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57 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
57 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Pixelbook Development Mode: A Cautionary Tale"
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subtitle: It was all going far too well
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---
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So for about a month I've been using the Pixelbook as my portable development
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and note-taking laptop, and it's been generally going well. Like I mentioned in
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my [first impressions](/pixelbook-first-impressions) post, the
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pen support is great, Android apps run surprisingly well, and while the Linux
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container has some quirks it's pretty useful overall.
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My biggest complaint so far, is that enabling ChromeOS developer mode puts it
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it in a state where it's far too easy to accidentally wipe your system. **(Yes,
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I say this from experience - it just happened to me.)**
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Putting the Pixelbook in developer mode requires disabling its boot-time OS
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verification, and every time the device starts it splashes up a warning screen
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to inform you of this fact. The warning screen helpfully recommends you press
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the spacebar to re-enable OS verification, but neglects to mention that doing
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so will factory reset the device.
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> *Developer Mode Boot Screen*
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>
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> 
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>
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> Source [Android Central](https://www.androidcentral.com/how-enable-developer-mode-chrome-os)
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If developer mode was more stable, this wouldn't really be an issue - the
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problem comes from when the device reboots unexpectedly.
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This morning I was using my Pixelbook in tablet mode with the keyboard folded
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behind it. This configuration puts the keys on the exposed bottom face of the
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device . . . where I was holding it.
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I was moving some windows around when the system froze and restarted, and before
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I could realize what was happening my Pixelbook started resetting itself. The
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way I was holding it, the spacebar was depressed (which normally isn't an issue
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since keyboard input is disabled in tablet mode, but the bootloader isn't smart
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enough to know that) and within seconds it had cleared the OS verification
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screen and started the reset.
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Luckily most of my projects are in git and all the Android apps I was using
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sync to cloud storage automatically, so I didn't end up losing anything. But it
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definitely made my heart skip a beat when I saw that powerwash screen come up!
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So if you think you'd like to get the latest features, or pehaps you want to
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sideload some Android apps onto your Pixelbook - whatever it is, think long and
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hard about the risk of living one crash away from accidentally resetting your
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device.
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I think Google should potentially make it a bit harder to activate the powerwash
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function from the bootloader, but developer mode _is_ supposed to be unstable
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and dangerous. Personally I'll be sticking to the stable branch from now on,
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so there's not any risk of this happening again. If you decide developer mode
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is right for you, be sure to back up your work regularly!
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