Google proposes ChromeOS Flex as an alternative for soon-to-be e-wasted Windows 10 machines

[Alfonso Maruccia]

A hot potato: Microsoft will end official support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, potentially turning hundreds of millions of computers into polluting electronic waste. Google has proposed an alternative solution--providing "auto-updating" hardware compatibility via ChromeOS Flex.

Microsoft Windows 10 is about to enter end-of-life status, which could significantly impact the environment. Millions of PCs that are perfectly capable of running Windows 10 but not compatible with Windows 11 could end up in landfills. Google says, "Not do fast." It urges owners to extend the life of their Win10 machines by converting them to cloud computers.

Companies and consumers alike can avoid security issues by installing Google's ChromeOS Flex on their not necessarily out-of-date Windows 10 PCs. The cloud-based operating system even auto-updates, providing years of future security patches. Flex is a ChromeOS fork designed for conventional PC hardware and is an ideal replacement for traditional operating systems such as Windows or macOS.

With ChromeOS Flex, Google says, companies and consumers can install a new operating system that will auto-update even after Windows 10 will have stopped providing security patches by the end of the next year. ChromeOS Flex is a ChromeOS fork designed to be installed on conventional PC hardware, as an ideal replacement for traditional operating systems such as Windows or macOS.

Google listed 11 ways its modern, cloud-based operating system can be an excellent replacement for Windows 10. ChromeOS Flex is very secure, with data encryption, automatic updates, and app sandboxing to protect users from malware and other online threats. Google claims ransomware attackers have never compromised the lightweight OS.

ChromeOS Flex is easy to use, especially for anyone familiar with the Chrome browser or Google Workspace. The OS increases productivity with quick boot times without ever experiencing the slowdowns that have always plagued Windows (startup bloat). The system is also easy to manage remotely, thanks to the Google Admin console.

Flex also has support for third-party business applications, at least when it comes to web-based services. "Legacy" Windows applications and productivity suites like Microsoft Office can be streamed from the internet with a "seamless" integration thanks to virtual app delivery. ChromeOS Flex is "flexible" and is certified to run on nearly 600 OEM-branded devices, meaning the cloud OS should work on almost any device deployed in enterprise organizations.

ChromeOS Flex reduces IT support and hardware costs, prevents Windows 10 machines from becoming e-waste, and is energy efficient. The OS is suitable for big or small businesses. However, ChromeOS has never been a particularly popular alternative OS. After 12 years on the market, Google's platform is now installed on only 1.78 percent of desktop machines surveyed by Statcounter.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/101904-google-proposes-chromeos-flex-alternative-soon-e-wasted.html

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Despite the hate it gets, ChromeOS is all that 99% of home users need. If you are not a gamer, pretty much everything you need runs on chromeOS. It's a browser, after all. And it would be far better to repurpose that hardware then it would be to throw it away.

Of course Google deserves just as much heat for the limited updates for Chromebooks.....

 

[brucek]

I don't know how realistic an option this, but I love that Google is trying to make Microsoft pay for abandoning their user's hardware. I hope they succeed in converting a bunch of typical Windows/Office workloads into browser-based runs-on-anything approaches.

 

[ZedRM]

What Google should do is stop with this ChromeOS garbage and adapt the most popular OS on Earth, which it already produces: Android, compiled for X86/X64. The AndroidX86 project has already proven it can be done and very well. Google is passing on a missed opportunity..

 

[loki1944]

I don't know how realistic an option this, but I love that Google is trying to make Microsoft pay for abandoning their user's hardware. I hope they succeed in converting a bunch of typical Windows/Office workloads into browser-based runs-on-anything approaches.

I don't know how realistic an option this, but I love that Google is trying to make Microsoft pay for abandoning their user's hardware. I hope they succeed in converting a bunch of typical Windows/Office workloads into browser-based runs-on-anything approaches.

Google is no more a good guy than microsoft.

 

[ZedRM]

Google is no more a good guy than microsoft.

Oh please. Google is very much the a "good-guy" compared to Microsoft. You don't know what you're talking about..

 

[yRaz]

Oh please. Google is very much the a "good-guy" compared to Microsoft. You don't know what you're talking about..

