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        Pixel Slate
        2019.04.16 19:24:24 UTC
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        Last week I received my new work machine, a Pixel Slate with a Pixel
        Slate Keyboard and a Pixelbook Pen. This is replacing my previous HP
        13" chromebook.
       
        I really liked my previous chromebook. The main reason I moved to
        Mac machines was the overhead of using any of the alternatives. I
        did not want to administer my local machine as a complex system. I
        just want it to work and get out of my way. Yes, I enjoyed modifying
        and adjusting my Linux and BSD machines as much as I could in the
        past, but I noticed this was taking too much of my time. When it
        came down to being productive, they were getting on my way.
       
        Yes, the price I paid is very high: a lot of proprietary software,
        fewer features, fewer options and less control of my computing
        devices. My inner hacker screams at me for this decision.
       
        But I got what I wanted: a device which always worked, required
        minimal administration and had all of the features I needed to work.
       
        Yet it couldn't do everything I needed for non-work scenarios. I
        still carried around my iPad for things like reading e-books, taking
        hand-written notes and some other apps.
       
        When the Pixel Slate was announced, I was excited to give it a try
        and finally I got one at work. So far I am really enjoying this
        device! It does everything my previous chromebook did, but the pen/
        stylus solves the hand-writing need, and being able to use it as a
        tablet solves the other use cases for my iPad. The result: I'm now
        back to carrying a single device!
       
        The cherry on the top is being able to run a linux container [1] on
        this device, solving the need for a remote workstation! Previously
        I used to SSH into my machine at home to work from my shell there.
        Now I can do it all locally and not worry about Internet connection.
       
        I'm still moving all of my apps into this device and adjusting my
        personal workflows, so maybe I'll run into a snag later. Now that
        I mention it, I just remembered one: they delivered the device with
        an UK (ISO) layout keyboard. I prefer US (ANSI) layout, so I will
        have to change it soon - hopefully on my next trip to the US.
       
        [1] https://support.google.com/pixelslate/answer/9136958