Pixelbook Go Is Dead
Long Live the HP Dragonfly Pro
OK, so today’s post has absolutely nothing to do with Freemasonry.
Well, except for the fact that in today’s world there is plenty of Freemasonry going on in the virtual world. Facebook, Zoom, Reddit, all the rest. Given that, I thought that it might well be helpful to some if I rambled on a bit about my hardware and Operating System choices.
As a bit of background, I was an Apple guy my entire life. When I was just finishing High School, the school got a half dozen or so Apple II’s, and I was hooked on them just about forever. I even stayed with Apple through the horrible years without Steve Jobs at the helm. I always bought the best Apple had to offer, and I was always pleased as punch.
But, the very best Apple has to offer has never been an inexpensive option. I babied those things. They would last me for quite a few years, maybe five or six, then I’d buy another to keep up with technology. Only once did I have one die, and that was my own fault for accidentally spilling a glass full of wine right on the keyboard. Amazingly, I was able to buy a new keyboard and actually fix the darn thing.
But, as part of my babying, I never traveled with my Macs.
At first, I didn’t need to travel with a computer, and when I suddenly did I ran out and bought a super cheap plastic thing just for traveling. It worked well for that, despite being bulky and heavy, but I was able to keep the Macs pristine.
Three years, and three months ago, I went in a completely different direction.
I thought about what I did with a computer, and I realized that I didn’t need all the fancy things that Macs could do, because I don’t do any of those things. All I do on a computer is browse the web, watch videos, answer emails, listen to music, hang out on Zoom, and write things. I didn’t need all the capabilities of the Mac, and would never use those capabilities.
So, I decided that a laptop running Chrome OS would perfectly fit my needs. In fact, in some ways (Instant On, seamless OS updates, no need for additional software, amazingly long battery life) Chrome OS would better serve my needs.
I could do everything I needed to do with a $150 special.
But…
I couldn’t do the $150 special thing.
I type on my computer, for work, for fun, for Freemasonry, for hours a day, every day. I needed the very best keyboard, housed in some fancy metal or another, with an excellent trackpad. I also needed a good camera, mic, and speakers for Zoom. Plus, it needed to be light, run cool, and have a good ‘feel’ as I don’t type at a desk. I really do use my laptop, on my lap. Finally, it had to be light enough to drag around the Capitol Campus all day long.
With all that in mind, three years and three months ago, I bought one of Google’s Pixelbook Go’s.
I’ve got to say that this was a superb machine for my needs. Beautifully crafted, superb keyboard, excellent speakers, nice display, super thin, and extremely light. A fine machine that looks and feels as good as a Mac.
But it has slowly started to die.
Now I never had a Mac die on me (except for the one I murdered, then brought back like Lazarus) even Macs used as my daily drivers for twice as long as this Pixelbook Go.
But the Pixelbook is dying.
That would be super disappointing, except for the fact that I think that my own behavior has changed enough that I’m contributing to its death. The fact is that this highest of high end Chromebooks cost a fraction of what a high end Mac costs. And as result, I haven’t used the same care with it that I used with my Macs.
Twice while running through the house one of my granddaughters feet has gotten tangled in the power cord, resulting in the Pixelbook going flying and landing hard. Additionally I’ve flown with it a lot, around the US and into Mexico. Neither of these things ever happened with one of my Mac’s, and I presume that both of them have contributed to a reduced lifespan.
In any event, quite some time ago, the touch part of the touchscreen stopped working. That didn’t bother me a bit because I never used that feature anyway. Although my granddaughter prefered it for using YouTube.
But last night, the camera gave out. I was on a Zoom call with a Brother, going over the Posting Lecture and the thing just wouldn’t turn on. I tried all the software fixes, none worked, so it has to be a hardware issue.
That meant that this morning, I had to buy a new one.
Great timing, since last week I had to buy a new hot water heater for the house!
Despite being disappointed with its premature impending death, I did seriously consider just buying another Pixelbook Go. As mentioned above, I figure that between my granddaughter and I, we had a lot to do with that premature death. It does what I want it to do, and it does so elegantly. But, the technology is now three years old, and the price hasn’t dropped. It just doesn’t seem reasonable to pay a price at the extreme top end of the market for three year old tech.
So, I looked around and decided that the HP Dragonfly Pro is the way to go.
