2024-08-12/01: add "Things I don't like in my Chromebook Duet 3"

2024-08-12/01-things-i-dont-like-in-my-chromebook-duet-3.md

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+# Things I don't like in my Chromebook Duet 3
+
+So this is kind of a continuation from my [previous
+post](/2024-08-05/01-my-favorite-device-is-a-chromebook.md) talking why my
+favorite device is a Chromebook. In this post I want to talk about what makes
+me this device unhappy, and what would be my dream Chromebook device.
+
+But before talking about the negative aspects, let me talk about a positive
+aspect that I just briefly talked in the previous post: the screen. It is a
+HiDPI screen (2000x1200 resolution in 10.95''), that is unexpected bright (400
+nits according to the
+[specs](https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/lenovo/lenovo-edu-chromebooks/ideapad-duet-3-chromebook-11-inch,-qlc/len101i0034)).
+It is difficult to find laptops at the same price with a screen that good. At
+10.95'' in its default resolution I find it too small (like 1250x750), but I
+find the font size acceptable at 115% scale (1087x652). Yes, it result in a
+small workspace, but this is not a big issue for what I do in this device. It
+is also only 60Hz, but I thought I would miss high refresh rate more than I
+actually miss in this device.
+
+Now the first aspect that I don't like: the speakers. They sound tiny and even
+at maximum volume it is not really loud. The speakers is the only reason why I
+still keep my [Xiaomi Pad 5](https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_pad_5-11042.php),
+because I like to watch animes/videos before sleep and having good speakers is
+a must.
+
+The keyboard has that issue that I mentioned in the previous post: sometimes
+the key get stuck, and I get duplicated characters. But it also has some minor
+issues that I didn't talked about: the first one is the UK layout that has some
+extra keys that I have no use for, but this also makes the keys that I use
+smaller. Very much a "me" problem, since if I had got a US version I wouldn't
+have those issues, but an issue nonetheless that gets worse considering how
+small the keyboard is. I am actually suprised how fast I can type considering
+how many issues this keyboard has, so maybe this is a testament that this
+keyboard is not actually that bad.
+
+The other keyboard issue is a problem that affects all Chromebooks: its custom
+layout. Google replaced a few keys like Fn keys with shortcuts and replaced the
+Caps Lock with a
+["Everything"](https://chromeunboxed.com/chromebook-launcher-now-everything-button)
+key (that is similar to the Windows Key), while removing Windows Key from its
+place. I actually have less issue with this than I initially though: I don't
+care too much about Fn keys (except when using IntelliJ, but that is something
+that I only use at `$CURRENT_JOB`), and ChromeOS is surprisingly powerful in
+its customisation, allowing you to swap key functionality. I remap Everything
+key with Esc, and Esc for the Everything key, and I can get productive in my
+`neovim` setup.
+
+And finally, let me talk more about the performance: yes, it is bad, but
+bearable once you get used to. The issue is both the CPU and IO. While the CPU,
+a [Snapdragon 7c Gen
+2](https://www.qualcomm.com/products/mobile/snapdragon/laptops-and-tablets/snapdragon-mobile-compute-platforms/snapdragon-7c-gen-2-compute-platform)
+is octa-core, it has only 2 high performance CPU cores vs 6 low performance
+ones (2xARM Cortex A76 vs 6xARM Cortex A55). If it was something like 4x4, it
+would be much better. The fact that the cores are old doesn't help either.
+
+But the worst part is the IO. Not only it uses a eMMC module, it is slow:
+
+![CPDT Benchmark results from Chromebook Duet 3.](/2024-08-12/Screenshot_2024-08-12_20.50.42.png)
+
+I don't know how much more expensive it would be to put a
+[UFS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Flash_Storage) instead of eMMC in
+this device, but this is probably the choice that would most increase
+performance in this device, especially considering how aggressive Chromebooks
+use (z)swap.