A list of applications and tools that make ChromeOS such a great experience. Influenced by: obahareth. Full disclaimer: I am using a Pixelbook from Google which means in addition to ChromeOS I am running Linux via Crostini and Android.
- Hardware
- Operating Systems
- Applications
- Productivity
- Games
- On My Desk
- Similar Setups
- Related
- Contributing
Pixelbook by Google
Operating System: ChromeOS, Android, Linux.
Displays: 12.3" LCD (2400x1600) with two additional 24" AOC Monitors (1920x1080)
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5 Processor
Storage: 128GB, Solid State Drive
Additional Storage: Samsung T5 Portable SSD - 500GB - USB 3.1 External SSD, Additional 100GB on Google Drive
Memory: 8GB Ram
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Tournament Edition CHROMA V2
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Elite
Dock: Inland USB 3.1 (Gen 1 Type-C) Dock with Power Delivery
Extra: Google Home Mini to use as wireless speakers instead of having hardwired speakers. If I need more privacy I will use the Google Pixel Buds. I also use the Google Pixelbook Pen a lot. I use it to draw up ideas for designs I am working on or I'll open a drawing app and use it as a whiteboard replacement.
What I love about my hardware: I love that I can run ChromeOS, Linux and Android applications all three at the same time in harmony. I really love that my laptop can fold up and become a tablet. I wasn't sure how often I would use this, but as a full time student and worker it's really nice to be able to lay in bed and read my course content. I love that it works well with my other Google products such as my Pixel XL 2. For example, my phone has the ability to unlock my Pixelbook, and I think my Google Pixel Buds can unlock my phone. Finally, The Pixelbook is very light and easy to take with me, plus ChromeOS is pretty secure so getting a virus is not a huge worry right now.
What I don't like: Honestly, I am just waiting on GPU acceleration and audio support to come to Crostini. Everything else has been a stellar experience.
ChromeOS is what you will have upon unboxing a Chromebook such as the Google Pixelbook. While the operating system in itself is not extremely useful for a developer, the new features that allow you to run Android and Crostini are very powerful additions. ChromeUnboxed has some really great tips on getting you transitioned from Mac or PC to a Chromebook.
Ahh, Linux. This is the bread and butter of the setup for me. Without Linux on ChromeOS I would not own a Pixelbook today. To get Linux setup on a Chromebook is a really simple process now. You do this through Crostini, which is intergrated in with a lot of Chromebooks such as the Pixelbook. For tips and tricks on how to install Crostini, head over to r/Crostini on Reddit. The community is extremely helpful.
Finally, Android. You are probably familar with Android by now... It's been around for a while and is extremely popular. Having the ability to run phone and tablet applications from your computer is pretty useful, especially since the Pixelbook in particular has a tablet mode. I use this mostly for running Android applications that work well with my Pixelbook Pen... And shamelessly checking apps such as Instagram.
Docs (ChromeOS) - Microsoft Word replacement.
Sheets (ChromeOS) - Microsoft Excel replacement.
Gmail (ChromeOS) - You've got mail.
Keep (ChromeOS) - A wonderful Note application I use with my family. Sharing is easy and it works with Google Home!
Hangouts (ChromeOS) - A great chat/ video/ screen sharing tool by Google.
Calendar (ChromeOS) - With desktop notifications, this becomes very useful.
Trello (ChromeOS) - Story board application.
Terminal (Linux) - Terminal is your most useful app. Use it to install Java, Python, MySQL, etc.
IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate (Linux) - An amazing IDE that I use for my Java development.
Visual Studio Code (Linux) - Another amazing light code editor. Pairprogramming is made easy with the Share plugin.
MySQL-Workbench (Linux) - Though you don't need a GUI for MySQL, I do like to have one in my local environment.
GitKraken (Linux) - Git made easy. I use this to share my code on Github.
AndroidStudio (Linux) - Standard Android development IDE.
Unity (Linux) - I tested if Unity runs on my Pixelbook, for game development. It runs, however you may want to wait on GPU acceleration if you are going to use a chromebook for any serous game development.
Instagram (Android)
Twitter (ChromeOS)
Facebook (ChromeOS)
Reddit (ChromeOS)
Spotify (Android)
YouTube (ChromeOS)
Audacity (Linux) - I use this for any sound editing I need to do.
Note that Crostini does not support audio yet. If you need to do heavy audio editing, you might want to wait for audio to officially be supported.
Google Photos (ChromeOS)
GIMP (Linux) - Image editor, it's pretty popular and only second to Photoshop (in my humble opinion).
AutoDesk SketchBook (Android) - I use this for mocking up new ideas, designs and as a white board replacement.
Kdenlive (Linux) - Video Editor for Linux. Comparable to FinalCut Pro or Adobe Premiere.
Calendar Clock (ChromeOS)
Google Drive (ChromeOS) - Works similarly to Microsoft Calendar/ Clock.
WiFi (Android) - I use Google's WiFi app to monitor my wifi occasionally, instead of SpeedTest.
TEXT (ChromeOS) - This came with my ChromeOS. It's a simple text editor.
COG (ChromeOS) - Display lots of useful hardware and network info such as CPU usage and temperatures.
Chrome (ChromeOS) - Favorite browser, I use this 99% of the time.
Firefox (Linux) - Only used for testing websites.
Chromium (Linux) - I used this for a while on Linux to run my local web applications.
Hearthstone (Android)
Clash Royale (Android)
Pokemon Trading Card Game (Android)
A small personal whiteboard.
Too many dry erase pens.
Ball point sharpie and sticky notes.
A Livescribe Echo pen with a Livescribe journal.
Here you can find more setups by other people that you can take ideas and inspiration from.
ChromeUnboxed - A great resource for ChromeOS.
r/Crostini - A friendly community of smart, helpful people.
PlayOnLinux - Have that one app you still need? PlayOnLinux does work on Crostini.
If you shared a similar setup to this, be it for ChromeOS, Windows or anything else, you can add it in Similar Setups section.
I love finding new awesome tools and apps. If you have a favorite tool or app that you think I missed, please say it.