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New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
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New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
Lenovo: X240, X250, T440p, T480, M900 Tiny.
PS: the old Boardroom website is still available on the Wayback Machine.
Lenovo: X240, X250, T440p, T480, M900 Tiny.
PS: the old Boardroom website is still available on the Wayback Machine.
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Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
WOW ! Another completely pointless concept. Who wants a not-the-cheapest-on-the-Earth notebook with a crippled system ? That's even worse than Windows Starter edition.
ThinkPad (1992 - 2012): R51, X31, X220
Huawei MateBook 13
Huawei MateBook 13
Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
Well, this is only on sale for schools. It is not intended for normal users.
For Elementary School kids, this should be ideal, because they can´t destroy the OS. It is more uncomplicated to manage for schools, and the kids are still able to browse the web for school stuff or create basic documents, and its cheaper. So I would not call it "completely pointless", just because you are not in the target group ). It makes sense for schools.
For Elementary School kids, this should be ideal, because they can´t destroy the OS. It is more uncomplicated to manage for schools, and the kids are still able to browse the web for school stuff or create basic documents, and its cheaper. So I would not call it "completely pointless", just because you are not in the target group ). It makes sense for schools.
IBM ThinkPad R50e | lenovo ThinkPad X301 | lenovo ThinkPad Z61t
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Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
So instead of pushing Microsoft to schools which was not a good idea (note that I use Microsoft software products only) we will now push Google there. Not sure what is actually worse considering Google products privacy
ThinkPad (1992 - 2012): R51, X31, X220
Huawei MateBook 13
Huawei MateBook 13
Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
In other words, it's a Linux-ready X131e sold without a Windows license?
Yeah, I don't think that's too bad.
Sure, ChromeOS is mostly useless, but it's not like you can't just nuke it and install a real OS.
Yeah, I don't think that's too bad.
Sure, ChromeOS is mostly useless, but it's not like you can't just nuke it and install a real OS.
Need help with Linux or FreeBSD? PM or catch me on IRC: I'm ThinkRob on FreeNode and EFnet.
Laptop: X270, running Fedora
Desktop: Intellistation 285 (currently dead)
Workstation: owned by my employer
Toy: Miata!
Laptop: X270, running Fedora
Desktop: Intellistation 285 (currently dead)
Workstation: owned by my employer
Toy: Miata!
Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
At the very least, this helps keep costs down. Schools already have a volume license for Windows, why force them to pay for another copy?ThinkRob wrote:In other words, it's a Linux-ready X131e sold without a Windows license?
Yeah, I don't think that's too bad.
Sure, ChromeOS is mostly useless, but it's not like you can't just nuke it and install a real OS.
Otherwise, kids get exposure to something other than Windows. That can't be a bad thing.
unix_joe
Me: ThinkPad Z13 - Debian Stable KDE
Wife: ThinkPad Z16 - Pop!_OS
Kids: ThinkPad X280 - Debian Stable Gnome
TV: ThinkPad P14s - Debian Stable
Me: ThinkPad Z13 - Debian Stable KDE
Wife: ThinkPad Z16 - Pop!_OS
Kids: ThinkPad X280 - Debian Stable Gnome
TV: ThinkPad P14s - Debian Stable
Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
It is if it means that kids get exposure to an OS that pretends that everything is always online.jdk wrote: Otherwise, kids get exposure to something other than Windows. That can't be a bad thing.
I'm just looking forward to the downward pressure on the prices of Intel-based X131es.
Need help with Linux or FreeBSD? PM or catch me on IRC: I'm ThinkRob on FreeNode and EFnet.
Laptop: X270, running Fedora
Desktop: Intellistation 285 (currently dead)
Workstation: owned by my employer
Toy: Miata!
Laptop: X270, running Fedora
Desktop: Intellistation 285 (currently dead)
Workstation: owned by my employer
Toy: Miata!
Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
I think this one looks decent enough, just needs a proper keyboard, but at least it has the trackpoint buttons, good school computer yes.