To steal an old Masonic term it seems to be the current ‘ne plus ultra’ of Chromebooks, sitting in the top spot occupied by my Pixelbook Go a couple of years ago.
Important to me from reading review after review, the keyboard should be just as nice as on the Pixelbook, with an even better trackpad. The speakers are supposed to be even better (which seems quite a feat, the Pixelbook speakers are truly amazing) and the camera should be a massive improvement, at 8 MP compared to 2 MP.
Reviews also indicate that the form and feel should be comparable, something important to me as it will sit on my lap for hours a day.
The only real drawbacks I see are a potentially reduced battery life (apparently this due to the maximum possible brightness of the Dragonfly’s display, so it should be controllable), a full pound of increased weight, and it has a fan. I’m not sure how I’ll feel about the weight, at two pounds, the Pixelbook is superb, but I think that maybe I’ll not notice an extra pound. The fan should also be OK, reviews mention that it is silent, and importantly the air intake is not on the bottom, so my lap won’t interfere.
Interestingly, comparison reviews didn’t generally show the Dragonfly Pro as the best to buy. In most reviews that honor went to the Acer Chromebook Spin 714, due to its lower cost. I considered it, but the camera isn’t as good as that in the Dragonfly, and the speakers much worse. Both things very important for Zoom. It also has only half the RAM, but given my use, I don’t think that would matter much.
I also don’t think that cost is really a factor. Chromebooks are so inexpensive that their monthly cost is fairly negligible. The Pixelbook, even with its reduced life, cost a bit under $26 per month. Saving a couple hundred dollars, when computed over the total life of ownership would not be worth putting up with substandard components that are very often used.
The only odd thing that will really take getting used too? It’s white. I’ve owned black laptops from Apple’s bad years and this latest Google device, and I’ve owned silver laptops from Apple’s good years, this will be my first ever white machine. It’ll certainly be different.
The only scary thing is that I’m just not sure about HP’s quality. I’ve owned an HP laser printer for probably 20 years that is still going strong. But I’ve got a second HP laser printer that is maybe a year old, and it’s a junker. Hopefully the new computer will be comparable in quality to the former printer and not the latter. We’ll see, next week, when it arrives. (Yep, a Dragonfly Pro has to be ordered directly from HP, they aren’t available elsewhere at this time.)
If you’ve read all my ramblings this far, it seems only fair that I leave you with a takeaway for your suffering.
It is this:
If all you do on your computer is answer emails, write things, cruise around Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, or other social media, participate on Zoom, and browse the web, a Chromebook will serve all your needs more securely, more simply, and less expensively than either a Windows box or a Mac. If those are the things you do, you can’t go wrong with Chrome OS, and computer options range from $150 to $1000.
Unless you do a lot of printing. That is the only real caveat. If you do a lot of printing, know that Chromebooks are not good at it. In this day and age I print very little, and I have a solid workaround for what I do, but if you print at home a lot, you’ll be happier with a different Operating System.
Additionally, if your regular computing tasks go beyond what I mentioned above, you will be happier with a more complex and capable OS. But for many of us, we just never need those capabilities.
One final thing any Chromebook/Pixelbook buyer needs to be aware of is the specific machine’s ‘expiration date.’ You see, one of the great things about Chrome OS is that Google itself regularly rolls out updates to every device using Chrome OS, the world over. That ensures that a $1,000 computer and a $200 computer will both work the same way and be capable of doing the same things. It also keeps everything fast and super secure. But, these updates don’t roll out forever. Each device is only ‘good’ for a set number of years.
My Pixelbook Go is scheduled to stop receiving updates in June of 2027. The new Dragonfly Pro will receive them until June of 2032.
It’s a long way off when buying a new computer, and really nothing to worry about.
Except…
Manufacturers and retailers sell ‘new old stock’ all the time. So what you think it actually a new laptop may have been manufactured years ago, or be outfitted with a chipset design from years ago. In that case, you could well be buying it ‘new’ while it is truly at its end of life.
The good news is that Google provides a list of every Chrome OS device made, along with the date it will last receive an update. This will tell you if that computer you are looking at is ‘new’ or truly new. You can find that list here:
There you have it, maybe everything you need to know about buying a computer running Chrome OS, and why doing so might be right for you.
Next time, we’ll be right back to Freemasonry!