Tá me dando uma coceira dos diabos!

Tá me dando uma coceira dos diabos!

Originally shared by Matt Pandina

I flipped the developer switch on my $249 Chromebook, downloaded crouton, typed in a few commands, waited several minutes, and now I'm running a full version of Ubuntu alongside stock Chrome OS.

My Chromebook is no longer just a content-consumption device, as I now have access to the full suite of GNU/Linux programs that I'm already used to using. I immediately installed Emacs, GCC, gEDA, and a cross-compiler so I can use it to design circuit boards and program microcontrollers.

There is no dual booting involved, nor am I paying the performance/memory hit of running an entire OS in a virtual machine (it shares its kernel with Chrome OS). The Chromebook still cold boots in just a few seconds, wakes from sleep instantly, and receives its updates like normal. Chrome OS handles the network, power management, and other hardware like a champ, the only difference being that if I want to do something more than just surf the web, I can hold down a few keys, and instantly switch between Chrome OS and Ubuntu.

I can't believe that I ever considered buying an expensive MacBook Air and installing GNU/Linux on it, when for just the price of the AppleCare Protection Plan alone, I was able to buy an entire (brand new) laptop that got me the same end result with minimal effort.