Google announces new Chromebooks and Chromebit HDMI sticks

New Chromebooks and Chromebit HDMI sticks

Google’s Chromebooks have long been burning up the sales charts on Amazon’s list of bestselling laptops. Now the company has announced four new Chromebooks, new HDMI sticks called Chromebits, and an update to its App Runtime for Chrome.

Eric Brown reports for Linux Gizmos:

Google announced an Asus “Chromebit” HDMI stick running Chrome OS, plus four new low-cost Chromebooks, and opened its Android-to-Chrome OS app porting tech.

Google took the Linux and Chrome browser based Chrome OS a step closer to a potential convergence with Android as it announced the first embedded form-factor Chrome OS computer, as well as the most affordable touchscreen Chromebook yet. Google also opened up its App Runtime for Chrome (ARC) technology for porting Android apps to Chrome OS to all Android app developers, and revealed a beta Chrome Launcher 2.0 with greater integration of Android’s Google Now application (see farther below).

The Haier Chromebook 11 and Hisense Chromebook — two 11.6-inch models aimed at educational and emerging markets — each go for $149, down from a previous Chromebook low of $199. The convertible, touchscreen-enabled Asus Chromebook Flip sells for $249, which is $30 cheaper than the touch-ready Acer C720P-2661 and $50 less than the $299 HP Chromebook 14 G3.

All four Chromebooks integrate the HD-ready RK3288SoC, as well as 2GB of DDR3 RAM, 16GB of eMMC flash, a microSD slot, an HDMI port, dual USB 2.0 ports, 802.11ac, and Bluetooth 4.0.A front-facing 720p camera is also available, as well as 100GB of free Google Drive storage for two years.

More at Linux Gizmos

The Google Chrome Blog has the official announcement:

“Get more done and worry less.” That’s what teachers, businesses, and everyday people have told us they can do, thanks to Chromebooks. Since we introduced them four years ago, Chromebooks have made computers faster, simpler, and more secure, while eliminating everyday hassles like waiting for your computer to boot up, having to constantly charge it, and remembering to install software updates. And a lot of people love them—Chromebooks were the best selling laptops on Amazon last holiday season, and teachers and students made them the #1 device in schools last year.

You shouldn’t have to choose between a computer that performs well and one that you can afford. Today we’re introducing two new devices that meet both criteria: the Haier Chromebook 11 (available at Amazon) and the Hisense Chromebook (available at Walmart). These new Chromebooks are fast, lightweight, have long-life batteries and are available for pre-order today for $149.

We’re also excited about the ASUS Chromebook Flip. A premium, all-metal convertible, it’s ultra-portable—just 15mm thin and weighing less than two pounds. The Chromebook Flip has a great keyboard and a touch screen for immersive experiences like gaming and educational apps. It will be available later this spring for $249.

This summer, ASUS will launch a new type of Chrome device: the Chromebit. Smaller than a candy bar, the Chromebit is a full computer that will be available for less than $100. By simply plugging this device into any display, you can turn it into a computer. It’s the perfect upgrade for an existing desktop and will be really useful for schools and businesses.

More at Google Chrome Blog

The news about the HDMI stick and App Runtime caught the attention of Chromebook redditors and they shared their thoughts:

Mixgenio: “…any Android developer can start using the App Runtime for Chrome (still in beta). That means those developers will be able to port their Android apps right over to Chrome OS with minimal hassle, something Google first announced back at I/O last year.” That is huge.”

Chinchillin: “I’d much rather they rebuild them to fit ChromeOS proper rather than porting apps. Every Android app ported to ChromeOS has been horrid.”

Lodc: “It’s good and bad. It allows chromeos users access to a lot more software, but it also means developers have less incentive to create chromeos native apps. Why bother writing something specifically for chromeos when you can just port an android app? Not sure how that will shake out in the long term.”

SpaceMonkeyPDX: “This is amazing – I’d definitely consider buying one. IMO, HDMI sticks are the future of computing and the “desktop”.”

PlatinumX: “I’m a little confused. Is this basically a full Chromebox in a stick, or is it more like a Chromecast? Is the USB port for a keyboard?”

Feltz: “It’s a chromebox on a stick but with less hardware features. One USB port. Wifi. 2g ram vs 4gb. Arm mali chip vs an intel cpu. That’s pretty much it. Unless you added a powered USB hub then you could connect multiple usb devices and a usb to ethernet adapter(most likely). As for speed, I have the same rockchip 3288 running android and it’s very snappy. Shouldn’t be a problem running chromeos.”

