Last year, I suddenly felt unhappy with the old laptop lying on my bed. It was a relatively expensive purchase for me (a big expense six months after graduation), and it had keyboard and touchpad issues that required two repairs costing another 1000 yuan each. Given its high cost, I didn’t want to leave it idle, so I decided to give fydeos another chance. After some research, I found that both deepin and fydeos have evolved significantly in recent years. Fydeos has become more user-friendly, and they now offer Android as well as a Linux subsystem, making daily use much more accessible. Therefore, I decided to buy a Lenovo Chromebook Duet.
Chip Architecture and Device Availability
Don’t doubt my mental state; although the content above and the title below might seem like I’m drunk, they are actually logical!
Firstly, I know that fydeos has become quite different from the original ChromeOS. Buying a Chromebook to run fydeos is not advisable because fydeos is a company that primarily serves enterprise businesses rather than individual consumers. They don’t have many hardware products they design and maintain long-term. At the time I had this idea, the old ITN devices were no longer available for purchase, and the Fydetab Duo crowdfunding campaign hadn’t started yet. The second-hand FYDEOS version was also quite expensive. Therefore, I decided to buy a cheap ChromeOS tablet to try it out. After all, there are so many of them in the seafood market; if it works well, I’ll use it; otherwise, I won’t sell it (and end up losing 200 yuan).
When choosing the trial device, I also considered for a long time before deciding on an ARM architecture Duet. This was mainly to get a better Android experience. When using fydeos, I found that this type of system’s Android is not completely isolated from the host system; files generated by Android can be easily read from the host system, and files from the host system can also be right-clicked and shared with Android applications. This is much more convenient than I expected. Additionally, all devices on the host, including the camera, are directly callable by Android applications, allowing for full functionality of Android apps to supplement the ecosystem. However, many domestic apps do not support x86 architecture, causing them to crash or fail to open entirely, making them unusable. Therefore, if I buy an ARM architecture device, it might be able to completely replace my daily notebook and be even lighter, which would be great.
Device Positioning and Old Love New Romance
However,事实证明我真的很容易在电子产品上上手，过去如此，现在如此，未来估计还是如此。
In the two days after I started using the Chrome Duet, I immediately felt that it had significant problems. A cheap netbook’s configuration naturally won’t be great, although an ARM architecture CPU allows Android apps to run smoothly and efficiently. However, wanting to use it as a work device while only being able to run one app fluently is clearly not enough… The Chrome Duet can run WeChat and DingTalk well, but when I open the browser, either WeChat or DingTalk will be terminated, requiring them to be restarted each time. Switching tabs in Chrome also takes 30 seconds, which is extremely frustrating even if my boss doesn’t notice me multitasking. A 4G memory for a mobile device might seem adequate, but given the bloatware of domestic apps… it feels like I’ve already failed.
Apart from obvious application issues, there were hardware problems as well. The Chrome Duet is a two-in-one tablet; if we only consider its main body, its weight and battery life are even better than my previously owned Huawei tablet. However… when adding the keyboard case… the overall weight of the device becomes confusing… So you say it’s light, but it’s not really that light. In terms of typing, since it’s a keyboard case with a stand-up form factor, this device is inconvenient for use on a lap without a table. Therefore, in scenarios where there’s no desk, it’s immediately discarded… It feels like losing the soul of a writing and social office device. The most frustrating thing is its size—10.1 inches means that the accompanying keyboard is much smaller than a regular notebook. I don’t mind the rebound effect, but switching between a 10.1-inch small keyboard and a 14-inch regular-sized keyboard is really annoying, similar to playing塞尔达 on an NS and then switching to an Xbox controller for Monster Hunter on PC—relearning how to use my newly installed ten fingers…
In summary, from hardware to software, it failed to meet my expectations for the Duet. In the end, I self-sabotaged it, but I didn’t stop being reckless. Even though there were so many problems with the Duet, I gradually discovered a surprising fact during this trial period: most of my work can actually be done using just a browser.
My Work Requirements
I am a bioinformatics professional, and my usual work involves four main tools:
- Writing scripts: VScode / Jupyter
- Copying code: Chrome browser
- Logging into terminals: Whatever distribution comes with it
- Writing files: WPS / Office全家桶
During the period when I was fighting against (not falling in love with) the Duet, I gradually realized that in today’s rapidly evolving web technology, all of these can be achieved through a browser. Jupyter and VScode can run in the browser, and VScode has an integrated terminal emulator. WPS/Office has also started to layout its web applications.
Although not all features are available, it is much more complete than when ChromeOS first came out 10 years ago. It’s like when I first used Logo on a green screen back then, which was like a mint imitation of the initial deepin version. Now, many distributions have Chinese support, and software has increased significantly, making configuration easier. Even Manjaro, which can now run Steam comfortably, feels more relaxed…
So, I decided to continue being reckless. After sending away the Duet, I switched to a Pixelbook 2017—then it went wrong (the touchpad was faulty, and I didn’t want to spend more money on repairs, so I chose one with backlighting to treat my强迫症).
Pixelbook 2017 Application Compatibility
Unlike the Duet, the Pixelbook 2017 and other high-end Chromebooks use Intel chips (although I don’t understand why, there’s nothing I can do), so I started using this device with its sleek appearance (ignoring the B-side carrier runway and yellow palm rest). However, its battery life didn’t meet expectations.
As expected, all four main tools could be relatively easily used. However, the problem ultimately fell on communication software… just like the biggest issue faced by Linux distributions when they first came out.
Although X86 architecture Pixelbooks can install international versions of WeChat and DingTalk through Play, these apps have poor compatibility. They often crash or fail to use many necessary web-based features, requiring Linux applications to save the day. However, this brings new problems with Linux. Small issues include that Linux applications cannot call device cameras or host desktops like Android apps; they are more like running separate apps in a virtual machine. The bigger problem is that if I rely so much on Linux, why don’t I just format ChromeOS and install Manjaro on this device?
So Why Duet
After trying out an experience that was good but not great, I began to question myself: why do I need to hold onto such a device? Is it for showing off? (Then what?)
Is it because of fewer interfaces, higher heat generation, or lower battery life than expected?
I thought about this for a long time, holding the 1.1kg laptop and looking at its 12.3-inch 2.5K screen… Well, the high-resolution screen is still good!