I do fear a cloud computing future, where we don't own anything, can't use our computer without internet, and are at the mercy of the companies that provide the cloud services.
Post PC era, oh a term like that scares the hell out of me, it explains why the IT industry has gone mad.
Like they suddenly think that all the knowledge they have built up over the years, was just a side track, and want to start over by making cheap equipment with low usability and poor ergonomics (think iPad), built to be thrown away once new stuff comes around (the crApple way).
I do fear a cloud computing future, where we don't own anything, can't use our computer without internet, and are at the mercy of the companies that provide the cloud services.
Post PC era, oh a term like that scares the hell out of me, it explains why the IT industry has gone mad.
Like they suddenly think that all the knowledge they have built up over the years, was just a side track, and want to start over by making cheap equipment with low usability and poor ergonomics (think iPad), built to be thrown away once new stuff comes around (the crApple way).
ThinkPad A30
Pentium III-M 933MHz
Crucial 2x256MB 133MHz CL2
Mobility Radeon 16MB
15" UXGA FlexView
Zheino Classic A 32GB
Samsung SpinPoint M5S 160GB
NEC DVD+-RW ND-6650A
Broadcom MiniPCI BCM43222 802.11n Dual Band
AKE BC168 USB 2.0
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Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
I'd love to get one of these, but I don't think they'll ever sell the non-Windows one to the public.
I'd not hesitate to buy if I could get one without any RAM, HD or OS -- all items I'd be replacing with my own.
I'd not hesitate to buy if I could get one without any RAM, HD or OS -- all items I'd be replacing with my own.
X62 & X62s & X62T SXGA+ i7 5600u 8-16GB
Helix i7
Carbon X1 i5 UHD
W520 4x-i7
Sony Vaio P799 (8" LED 1600x768)
"Think" Ultrabook i7
LegoThinkpad 11"
in storage:
X131e AMD
X60/X60s, X61/X61s/X61T, T61, T420, X30
past:
X20-X24, 390X
Helix i7
Carbon X1 i5 UHD
W520 4x-i7
Sony Vaio P799 (8" LED 1600x768)
"Think" Ultrabook i7
LegoThinkpad 11"
in storage:
X131e AMD
X60/X60s, X61/X61s/X61T, T61, T420, X30
past:
X20-X24, 390X
Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
You can set up your "own cloud", on your own server.Adda wrote:I do fear a cloud computing future, where we don't own anything,
You already depend on electricity.can't use our computer without internet,
That's indeed something to consider every time using a proprietary cloud computing service. Lock-in can be pretty bad. For example, I have some documents in Google Docs, and recently I find out that they don't render correctly anymore. There is pretty much nothing I can do. Anyhow, I stopped using Google Docs for important documents years ago and returned to writing my documents in open formats.and are at the mercy of the companies that provide the cloud services.
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Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
As an elementary school teacher who has worked outside the system to get each of his kids access to a PC or laptop, and as a CR-48 Chromebook pilot test member, I'm glad to see Lenovo enter the sub-category of Chromebooks. Too pricey, but isn't everything now?
I have 5 Samsung Chromebooks plus the CR-48. (Thanks Donors Choose!) The CR-48 has a floppy screen I need to fix (hinges pulling away from the base, a known flaw), and the Samsung units are not exactly Thinkpad rugged.
I had been running Ubuntu on an odd assortment of Thinkpads. The Chrome OS boots ridiculously fast, is bulletproof even from 3rd graders, and does everything I need it to do. I use Symbaloo, a visual bookmark manager to organize the websites we use, and the Chromebooks deliver.
Now if I could get Chrome OS to run on X series machines I could really have a low cost rugged option.
I have 5 Samsung Chromebooks plus the CR-48. (Thanks Donors Choose!) The CR-48 has a floppy screen I need to fix (hinges pulling away from the base, a known flaw), and the Samsung units are not exactly Thinkpad rugged.
I had been running Ubuntu on an odd assortment of Thinkpads. The Chrome OS boots ridiculously fast, is bulletproof even from 3rd graders, and does everything I need it to do. I use Symbaloo, a visual bookmark manager to organize the websites we use, and the Chromebooks deliver.
