Yeah, my aging MBP (also a 2011 that I maxed out spec-wise), after having its logic board replaced under warranty roughly two years ago, died again, this time due to the dedicated graphics card. I can turn it on, but all you see are a bunch of lines.

Battery is also shot, only able to get 4 hours at a time if I don't have many tabs open. It is past warranty this time, and it just is too expensive to fix. So, if you saw the other thread, pulled the trigger on the highest spec Pixelbook model, and am salivating to start it up and get it through its paces.
For a number of you that have had it for the last few months, what are things you like about it? Any tips?
I like my chromebooks to look and feel like more traditional notebooks, these are my "must have" tweaks to accomplish that.... (note, there might be easier/better ways to accomplish this)
* Right-click on every icon in the app launcher and any one that has "open as window" I check that.
This will launch the app in a separate window with no browser controls visible. It's clean and uncluttered, maximizes the available screen space for the app, and looks and feels like a "native" app rather than a just another browser tab.
* install the "open-as-popup" browser extension. Even when all apps have been set to "open as window" any windows opened from that (like launching a Google sheet from within Google Drive) will launch in a browser tab. The "open-as-popup" moves that tab out to its own window.
The nice thing about these tweaks is that they carry over to using the Chrome browser on other platforms. So whether I'm on my Pixelbook, iMac, or Lenovo workstation, I can use Chrome apps in a similar way.
* Office apps... when I need to work with MS Office files with moderate to advanced formatting, I use the web version of MS Office. The Android version is extremely limited.
If you get the Pixel Pen, I recommend the Android notetaking app Squid (it was showcased during the Pixelbook announcement). Squid is free, but there are a few in-app purchases to add additional functionality. They offer a subscription model for it with even more features, but I find the few in-app features to be enough.
If you use Google Keep and will be using the Pixel Pen, I recommend installing the Android version of Keep (rather than the web version). The responsiveness of the Pen in the Android version is near perfect. With the web version, there's a bit of inconsistent performance.
The same is true for OneNote... for pen input, the Android version has the edge, but for keyboard input, the web version has more features.
The web version of iWork works great on the Pixelbook.
I recommend getting a USB-C mini hub. I picked one up that supports a few USB-A ports, HDMI, and SD cards.
Having spent years working with the Microsoft Surface and iPad (Pro and non-Pro) to get a mobile device that can be used as a tablet and notebook that can interact with cross-platform apps and data, I'm finding the Pixelbook to be the best solution so far.
ok, I've rambled enough, hope this gives you some ideas to explore.
