is Google Chromebook Laptop Good for Programer?

Google Chromebook is hot.

I wondered whether it is useful for programers on the go, running unix shell bag, coding python, web dev, run database, emacs, etc.

The answer is no. It's more like a alternative to tablets. Designed mainly as a consummer device for browsing the web, watch movies, for mom ＆ pop.

However, there's some innovation in its keyboard. Notice that Caps Lock key is gone. The F1 … F12 also gone for good. And the Ctrl and Alt are huge. Also gone are number pad embedded in the letter keys. {⇞ Page △, ⇟ Page ▽} also gone. No more diddling with Fn key. In short, the keys are much simplified.

I think these are good change for laptop keyboard, even for coders. Those huge Ctrl and Alt are giant steps forward for coders. Emacs users rejoice.

• Caps Lock you don't need.
• F1 … F2 keys you need, but on a crammed laptop keyboard, it's good trade off to not have them. In return, you get large {Ctrl, Alt}, and single key press for screen brightness, sound level control, etc.
• Embedded number keypad you don't need.
• ⇞ Page △ ⇟ Page ▽ are gone. These two keys are quite useful. More convenient than using touchpad's side for scroll or mouse's scroll wheel. But it's not essential. Given the cram'd space on laptop, so i think it's ok to remove them.

If you have time on your hands, you can probably put linux on Chromebook. But i think it's probably better to simply go for a normal laptop, ⁖ “Samsung Series 3 NP305E5A-A06US 15.6-Inch Laptop” amazon