Now if I could get Chrome OS to run on X series machines I could really have a low cost rugged option.
Vocavit autem servirent
Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
So you can get all the cost savings and ease of administration of running your own server, coupled with the great features and great performance of a web application.feklee wrote: You can set up your "own cloud", on your own server.
Electricity is far, far, *far* more readily available than broadband.You already depend on electricity.
Need help with Linux or FreeBSD? PM or catch me on IRC: I'm ThinkRob on FreeNode and EFnet.
Laptop: X270, running Fedora
Desktop: Intellistation 285 (currently dead)
Workstation: owned by my employer
Toy: Miata!
Laptop: X270, running Fedora
Desktop: Intellistation 285 (currently dead)
Workstation: owned by my employer
Toy: Miata!
Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
Not to mention that a normal laptop can "survive" few hours without being plugged to an electrical outlet.ThinkRob wrote: Electricity is far, far, *far* more readily available than broadband.
Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
Just for completeness: Various modern web applications can be run without Internet connection. For fun, I have developed such an app myself, a game targeted at Firefox OS, but it runs in every modern browser, of course. With Firefox it can be installed and started offline. Hiscores sync automatically when there is an Internet connection, otherwise they are stored in browser local storage.Summilux wrote:Not to mention that a normal laptop can "survive" few hours without being plugged to an electrical outlet.
Anyhow, when on the road I often have Internet, but no electricity.
Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
ThinkRob wrote:In other words, it's a Linux-ready X131e sold without a Windows license?
Yeah, I don't think that's too bad.
Sure, ChromeOS is mostly useless, but it's not like you can't just nuke it and install a real OS.
That's the only use I can envision for anything that comes with ChromeOS. The entire Chrome concept looks like an evolutionary dead end. Like Neanderthal. As for letting Google get their hooks into our schools, no thanks!
I'm not a big fan of Microsoft, but even as a Mac user I have to admit it's a Microsoft world out there. If we're going to teach our kids in grade school and high school about computers it makes sense to teach them on the tools they'll most likely use in the business world. If they want to study computer science in college and learn development/coding, that's the time for them to discover alternate operating systems like Linux or Unix. Even the most advanced high school students who are learning dev/coding for Linux still need fluency in the ways of Windows.
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Yoga 3 Pro, 13.3" touchscreen, CoreM 5Y70 @ 1.2GHz, 8GB RAM, Intel Broadwell-U Integrated Graphics, Windows 10 (64-bit)
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Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
Hmm... I'd have said the same thing a couple years ago but not now.
Was in business for a good 20 years before teaching - small firms like Procter and Gamble, Sara Lee - and what we needed was what worked. True, most revolved around the Office suite (in sales, marketing, and mgmt) but apparently M$oft realizes the browser is where the future is since Office 365 is an online suite now. Chrome is a good browser and the Chrome OS is getting there a little at a time with more offline apps coming all the time. But to me, it's not about the OS anymore.
As for the Google "hooks" idea, I am at the point where I like competition. Keeps everyone honest and someone needs to keep M$oft and Apple honest. I root for the Windows phone (and before that WebOS) for the same reason. Closed markets cost consumers more. Might be easier to manage, but we in education need every break we can get. Why do you thing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is taking hold? We need the tools to teach and the public's money only goes so far.
Yes, I agree about coding. But realistically how many kids head that way? In HS, sure - just like we have labs filled with graphics workstations for the Photoshop crowd. But in elementary we can use all the help we can get and Google could help a lot.
Was in business for a good 20 years before teaching - small firms like Procter and Gamble, Sara Lee - and what we needed was what worked. True, most revolved around the Office suite (in sales, marketing, and mgmt) but apparently M$oft realizes the browser is where the future is since Office 365 is an online suite now. Chrome is a good browser and the Chrome OS is getting there a little at a time with more offline apps coming all the time. But to me, it's not about the OS anymore.
