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Early Access to Chrome OS Flex: The Upgrade PCs and Macs

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Re: Early Access to Chrome OS Flex: The Upgrade PCs and Macs

#71

Post by boddhi »

andrewmutz wrote: post #37
dijit wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last time I ran chromeOS it was those unofficial builds by a guy called “Lex”, needless to say it was a long time ago. Back then it wasn’t possible to run anything other than Chrome itself outside of dev mode, but I’ve seen people running/installing VSCode on chromeOS (not in the web browser). Is that feasible? At the same time as I was seeing this, it appeared that the OS actually has a windowing system now, so you…

By default, there is only web browsers and no Linux. Which is nice because by default there can be no malware and it's a good OS for non technical users. But with one click it installs and makes available Linux. It appears to the user as a debain variant. You can install anything and when you run apps they seamlessly work with the window manager. I've used VScode for software development and it works great. Steam is…

What's also great is you can install apps through Flatpak and Chrome OS Flex will recognize it and you can pin it to your shelf. There's a fork of VSCode called VSCodium through Flatpak, which doesn't send telemetry to Microsoft. I've also installed Steam, Discord, Libreoffice in Flatpak without any issues.

Re: Early Access to Chrome OS Flex: The Upgrade PCs and Macs

#72

Post by yegle »

Zhenya wrote: post #56
sorenjan wrote: post #49

I've had two Google Nexus phones and one Android Wear watch, and all three became e-waste before their time purely because Google stopped updating them. In the case of the watch Google actually started sending out "updates" to their own apps that removed functionality from watches with older Android wear, with no possibility to update. It had less features when I threw it away than it had when I bought it. I'm using…

Not defending Google’s actions but it worth noting that not updating devices usually has to do with the SoC supplier ceasing support for the chip by not shipping BSPs which support new OS features. Yes google should have negotiated better support but it’s lack of support has to do more with inability to do so within reasonable means. They have projects ongoing to decouple OS functionality from the base firmware (proj…

This is well known for Android devices.

If you look for "longest supported Android devices", you might find: - Nvidia Shield TV 2015: initially released with Android 6 and is currently on Android 11. It uses a CPU from Nvidia itself and is expected to continue receiving updates. - Nexus Player: initially released with Android 5, last updated to Android 8. It uses an Intel CPU and does not require special binary blobs to support newer Linux kernels required by newer Android versions.

Re: Early Access to Chrome OS Flex: The Upgrade PCs and Macs

#73

Post by ASpaceCowboi »

andrewmutz wrote: post #23

I am writing this comment on Chrome OS Flex and can not say enough good things about Chrome OS Flex. I installed it on my wife's old macbook air (~2013) and it brought new life to a machine that we had written off as useless. The OS does a great job of exactly two things: web browsing and linux stuff. It won't do more than that, but if that's all you need it is great. I honestly think you could make some decent cash…

you influenced me to install it on my 2011 macbook pro! Thank you

Re: Early Access to Chrome OS Flex: The Upgrade PCs and Macs

#74

Post by doubled112 »

alexnewman wrote: post #55
bitwize wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft has a whole blog post about VSCode on Chromebooks in their Crostini Linux environment. Which is just... gah: https://code.visualstudio.com/blogs/2020/12/03/chromebook-ge... I mean, the fact that it can be done is neat, but on most entry-level Chromebooks it will be a memory hog, and you might be better served with vim or emacs (one or both of which should be learned to functional competence levels by every…

The days of underpowered chromebooks is gone.

They're still pretty brutal.

The BestBuy around the corner from me, for example, is selling an Asus Chromebook with a Celeron N3350/4GB RAM/64GB eMMC and 15.6" 720p screen for $400 CAD.

Is this not underpowered? Sure there are other options, but to most people the appeal was the low cost. For $799, I'd just buy a PC.

Re: Early Access to Chrome OS Flex: The Upgrade PCs and Macs

#75

Post by realce »

car_analogy wrote: post #57
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #21

Meanwhile, the Chromebooks we use at an after-school program where I teach are no longer receiving security updates. I'm not sure how old the machines are, but they're quite speedy compared to other Chromebooks I've used, and perfectly capable of browsing the modern web. I love the idea of Chrome OS Flex, but I wish Google extended the same support to hardware designed for Chrome OS...

