When I was a kid, they had a special room in the school for kids like me, who wanted to learn about computers.
But then suddenly, poof!
Out goes the computer lab, and in comes these things.
Google's partners have sold 100 million Chromebooks in the last three years.
A hundred million!
Though, it kind of makes sense when you consider how many of these devices are purchased by schools,
or by parents who were forced to buy them by schools.
But it may not just be schools in the future.
Come think of it, with that many of them out there,
there may be one in your house right now, and you better get used to it.
Because Google has made their Linux-based OS so polished over the years,
that these students are growing up with an experience that
may just be good enough for them to not think of this as a Chromebook, but just as their laptop.
Could 2020-something finally be the year of the Linux desktop?
But dressed in a Chrome costume?
I believe it will, which is probably horrifying to just about everyone.
So, let me explain, after a quick word from our sponsor.
Build Redux!
They build fully customizable gaming PCs, suitable for any budget.
Pick your favorite games and see how they perform using their online PC builder.
It's simple!
Head to the link below and create your new rig today.
Chromebooks were originally launched with miserable specs.
I mean, even iPhones had more storage space.
Not to mention useful apps you might want to fill it with.
And given their limited functionality,
not to mention their short commitment to software updates,
compared to a Windows or a macOS machine,
it's no wonder that people saw the first Chromebooks for what they were.
Underpowered junk.
But Google's been playing a long game.
Something that Softpedia recognized way back in 2015 when they said,
Microsoft is engaged in a silent war and is losing.
Just four years after being introduced,
Chromebooks were slowly eating up market share.
Not at home, but in schools.
Which, I mean, kind of makes sense.
Most students, especially below the college level,
only really need email, a web browser, and the Google productivity suite.
And getting the schools on board was easy due to the cost.
The cheapest iMac, which is what many schools used to have in their computer labs,
is over $1,200 now.
So, let me see.
I can have 30 of these, and they don't even move.
Or I can have 150 of these.
Tough call.
Google also helped the schools manage these enormous fleets of machines
by investing heavily in administrative tools for the Google workspace environment.
Account management, shared access to files and storage,
support for group collaboration.
These have all made it easy to adopt the Google ecosystem.
And that's even ignoring the general ease of use and convenient cloud synchronization.
So, in this way, Google's kind of the pusher,
giving kids their first hit, hooking them while they're young.
If you think about it, do you know anyone who buys an iPhone
just because they already have an iPhone and they just need a new one?
Familiarity is king.
But come on, Linus!
I can hear you saying,
I mean, how does any of that help with this supposed long game
if Chromebooks are still underpowered e-waste?
Well, that's the thing.
Google recognized that problem, and this is the fix.
Chromebook Plus promises a new minimum standard for Chromebook devices,
delivering improved performance, powerful included software,
and longer support, up to 10 years,
all while targeting a $400 starting price.
This unit from Acer is right around that baseline of Chromebook Plus.
It has a 1080p 15-inch display, a Core i3 12th Gen processor,
8 gigs of DDR5 RAM, and 128 gigs of storage.
And we saw this thing for as cheap as $270 at Best Buy.
Now, there are entry-level Windows machines around that same price,
or in some cases, even lower.
But they make awful compromises on everything from performance to display,
while also running a heavier operating system.
And by the time you're looking at something running Windows
with a 1080p display,
you could be paying $50 to $100 more for that Windows license.
Well, you know what's not heavy and has no license fee?
Linux, which has always been the beating heart of Chrome OS.
Just now, it's a lot easier to unleash.
These days, it is literally one checkbox to enable a Linux terminal
and to start downloading Linux-native software, like Blender.
Just a simple command, and Blender's installed.
Classroom takes about 30 minutes to run,
with BMW sitting at around 15 minutes.
So, all right, it's not the fastest thing in the world.
But guys, if this was a Windows machine at this price and these specs,
you'd be very impressed.
