Google wants you to try Chrome OS on your old PC or Mac

[nanoguy]

The big picture: Chromebooks are no longer selling like hotcakes, but Google believes Chrome OS is a good way to breathe new life into an old machine. The company is adapting to a world where the operating system is slowly fading into the background and users only care about being able to run their favorite apps.

Google’s latest desktop effort is a new version of Chrome OS called Chrome OS Flex that can supposedly install within minutes on a variety of PCs and Macs. The company is positioning it as a business and education-oriented operating system that can breathe new life into older machines, but it is otherwise a similar experience to what is offered on Chromebooks.

The idea behind this is simple — a lot of what we do on a computer nowadays happens in a web browser, so running a full-fat operating system like Windows or macOS would be overkill. Chrome OS Flex is free, can be run from a USB drive, and is easier to deploy and manage since it’s little more than a web browser built on top of the Linux kernel.

Google says you can run Chrome OS Flex on most Intel or AMD-powered systems with at least 4 gigabytes of RAM and 16 gigabytes of storage, and the company is working on creating a certified models list. As you’d expect, not all Chrome OS features will work depending on the hardware it’s running on, and features like Google Play and Android apps won’t be available at all.

Chromebook shipments were down in 2021 due to a slowdown in education spending, so it makes sense for Google to try and improve Chrome OS market share by pitching it to people who own a device that’s no longer supported on the latest version of Windows or macOS. After all, Google did buy Neverware in 2020 for its CloudReady software, which helps individuals and organizations convert old machines into Chrome OS devices.

Those interested in trying out Chrome OS Flex can do so free of charge. It’s worth noting this is currently in early access, so expect some bugs while diving in. That said, you can run it directly from a USB drive before you decide on a permanent installation.

A stable version is expected to launch in the coming months, and existing CloudReady users will then be migrated to Chrome OS Flex.

Masthead credit: Konstantin Savusia

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/93430-google-wants-you-try-chrome-os-old-pc.html

 

[Sausagemeat]

I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than use Chrome OS.

 

[Dimitriid]

Yes Google, we know: We've been doing lightweight Linux installs for the better part of the last 20 years for this very reason. No, we don't need to give you more advertising money to put old hardware to use.

And this is particularly stupid since anyone interested in reusing old hardware is savvy enough to just do it on Linux and not Chrome since Linux has other browsers that are probably far better suited than Chrome even under ChromeOS since they're far more lightweight and less resource intensive.

 

[terzaerian]

Those interested in trying out Chrome OS Flex can do so free of charge.

*points to sign stating 'If you're not paying for the product, you are the product'*

 

[Kirby1]

Google can get ****ed. As soon as windows 11 starts coming out on phones I'll never touch anything Google branded again. I hate android. It's atrociously bad.

 

[okie11]

That's cool, except the part where they want you to install chrome

 

[elementalSG]

Yes Google, we know: We've been doing lightweight Linux installs for the better part of the last 20 years for this very reason. No, we don't need to give you more advertising money to put old hardware to use.

And this is particularly stupid since anyone interested in reusing old hardware is savvy enough to just do it on Linux and not Chrome since Linux has other browsers that are probably far better suited than Chrome even under ChromeOS since they're far more lightweight and less resource intensive.

This was exactly my first thought as well. Just install your favorite lightweight Linux distro and get more life out of old hardware, all while not losing all your privacy to Big Brother Google

 

[Guberian]

Have you heard of Ubuntu it's google os without all the spyware in it!

 

[hahahanoobs]

Market share:
ChromeOS - 2.6%
Linux - 2.19%

Neither are amazing. OSX even grew to 15%.

 

[captaincranky]

Somebody should tell Google that Windows XP (32 bit), runs just fine on only 2 GB of RAM.

Not to mention many older cases have room for a half dozen HDDs. So, no Google, no cloud, and a perfect place to store "erotic art".by the Terabyte..

 

[ZedRM]

@ Google

ChromeOS is not what we want. Cloud computing as a system platform is a pipe-dream. What we want and need is an OS that can run just as well offline as it does connected to the internet.

Want to know what I mean? Android-X86. Yes, yes.

I use AndroidX86 as my primary OS for my Dell Latitude. Works perfectly and smooth as silk. ChromeOS is NOT the way forward, Google. AndroidX86 might be. Look, listen, learn. That is all..

 

[DZillaXx]

Chrome OS really only makes sense from a manageability standpoint.

Being able to control a fleet of these devices from a single management platform that is somewhat easy to use is why these devices thrived in schools. Schools IT departments have not kept up when it comes to Salary. Lead Network Administrators are making a lot less in Schools than they should, and not much more than they used to back in the day where you could make pretty decent money as the School's lead Network Admin. Bottom Dollar Money has brought with them Bottom Dollar talent. Bottom Dollar funding has pushed away only licensing models for cheaper options. Chome OS does two things, make it easier for the IT administrators to manage. Also with the schools being schools the cost of licensing fees are nearly non existent.

To justify giving everyone a device, they buy the cheapest option that is doomed to fall apart. They don't care when they can justify the cost for a device to only last 2-4 years, they could care less about ewaste.

