So here I am again, looking at another new chromebook and hoping to turn it into my dream workstation. This time I am using a Dell Chromebook 11, the 4gb model that has the i3 chip. This clearly should solve the ARM problem I had.
Let's compare the two devices first. The Dell model weighs a little more, looking, weighing in at a whopping 2lb14oz (2.875 lbs) but the ASUS only weighed, by spec, about 2.25lbs (I forgot to weigh that one before I mailed it back). In addition, the Dell is not fanless, which may account for the extra weight, and does have a small hum which I really only notice when listening for it. The fan is also likely the reason that instead of 11 - 13 hours usage like the ASUS, the Dell is down to about 8 hours without charging.
I'm told that the Dell screen isn't as "sharp" as other Chromebook displays, so I tried to find that flaw. While looking for that, I noticed what they meant but I also didn't see any problem watching videos on Netflix or browsing. I don't see it as a significant worry, and as someone who is using small-font text editing on it without problem, I don't think it's something most people would worry about.
The Dell seems snappier and more responsive, though to be honest the only lag I saw on the ASUS was when I was dragging a window onto a second monitor. The window seemed to move a second after I moved the mouse, but other than that it was great. The Dell, however, had no problems and was snappy and responds like I'd expect from a higher powered machine. This does come with a problem though, in that it's sticker is a little higher. Rather than the ASUS pricetag of about $200, the Dell Chromebook 11 sits at $390, putting it just out of the range for a "casual toy purchase" for me, and many others. Luckily I saw a Woot deal that had it at $280, which made it a pretty simple choice.
So now onto the fun part... Let's put Ubuntu on this thing!
I plugged it in and powered it up, did my sign in to google and was going in minutes. Then developer mode, then back to signing in, and finally to Crouton!
So I told crouton to install Ubuntu Trusty with Unity desktop. For any Crouton users out there, I set up keyboard,extension, and unity-desktop. I flipped over to Ubuntu and it ran smooth. With the ARM chip (which didn't have freon) it had problems flipping back and forth but the Dell has no issues flipping back and forth from ChromeOS to Ubuntu.
The final punchline... I have Sublime Text with MavensMate, an awesome terminal called Tilde, Git, and all the other dev tools (including Gitk) that I need and they're running like a dream. 100% success, and now I'm carrying a light little 11 inch bag rather than the 15 inch backpack with my Lenovo monster.
Side note: I instealled Steam on the Ubuntu partition too, and even ran UnEpic without problems. Not about to try Borderlands II though, lol. Win Win Win :)
Comments, thoughts, and ideas are all welcome!
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