For about $250, this is very usable for day-to-day tasks.
And in a pinch, as we've shown, you can even do some light, real work on it.
And it's not just Blender.
Kdenlive is a video editor that works on here,
as well as Audacity, which is a powerful open-source audio capture and editing program.
The list of native Linux applications really is long and continues to grow
with the help of the open-source community
and, of course, some corporate players who have played a role as well,
with a huge driving force behind the recent gaming renaissance on Linux being Valve,
who has dumped significant resources into the Proton compatibility layer,
allowing tons of non-native Windows games to be played on Linux.
And, as of quite recently, as soon as this loading bar ever goes away,
even Chrome OS.
Time for some distractions from my studies.
Let's give it a little restart.
Look, I didn't say it was fast.
This is very slow with screen capture running.
This could be a problem.
I will try.
Yeah, you won't be kick-starting your Twitch streaming career with this setup, I'm afraid.
Ooh.
Yeah.
I'm gonna stop screen recording.
All right.
Yeah, this'll work.
Oh.
Okay.
Yeah, I think it's basically just when it needs to
animate quite literally anything, it struggles.
Tried plugging it in.
No improvement.
I don't think it's a performance issue.
I think it's more of a Proton translation layer issue.
Let's try something that I know runs a little better.
Holo Knight.
All right, this is more like it.
This is great.
This is perfectly playable.
Let's try a different game.
This is running great, too.
Look, obviously, you're not gonna be playing AAA games,
but within the confines of what the hardware can handle,
you can use ProtonDB to show what games are natively supported,
you can use Steam Link to remote into a different computer,
or a cloud-based gaming service.
It's all pretty cool, right?
I mean, when I was a kid, I would have loved
to be able to play even simple games
and have an affordable device that I could call my own.
And even the camera is reasonably decent,
so is the microphone,
and I don't even have anything too negative to say
about the keyboard, considering the price.
Now, you might still think that these devices
are just e-waste, and I get it.
It's not like I'm gonna be switching to Chrome OS
as my daily driver anytime soon.
But how many people do you know
who basically use their computer to call Nan on the weekends
or pull up a recipe for baking?
You might not agree with me about this,
but guys, mark my words.
Acceptance for cloud applications,
even heavy ones like 3D modeling,
animation tools, and video editing,
is at an all-time high,
and Chrome OS will work its way into the market
as a daily driver operating system for many people
after they leave school and join the workplace,
where the onboarding process could be as simple
as adding their work account to their Chromebook
that they already own.
It might not be this year,
and it might not be next year,
but I see you, Google.
And I'm kind of into it if it means
that the year of the Linux desktop
can finally move beyond meme status.
What will never move beyond meme status
is this segue to our sponsor.
Red Magic.
They recently released their new flagship gaming phone,
the 9 Pro,
specifically engineered to strike fear
into the hearts of the enemy team.
With the brand new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor,
their Ice 13 cooling system,
and a 6,500 milliamp hour dual battery,
it can handle even the most demanding games
for extended periods of time.
Plus, with 80 watt fast charging,
you can get back into the game faster
because, come on, let's face it,
is your team going to succeed without you?
I didn't think so.
The sleek design features a seamless rear
with no camera bump to dig into your knuckles,
while the 6.8 inch full HD plus flat display
delivers immersive visuals.
Its 520 hertz shoulder triggers
mean your games respond faster to every press,
so you will shoot first,
just like Han Solo did before 1997.
And their game space software
gives you access to great features
like customizable controls for each game,
external gamepad management,
a plugin library,
and you can even pin pictures and notes
to your screen while you game.
So check out the Red Magic 9 Pro at the link below,
and get gaming today.
If you guys enjoyed this video,
go check out the one where I went
and bought my son a Chromebook,
or excuse me, a laptop.
Chrome-based folding device?
What's the term we're using for these?
Either way, they've definitely improved since then,
and I see that trajectory continuing.