Raspberry Pi (and Other Computer) Updates

So, second time was the charm on getting an image of Manjaro Linux with the XFCE desktop (instead of the KDE Plasma version I'd been using) to write to an SD card and actually boot up. The first time, I just got a bunch of boot errors.

This time it worked, and I've got all my stuff configured (e.g. installing Chromium, uninstalling Firefox, and not bothering, at least yet, to install Vivaldi). Based on a few readings (using psensor), I think I'm running a lower CPU temperature and consuming fewer CPU resources and less RAM with XFCE, which was the whole point. It's not as pretty as KDE Plasma, but you know, it's not like I spend a lot of time looking at window change animations and such.

As to how I handled the SD card thing, the previous method was

1. Download a disk image.
2. Ask my son to loan me his SD card reader and walk me through the command line stuff that I can never remember.

The new method is:

1. Download a disk image.
2. Use the new Chromebook to write the image to an SD card (it has a built-in card reader) from the "ChromeOS Recovery" utility, which allows writing any local image, not just ChromeOS.

Speaking of the new Chromebook, I think it was a hell of a deal for $65.

It's got a small (11.6") screen and a not especially fast processor (Intel Celeron at 1.1GHz), but it sports 8Gb of RAM, can run Android and Linux stuff, and can also double as a large tablet because it has a touchscreen. With my second "travel" monitor, USB hub, real keyboard and mouse, it should be a good "travel" machine and a good "work outside instead of at my desk because the weather's nice" machine. With its Android capabilities, I may be able to use it instead of my phone for Callin or Twitter Spaces podcasting as well. We'll see.

Something I Don't Understand About ChromeOS Machines

I can buy a Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i -- that is, a Chromebook with a 3Ghz Intel Core i3 processor, 8Gb of RAM, and a 128Gb solid state drive -- for $389.99 at Amazon (not an affiliate link).

But the cheapest Chromebox I'm seeing with similar RAM and storage numbers, and with an i3 (but at only 2.1Ghz), is an ASUS  ... for $99.01 more (not an affiliate link).

The Chromebook is more or less the same computer ... with a built-in monitor (touch screen, even!), keyboard, and trackpad, yet it costs much less than the Chromebox, which is, well, just a box.

I have two working hypotheses as to why this might be the case.

One is that the per-unit cost of building the Chromebox is higher because they move smaller numbers of them.

Another is that while they move smaller numbers of Chromeboxes than Chromebooks, the people who buy Chromebooks are a hard sell (they're considering Windows laptops, Macs, etc., there's a lot of competition, and the price point makes a big difference), while the people who want Chromeboxes really want Chromeboxes and will pay a premium to get them.

I don't know if either of those hypotheses explain it.

I could actually pick up an HP Chromebook with 8Gb of RAM and an AMD 1.8Ghz CPU, refurbished, for $139.95 (not an affiliate link). It only has 32Gb of storage, but I don't use a lot of storage and could always plug in a USB drive or external SSD if needed. It's not obvious that it has any dedicated video out ports for a second screen (other than my USB travel monitor, that is -- I'm thinking it could be used as a desktop machine), but I'm sure I could figure that out. I may consider it, if for no other reason than to boost my "sitting outside and working" power.