wise they've done a good job. It isn't some have hearted effort. For example, they've gone to the trouble of ensuring Debian GUI packages you "apt-get install" appear in the Chrome Launcher. The only downside is the Debian container is very isolated compared to solutions like termux, so tricks like port forwarding over ssh and rsync'ing your photos don't work so well. While the isolation is annoying, I'd take security provided by the app isolation model of ChromeOS / Android over what Linux Desktop's provide as a reasonable tradeoff.
But Linux Desktop apps need substantial hardware - at least 8GB of RAM, a CPU with at least I3/N100 single threaded performance. Developer tasks like vscode and kernel compiles require even more. Commonly available Chromebooks don't have that. The situation for phones is worse.
Maybe one day we will get to the point that I can replace my laptop with a phone that plugs into a Thunderbolt port, but that day is not today.