You have a very loose definition of good guy. At best, Google is "less evil" than Microsoft.

 

[koblongata]

Would be nice and more game changing if it can run Steam

 

[Mr Majestyk]

Put Linux on them, why ruin your day using ChromeOS garbage. If people can get away with ChromeOS they don't even need a PC. A tablet would be a far nicer experience.

 

[dangh]

Linux would be a better and more robust choice. No need to sacrifice gaming either.

 

[Vanderlinde]

I would not touch anything of google in this regard. Usually a free OS, browser or product comes at the expense of your privacy. So if your aware that pretty much all your activity can be logged, processed and being used to profile you, go ahead.

When W10 expires I'm switching over to Linux. It's way more mature at this point to even emulate windows only programs.

 

[brunocasarini]

Here in Brazil, I believe most people will keep using Windows 10 until they buy hardware supported by Win11 or they'll find someone who can bypass 11's hardware restrictions and install it. Very, very few regular users will think about switching to a different operating system.

 

[CrisisDog]

I didn’t have a lot of luck with CromeOS Flex when it was introduced a year or so ago, could not get it to load. OpenSUSE Linux on the other hand worked fine, and also can connect to Steam. Still using it on my AMD FX 8350.

 

[yRaz]

I didn’t have a lot of luck with CromeOS Flex when it was introduced a year or so ago, could not get it to load. OpenSUSE Linux on the other hand worked fine, and also can connect to Steam. Still using it on my AMD FX 8350.

The way I use a computer hasn't really changed in the 30+ years I've using them. Back in 2006 I had a PC with 2GB of ram on my Athlon X2 and felt it was blazing fast. Now when I boot a windows machine it using close to 2 gigs at idle. Linux Mint uses just under 400MB at idle. I don't understand what has changed

 

[CajunMoses]

...The AndroidX86 project has already proven it can be done and very well. Google is passing on a missed opportunity..

If you really, really love Android, just run ChromeOS. Android runs really well under ChromeOS (but ChromeOS Flex omits Android). Linux also runs really well under ChromeOS. Android and Linux capabilities restore access to that shrinking "1%" gap between the capabilities of traditional applications and PWAs and Web apps. The integration has gotten so good that its very often easy to lose track of whether you're running a native Android version or a Web version of an application. And it continually gets better.

 

[CajunMoses]

Here in Brazil, I believe most people will keep using Windows 10 until they buy hardware supported by Win11 or they'll find someone who can bypass 11's hardware restrictions and install it. Very, very few regular users will think about switching to a different operating system.

Been there, done that. That's the painful route. But I understand fondness for what's familiar. Prejudice against and fear of the unknown.

 

[Underdog]

People are getting fed up with being bullied into "the unknown" by Microsoft. When the vast majority of ordinary people are happy with their existing PC and its performance and don't want to see it go to landfill just so MS can cash in...........again.

 

[Guillermo Belli]

I would not touch anything Google because I don't like being tracked for everything I do. There are a lot of user friendly Linux distros that would be a better choice.

Still, the common user would not even realize Win 10 support had ended and even if he did I don't think he'll care. A lot of people still use Win 8 and Win 7. Support ending for Win 10 doesn't mean the computer ceases to work.

 

[MSIGamer]

The way I use a computer hasn't really changed in the 30+ years I've using them. Back in 2006 I had a PC with 2GB of ram on my Athlon X2 and felt it was blazing fast. Now when I boot a windows machine it using close to 2 gigs at idle. Linux Mint uses just under 400MB at idle. I don't understand what has changed

Building on top of legacy code, increased hardware complexity and features (bloat), the internet, and loads and loads of under the hood security measures is what makes software slow.

We have a great memory of how things used to be, but we forget that in today's world such machines would be very easy to hack, very easy to crash and miss a lot of features we take for granted today.

 

[ZedRM]

You have a very loose definition of good guy. At best, Google is "less evil" than Microsoft.

It was a comparative statement. And let's be fair, Google is FAR from being the blatant enemy of personal freedoms that Microsoft has proven itself to be.

If you really, really love Android, just run ChromeOS.

I have run both. No thank you. They are nowhere near the same. You can take your idea and cram it..