As for the Google "hooks" idea, I am at the point where I like competition. Keeps everyone honest and someone needs to keep M$oft and Apple honest. I root for the Windows phone (and before that WebOS) for the same reason. Closed markets cost consumers more. Might be easier to manage, but we in education need every break we can get. Why do you thing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is taking hold? We need the tools to teach and the public's money only goes so far.
Yes, I agree about coding. But realistically how many kids head that way? In HS, sure - just like we have labs filled with graphics workstations for the Photoshop crowd. But in elementary we can use all the help we can get and Google could help a lot.
Vocavit autem servirent
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Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
I was a child of the 80s and I was brought up on Apple products in elementary and high school, as was probably most of everyone else in the 90s. That didn't cause any harm to me dealing with a Windows-central world. I think the same can be said in this case.rambo47 wrote: That's the only use I can envision for anything that comes with ChromeOS. The entire Chrome concept looks like an evolutionary dead end. Like Neanderthal. As for letting Google get their hooks into our schools, no thanks!
I'm not a big fan of Microsoft, but even as a Mac user I have to admit it's a Microsoft world out there. If we're going to teach our kids in grade school and high school about computers it makes sense to teach them on the tools they'll most likely use in the business world. If they want to study computer science in college and learn development/coding, that's the time for them to discover alternate operating systems like Linux or Unix. Even the most advanced high school students who are learning dev/coding for Linux still need fluency in the ways of Windows.
X62 & X62s & X62T SXGA+ i7 5600u 8-16GB
Helix i7
Carbon X1 i5 UHD
W520 4x-i7
Sony Vaio P799 (8" LED 1600x768)
"Think" Ultrabook i7
LegoThinkpad 11"
in storage:
X131e AMD
X60/X60s, X61/X61s/X61T, T61, T420, X30
past:
X20-X24, 390X
Helix i7
Carbon X1 i5 UHD
W520 4x-i7
Sony Vaio P799 (8" LED 1600x768)
"Think" Ultrabook i7
LegoThinkpad 11"
in storage:
X131e AMD
X60/X60s, X61/X61s/X61T, T61, T420, X30
past:
X20-X24, 390X
Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
If somebody's ability to be "computer literate" is dependent on whether or not he was a particular version of a particular product from a specific vendor then he's not "computer literate". He's simply learned the mechanical motions necessary to use that software yet gained little to knowledge of the underlying concepts.
It's not something that we (or rather our education system) wants to acknowledge for two reasons: 1) it's more expensive to teach the concepts than to make kids memorize some specific steps 2) not every kid has the same abilities, but pretty much every kid can be taught to memorize a series of clicks. Both of those are uncomfortable truths for us, so we ignore them, we teach Microsoft Office $version_number and we pretend we're doing something useful.
It's not something that we (or rather our education system) wants to acknowledge for two reasons: 1) it's more expensive to teach the concepts than to make kids memorize some specific steps 2) not every kid has the same abilities, but pretty much every kid can be taught to memorize a series of clicks. Both of those are uncomfortable truths for us, so we ignore them, we teach Microsoft Office $version_number and we pretend we're doing something useful.
Need help with Linux or FreeBSD? PM or catch me on IRC: I'm ThinkRob on FreeNode and EFnet.
Laptop: X270, running Fedora
Desktop: Intellistation 285 (currently dead)
Workstation: owned by my employer
Toy: Miata!
Laptop: X270, running Fedora
Desktop: Intellistation 285 (currently dead)
Workstation: owned by my employer
Toy: Miata!
Re: New Lenovo X131e Chromebook
But this is what used laptops are for.
ThinkPad A30
Pentium III-M 933MHz
Crucial 2x256MB 133MHz CL2
Mobility Radeon 16MB
15" UXGA FlexView
Zheino Classic A 32GB
Samsung SpinPoint M5S 160GB
NEC DVD+-RW ND-6650A
Broadcom MiniPCI BCM43222 802.11n Dual Band
AKE BC168 USB 2.0
26P8287 203 "Malaysia"
46L4697
02K6898
02K6753
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