Baseballandfreedom: “Assuming it can process HD videos well, I’ll be buying this to replace my TV’s chromebox.”

JOLO: “This looks pretty awesome. Being able to watch any video that will play in Chrome on any TV is fantastic. Pair this with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and you are set. I love my Roku, but if this things performs decently I might have to make a switch. I’ll wait to see one in the wild before I make and rash decisions, but it definitely has potential.”

More at Reddit

Tor Browser 4.0.6 released

The latest version of the Tor Browser is version 4.0.6, and you can download it today. This is the sixth maintenance release, and it is based on Firefox 31.6.0 ESR.

Marius Nestor reports for Softpedia:

The Tor Project, through Mike Perry, had the pleasure of announcing the immediate availability for download of the sixth maintenance release of the Tor Browser Bundle 4.0 software for GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows operating systems.

According to the release notes, Tor Browser 4.0.6 is now based on the upstream Mozilla Firefox 31.6.0 ESR (Extended Support Release) web browser, updates the OpenSSL component to version 1.0.1m, as well as the meek tool to version 0.16.

More at Softpedia

You can get more information about Tor Browser 4.0.6 from the official release notes:

A new release for the stable Tor Browser is available from the Tor Browser Project page and also from our distribution directory. Tor Browser 4.0.6 is based on Firefox ESR 31.6.0, which features important security updates to Firefox.

Here is the complete changelog since 4.0.5: All Platforms Update Firefox to 31.6.0esr Update meek to 0.16 Update OpenSSL to 1.0.1m

More at Tor Project

You can download the Tor Browser for Linux from the official download page:

Version 4.0.6 – Linux, Unix, BSD.

Everything you need to safely browse the Internet. This package requires no installation. Just extract it and run.

More at Tor Project

64-bit or 32-bit for games on Steam?

A Linux game developer wanted to know if he should use 32-bit or 64-bit executables for a game he’s making for Steam. He asked his question and Linux redditors offered their take on the 32-bit or 64-bit debate.

WazWaz on the question of targeting 32-bit or 64-bit for his game:

Is there any use providing both 32-bit and 64-bit executables and libs for game published on Steam, or is SteamOS effectively making 64-bit the only/best option for everyone?

I’m developing a game that is published to Linux but I only have one test system for the Linux build, running SteamOS (which asserts itself as requiring x86-64 but happily runs 32-bit binaries).

More at Reddit

His fellow Linux redditors shared their thoughts:

Updog69: “The only 32-Bit machine I have is an old Intel Atom N270 netbook that’s too slow to run your game anyway. 64-Bit is probably the way to go. There’s already a few games on Steam for Linux that require 64-Bit.”

OLD_STDIO_MAGIC: “If it’s a high-performance game and you might break the 3.X GB memory limit, definitely go for 64 bit. If it’s a tiny game, 32bit is much more portable…but that’s for Windows. With Linux, users with 64bit OSes would much prefer 64bit versions, because all of their libs are 64bit.”

Kon14: “Most steam games are currently 32bit but that’s a desease brought back to us from the windows world. If you’re going for only one architecture then please do target 64bit, the linux world has been migrating to 64 for a lot of years and it’s really a better option both in terms of performance and future.

If I recall correctly Valve is actually modifying 32 bit glibc so as for it to perform better. 64bit systems might be capable of being multiarch but 64bit is usually way better in linux. Unless you’re building a very lightweight game you’d like to be playable on old hardware there’s no reason to go 32bit. Also depending on your distro it might be easier or cleaner to not enable multiarch support (though steam itself requires 32bit compatibility right now).”

KayRice: “Only time anyone cares about 32-bit is for VMs these days, for lower memory usage. Almost every processor applicable to gaming for the last decade has been 64-bit. Also as a Linux user separating the multi-arch problems can be infuriating. You mention that it will happily run 32-bit binaries, except when it flips out and cannot find the 32-bit libraries on the 64-bit system.”

Skinbearxett: “Technically it has gotten better through multilib, but really very few people have 32 bit any more. The compatibility issues of running 32 bit on 64 bit hardware add a whole layer you can avoid by dropping support for a very small number of users. Question you should be asking is how powerful the hardware your game will need is. Can it run on old hardware? Is it a 2d game? How does it compare with other games out there? Is it about the same as Starbound? If it is substantially below Starbound you may have reason to target 32 bit, but if it is similar or higher you don’t as most 32 bit hardware is way below that level.”

More at Reddit

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