I have an iffy relationship with Chromebooks, because I really want to like them and the convenience that they allow but I can't get over the proprietary OS issue. I had used Crouton on this but it doesn't leave all of the memory for the Ubuntu distro that I was using and Crouton only allows 12.04 (I may be wrong but I had issues with installing other applications because of the age of the distro). This has/had the potential to be a really good lightweight Linux machine, but the work for it is just too much to warrant trying with the added highly likely possibility that you will brick the machine. I did really like the form factor of this one, I usually don't like the plastic nature of Chromebooks and did like that this one was metal but not as expensive as a Google Pixel. I think this would be great if: 1. you want a higher end Chromebook that isn't made of plastic, OR 2. you know how to erase the Chrome OS and load Linux on it which involves taking off the back, removing a screw, and changing the firmwear, but all of those things will void the warranty (of course).