 

[TheBigT42]

Just tried to get it....No ISO download...Google wants me at add a Chrome OS Recovery Addon to my Chrome browser...then flash a usb drive with the Addon

no thank you.

 

[ZedRM]

Just tried to get it....No ISO download...Google wants me at add a Chrome OS Recovery Addon to my Chrome browser...then flash a usb drive with the Addon

no thank you.

Yeah, that's a problem too! ISO or no-go.

 

[kiwigraeme]

Not my comments - grabbed elsewhere .
So Google wants to repurpose old laptaps etc - but their chrome books expire from support - Excellent point .
Will not have Google play and android support.

Saying that people saying Linux are probably correct as you get want you want even Google probably .
However if Google make it easy for Joe/Jane Average - and will update with security patches - probably fine as a cloud/browser resource.

I myself would have to do a bit of research to find the most light weight GUI based Linus distro - that I could pick up and run - that has an easy pick and patch system - don't know never used Linux - Do not want to be a power user - trimming and setting parameters , binaries/libraries or whatever they're called.

I have Pot Player on my PC - it has a 1001 settings and filters , decoders - who knows . I just run it on recommended settings for my hardware - Given we are told many of us wear the wrong Bra size - and that only has a few variables - or what about all those straps on hiking backpacks - even more arcane

 

[captaincranky]

Being able to control a fleet of these devices from a single management platform that is somewhat easy to use is why these devices thrived in schools.

Didn't we used to have real malware for that?

 

[Mr Majestyk]

LOL, cold day in hell. I'll be installing a lightweight Linux OS on my old laptop. Why would I want to add a malware OS. Might as well install Chinese crap.

 

[Dimitrios]

Chrome OS really only makes sense from a manageability standpoint.

Being able to control a fleet of these devices from a single management platform that is somewhat easy to use is why these devices thrived in schools. Schools IT departments have not kept up when it comes to Salary. Lead Network Administrators are making a lot less in Schools than they should, and not much more than they used to back in the day where you could make pretty decent money as the School's lead Network Admin. Bottom Dollar Money has brought with them Bottom Dollar talent. Bottom Dollar funding has pushed away only licensing models for cheaper options. Chome OS does two things, make it easier for the IT administrators to manage. Also with the schools being schools the cost of licensing fees are nearly non existent.

To justify giving everyone a device, they buy the cheapest option that is doomed to fall apart. They don't care when they can justify the cost for a device to only last 2-4 years, they could care less about ewaste.

Very well said. My 2nd job is working for the school system in CT.

 

[Uncle Al]

Sticking with Linux ..... a lot more power and a lot less BS to put up with!

 

[mountains]

I have been happily using Linux Lite on a very old laptop for a few years. Based on Debian and Ubuntu. If you are starting on Linux from Windows AND using old hardware, its a great choice:

https://www.linuxliteos.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_Lite

 

[DZillaXx]

Didn't we used to have real malware for that?

If you've ever done anything with xen works and a full AD stack, it gets quite complex quickly. And moving to a more hybrid Azure AD type of system brings in a whole new thought process while lacking in many of the features admins were used to in a on site AD stack.

I know you're just joking, but Google did a pretty good job filling in a gap MS created by letting their outdated AD stack sit around. It was not built to scale well off prem. Azure AD was the cure, but it really is a half baked product ATM and doesn't even support User Writeback to on prem. Making the whole thing a cluser f**k for management.

Nothing wrong with Chrome OS, and a good Chome OS device that actually has Google Play Store Support is pretty solid. And has the ability to run Linux apps as well, with full terminal support. I wouldn't want to install it on a non supported machine though, But on a supported machine I'd take it any day over so random linux distro that it bound to have some type of issue.

I've never had good luck with Random Linux Distros on laptops, they always seemed to have some type of compatibility issue and battery life was always a joke. Chrome OS is getting Steam Support, and with that proton.

And while some may not like using it. Chome is still the best browser, especially when it comes to syncing between platforms.

That being said, Windows 10 works fine on old hardware as long as you have enough RAM and have a SSD. It will do the job better than so linux distro 99% of the time. You could be rocking a Sandy bridge i3 and 4gb of ram with 128gb ssd, and you'd sill have a better time rocking Windows 10 than some Linux Distro.

Linux is a great Server OS, but in the last 20 years it still has yet to become a decent desktop experience. Chrome OS and Mac OS have both shown what a good Linux/Unit desktop experience is like, and neither are open. I run headless Linux Servers for 90% of my server related tasks. SSH is all I want from a Linux machine. Give me the Terminal and only the Terminal, the crappy GUI interface most distros pack is a waste of recourses and utterly useless.

 

[Underdog]

My OH's W7 laptop recently died and we were in deep poo, finding that we can no longer buy a new laptop that will either come with W7 or be compatible with it. I briefly thought about the Chrome OS but after finding no software available for it I dropped the idea like a hot spark plug. Instead I cracked open the laptop and replaced a five euro component and got it going again. My fall back option, plan B was to try to install Linux. I'd rather live in a cardboard box in London than take anything newer than W7.