Up until recently I owned a Pixelbook, and the Linux layer (Crostini) made ChromeOS a very viable development platform. The one thing I missed was the ability to start virtual machines (and I believe this may have been addressed on newer ChromeOS hardware)

Really a lot. I recently installed CloudReady (equivalent of ChromeOS Flex) on a 8th Gen Dell latitude. From Gimp to running 3 different chrome browsers with different profiles. All just works.

It really is impressive how much a cheap computer can do with the right software now a days. Cheapest I see glancing at amazon right now is $75. Chump change in the first world.

Probably even the cheapest part of schooling equipment too now. Never seen a textbook go for less than $100, at least in my experience.

Still using my 300 euro Asus 1215B from 2009.

I still really miss my dell mini laptop. It fit my small hands well and was easily lighter than a book.

I used to throw it into one of those mini fashion backpacks and bike to the park to write a bit of code on nice days.

Not much fear of breaking it because it was so cheap. Had external batteries too which I sometimes brought an extra of to swap out (which actually sounds crazy compared to how most laptops are now a days)

It still does the job quite well, naturally I took advantage of being able to expand it to 8 GB and replacing the HDD with a SSD one.

And despite my Linux vs Windows posts, it is actually Linux based, and was bought that way, also a proof that even that didn't help when regarding some common Linux Desktop themes.

Anyway, it has served me well during my travels, like you I am used to take it everywhere.

When it finally dies, it is going to be quite hard to find a good replacement that takes over similar responsibility.

That's some serious frugal :)

Yep, the time that we had to replace computers every two years is well behind us, and that is what brings fear into OEM hearts.

When not doing docker or microservices everything, there is hardly any need to keep buying hardware.

WebGL 2.0 is based on OpenGL ES 3.0, so for that kind of graphics, any GPU after 2011 will spend most of their cores sleeping.

For compiled languages, even C++ (if using binary dependencies via package manager), the workflow is fast enough.

I am the opinion, even something like an Amiga 3000 would be more than enough for what most people do with their computers. :)

preaching the choir my dear, whenever I see "new big web project" all I see is people sending a few bits of text .. sure it's coated with useless 4k vids and high res banners, but the cruft of the protocol is still a little bit of text. And considering the average brain speed of the population, a fast minitel would suffice :cough:.. hell, the human / system impedance might even improve.

Expired Chromebooks are cheap, and great for installing Linux.

For my purposes, a $100 used Chromebook is perfectly adequate, and is the sort of device I can take on a hike, kayak, or bike ride, and not worry if it's lost, stolen, or damaged.

What is the best source to learn more about replacing ChromeOS with Linux? When I was briefly considering this, I found most of the Chromebooks came with non-replaceable eMMC (<64GB), soldered ram (~4GB), or 720p resolution.

I am willing to adjust my performance expectations considerably, but the non-expandable storage has made me think I am in for a world of annoyance if I want to use anything other than a web browser.

The trick isn't to shop for /most/ Chromebooks. The trick is to shop for /decent, expired/ Chromebooks. Chromebooks are designed around planned obsolescence, and all come with a use-by date, after which they stop updating:

https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366?hl=en

Chromebooks near or past the planned obsolescence date can be had for a song, including decent models. The market is close to non-existent, so there's a glut of them.

My Chromebook has a 3200x1800 display, 16GB RAM, and takes an SD card (for expandable, albeit slow, storage). That's plenty for most of the types of work I'd like to do on a boat. It was under $200, almost expired. New, it would have been close to a grand.

The most popular way to install Ubuntu is with crouton:

https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/install-ubuntu-on-chromebook#1-...

However, I installed it natively. Here's a random tutorial:

https://dbtechreviews.com/2018/09/how-to-install-ubuntu-on-c...

The key annoyance (really the only difference from a "real" laptop) is you have to hit a special key sequence on every boot.

I definitely don't think of it as a "world of pain." I wouldn't use it as my primary laptop, but it's great as a device I can use in places I'd never take my primary laptop.