2014-05-15T16:28:42Z Photos, electronics, cnc, and more Jeff Eplerjepler@unpythonic.net 2014-05-15T16:28:42Z 2014-05-15T16:28:42Z https://gamma.unpythonic.net/01400171322 As you might remember, I <a href="https://gamma.unpythonic.net/01390583162">got a chromebook</a> back in January. A few months later, I just want to say: this is the portable I've always wanted. 2014-01-24T17:06:02Z 2014-01-24T17:06:02Z https://gamma.unpythonic.net/01390583162 <p>I have been wanting a travel computer lighter than my 15&quot; laptop but more capable than my Nexus 7 combined with a bluetooth keyboard. And, frankly, I had just had gadget envy for the Samsung ARM Chromebook since it was announced. <p>When I'm on the go, my needs are basically: <ul > <li >Modern web browser with adblock and greasemonkey</li> <li >A ssh (or, better yet, mosh) client</li> <li >A comfortable keyboard</li> <li >Fairly light</li></ul> In particular, some things I didn't need are <ul > <li >Hundreds of GB of local storage</li> <li >Four or eight cores of computing power</li> <li >Full compatibility with desktop Linux or x86</li></ul> I felt it would be nice to have <ul > <li >Long battery life</li> <li >Ability to install Linux or customized ChromiumOS if I decided I needed it</li> <li >Inexpensive enough to buy without being 100% sure it'll meet my needs</li></ul> <p>From my experience with Chromium-browser on Debian, I know that Chrome is an adequate web browser with Adblock, Ghostery, and TamperMonkey (though it's not 100% identical in function to Firefox), and I was aware of ssh apps for it. I also tried out the Samsung's keyboard at a local Best Buy and found it adequate. So when Amazon had them for $230 last week, I decided to treat myself. <p>I've now had the device for a few days, and it's been a positive adventure. <p>I immediately placed the device in developer mode and installed debian wheezy via <a href="https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton">crouton</a>, but I'm not presently using anything in my debian chroot. For a short time, I used Secure Shell to ssh to the wheezy chroot and run mosh there. <p>I found that after a few customizations, <a href="https://github.com/davidben/mosh-chrome">mosh-chrome</a> is a pefectly adequate mosh client. After I resolved a problem <a href="https://gamma.unpythonic.net/01390515518">building it</a>, I customized the colors to match my rxvt, added the ability to send a remote command, and hardcoded my default connection settings. However, on at least two occasions, mosh-chrome has failed to resume its session after suspending and changing wireless networks, so I'm not sure it's as reliable as desktop mosh. <p>Other thoughts: <ul > <li >I had to rewrite one of my private GreaseMonkey scripts to work in TamperMonkey.</li> <li >Adblock and ghostery both seem to work adequately on the ChromeBook.</li> <li >I do miss having a compose key.</li> <li >I wish there was a SIP client I could use with callcentric, but I haven't found one yet.</li> <li >I haven't had a chance to assess the battery lifetime yet.</li> <li >Emacs users rejoice, you can map the &quot;search&quot; key (in the position of &quot;caps lock&quot; on a standard PC keyboard) to Control.</li></ul>