Meanwhile 20 year old machines running linux still get updates. How is it that software support became tied to specific hardware? This used to be a solved problem, but with a lot of effort and ingenuity, a few corporations un-solved it, first for smartphones, tablets, and now for whatever Chromebooks count as.

I feel like "unsolving" problems is becoming the only way to make a good buck in IT anymore.

Re: Early Access to Chrome OS Flex: The Upgrade PCs and Macs

#76

Post by jeffbee »

prmoustache wrote: post #28
andrewmutz wrote: post #23

I am writing this comment on Chrome OS Flex and can not say enough good things about Chrome OS Flex. I installed it on my wife's old macbook air (~2013) and it brought new life to a machine that we had written off as useless. The OS does a great job of exactly two things: web browsing and linux stuff. It won't do more than that, but if that's all you need it is great. I honestly think you could make some decent cash…

What does it do better than simply installing any decent linux distro?

The difference between ChromeOS and any Linux distro is like night and day. The software updates are automatic, unobtrusive, and almost instantaneous. Multitouch input stack actually works. You can attach and detach displays as you like without anything weird happening. And all the binaries are highly optimized with profile guidance and link-time optimization.

Re: Early Access to Chrome OS Flex: The Upgrade PCs and Macs

#78

Post by karmakaze »

boddhi wrote: post #61
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #21

Meanwhile, the Chromebooks we use at an after-school program where I teach are no longer receiving security updates. I'm not sure how old the machines are, but they're quite speedy compared to other Chromebooks I've used, and perfectly capable of browsing the modern web. I love the idea of Chrome OS Flex, but I wish Google extended the same support to hardware designed for Chrome OS...

I suspect Google will eventually use Chrome OS Flex as a subscription service to provide extended Hardware/Software support for Education and Enterprise. They came up with Chrome OS Flex after buying Neverware in 2020, which already provided Chrome OS support for Education and Enterprise.

Yeah, as I was reading the page I was wonder who this is really for, the links in the last paragraph were a tip-off.

> Visit the Chrome OS Flex _website_ to learn more, get installation instructions, and see certified devices. Additionally, if you want to combine modern computing with cloud-first management, you can _start a free trial_ of Chrome Enterprise Upgrade to secure and manage your Chrome OS Flex devices.

The free trial link says:

> Chrome Enterprise Upgrade provides a simple and secure way to manage your Chrome OS devices in the admin console.

> Sign up for a free 30-day trial of the Chrome Enterprise Upgrade and enroll up to 50 existing Chromebooks in your organization.

Re: Early Access to Chrome OS Flex: The Upgrade PCs and Macs

#79

Post by andrewmutz »

fartcannon wrote: post #69
andrewmutz wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By default, there is only web browsers and no Linux. Which is nice because by default there can be no malware and it's a good OS for non technical users. But with one click it installs and makes available Linux. It appears to the user as a debain variant. You can install anything and when you run apps they seamlessly work with the window manager. I've used VScode for software development and it works great. Steam is…

What makes you think websites can't give you malware for your Chromebook? That's like the number one way to get it.

What are you referring to? Chrome extensions?

Re: Early Access to Chrome OS Flex: The Upgrade PCs and Macs

#80

Post by int_19h »

Zhenya wrote: post #56
sorenjan wrote: post #49

I've had two Google Nexus phones and one Android Wear watch, and all three became e-waste before their time purely because Google stopped updating them. In the case of the watch Google actually started sending out "updates" to their own apps that removed functionality from watches with older Android wear, with no possibility to update. It had less features when I threw it away than it had when I bought it. I'm using…

Not defending Google’s actions but it worth noting that not updating devices usually has to do with the SoC supplier ceasing support for the chip by not shipping BSPs which support new OS features. Yes google should have negotiated better support but it’s lack of support has to do more with inability to do so within reasonable means. They have projects ongoing to decouple OS functionality from the base firmware (proj…

> develop their own support silicon and then the main SoC

Their Pixels don't exactly enjoy long support lifecycles, either.

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