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Chrome OS has stalled out

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Re: Chrome OS has stalled out

#181

Post by ojn »

mattzito wrote: post #174
awinder wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do google developers get issued chromebooks these days? Either way, there’s a large scale difference in the amount of money (because Apple makes more money than google in addition to 10% being 4x the 2.5% of revenue google is devoting to chromebooks). On top of that, Mac revenue is eaten into by iOS device revenue, which is a pretty close product category. Much closer than ads, at least.

Yes, they do. The default machine you get is a pixelbook, that’s true of basically everyone at Google. You can request a Mac, which is what I did, but I later also got a pixelbook and found that I quite like it. Literally the only thing keeping me from using it as my primary work machine is that it only supports one chrome browser profile per login, so I can’t be logged into my work account at an OS level and my work…

Did they remove multi profile login?!

You used to be able to login with several accounts and switch between them similar to virtual desktops.

Re: Chrome OS has stalled out

#182

Post by kbenson »

gowld wrote: post #168
kbenson wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While Google hasn't been the best at supporting products (and support in general), I always find statements like this with sites like that distasteful, as they leave out a lot of context that mitigates how bad it is. Sure, Google is EOLing Hangouts, but they provide a replacement. Sure, they've turned down a lot of products (like reader), but many (possibly most of the very large number presented on that site) were b…

Beta means prerelease testing, not EOL.

Beta means not meant for general use/production, and all that implies about people being upset about beta products being diacontinued.

I was covering two distinct cases, one where Google discontinues a production product, and generally they have a different product to migrate to, and one where Google discontinues a beta peoduct, where it seems they usually don't care if you were reliant on it.

Beta does mean prerelease testing, and while it implies they are moving towards a release, there's no guarantee implied or otherwise that a release is forthcoming.

Re: Chrome OS has stalled out

#183

Post by arthurfm »

StudentStuff wrote: post #180
Spooky23 wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s a really lazy argument. The entire business world relys on a third party product (Microsoft Windows) whose business model has already changed and has already mostly killed its once flagship product (perpetually licensed windows). Google writes contracts for chrome enterprise support that are 5-7 years long, so it’s unlikely they would just make the product go poof.

The enterprise support contracts state that the EOL date is the one listed publicly: https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366?hl=en This means the Thinkpad X131e had under 3 years of support if you bought it brand new like many school districts did in 2015.

> This means the ThinkPad X131e had under 3 years of support if you bought it brand new like many school districts did in 2015.

The ThinkPad X131e Chromebook was originally released in February 2013 [1] and has received five years of Chrome OS updates from Google. From March 2017 onwards, new Chrome OS devices receive 6.5 years of support [2] and in November 2019 many received a further year of support on top of that [3] so the update situation is a lot better than it was.

School districts purchasing X131e Chromebooks would have known at the time of purchase that they would stop receiving updates in February 2018 [4]. Being two plus years into their lifecycle is not really Google's fault. The districts need to do better due diligence.

As you mentioned, EOL dates for all Chrome OS devices are published in an article on Google's website [5]. To get the most life out of a particular Chromebook model it needs to purchased as close to launch day as possible. That's what I always try to do when purchasing Chromebooks where I work.

It's also worth mentioning that the X131e is supported by Neverware's CloudReady until 2025 [6] so the Chromebooks don't have to be thrown away when Google stops supporting them.

[1] http://www.notebookreview.com/news/lenovo-releases-thinkpad-...

[2] https://chromeunboxed.com/googles-end-of-life-policy-for-chr...

[3] https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/11/05/google-gives-most-c...

[4] https://web.archive.org/web/20151120005811/https://support.g...

[5] https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366?hl=en

[6] https://guide.neverware.com/supported-devices/#LenovoThinkpa...

Re: Chrome OS has stalled out

#184

Post by enachb »

ojn wrote: post #181
mattzito wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they do. The default machine you get is a pixelbook, that’s true of basically everyone at Google. You can request a Mac, which is what I did, but I later also got a pixelbook and found that I quite like it. Literally the only thing keeping me from using it as my primary work machine is that it only supports one chrome browser profile per login, so I can’t be logged into my work account at an OS level and my work…

Did they remove multi profile login?! You used to be able to login with several accounts and switch between them similar to virtual desktops.

You can still switch between accounts on ChromeOS. I do this on my Google issued Pixelbook daily.

Once you're signed into the other account, you can switch quite easily with + ,

Re: Chrome OS has stalled out

#185

Post by hurricanetc »

zouhair wrote: post #106
andrewmutz wrote: post #73

I use Chrome OS daily to do my job and I think it is fantastic. IMO it is the ultimate work machine for your average knowledge worker. At my company, all the software that we use is web-based (SaaS), with the exception of software engineers, who are using local tools to develop web based applications. For non-engineers, the OS provides an extremely simple client to use to do their job. The OS is a slightly better web…

I don't think relying on a third party and especially one that is as fickle as Google to do the most basic workload is a sound idea. I won't be surprised if Google kills Chrome OS in the near future, as they killed a lot of stuff already[0]. I don't trust Google anymore. [0]: https://killedbygoogle.com/

I’m more concerned that ChromeOS is essentially a spyware operating system.

Re: Chrome OS has stalled out

#186

Post by Spooky23 »

StudentStuff wrote: post #180
Spooky23 wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s a really lazy argument. The entire business world relys on a third party product (Microsoft Windows) whose business model has already changed and has already mostly killed its once flagship product (perpetually licensed windows). Google writes contracts for chrome enterprise support that are 5-7 years long, so it’s unlikely they would just make the product go poof.

The enterprise support contracts state that the EOL date is the one listed publicly: https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366?hl=en This means the Thinkpad X131e had under 3 years of support if you bought it brand new like many school districts did in 2015.

If you buy old stuff late in the lifecycle you’ll have that problem.

This issue exists with Windows as well. PC OEMs will only commit to a few years of driver support. I have a few thousand PCs that are 2018 purchases that will not be eligible for the next major branch of Windows 10 and will need to be replaced by mid 2021.

Re: Chrome OS has stalled out

#187

Post by mattzito »

enachb wrote: post #184
ojn wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did they remove multi profile login?! You used to be able to login with several accounts and switch between them similar to virtual desktops.

You can still switch between accounts on ChromeOS. I do this on my Google issued Pixelbook daily. Once you're signed into the other account, you can switch quite easily with + ,

Sorry, to be clear, it switches all of your windows like a separate desktop. I like having both windows available simultaneously. I realize this is a nit picky complaint, and I am in the minority.

Re: Chrome OS has stalled out

#188

Post by signal11 »

andrewmutz wrote: post #73

I use Chrome OS daily to do my job and I think it is fantastic. IMO it is the ultimate work machine for your average knowledge worker. At my company, all the software that we use is web-based (SaaS), with the exception of software engineers, who are using local tools to develop web based applications. For non-engineers, the OS provides an extremely simple client to use to do their job. The OS is a slightly better web…

I have a Chromebook myself and the situation is much less rosy than you describe. It's not all bad, and I'd definitely like to continue to use a Chromebook as a secondary system if possible. But I'd also hate it if it was my only machine. I'd also shrug my shoulders if I could no longer use a Chromebook, e.g. if it was discontinued.

A big issue with ChromeOS is its only browser, Chrome. Google has repeatedly demonstrated it's willing to put its ad-tech interests ahead of user demands (reader mode, good adblocking).

Yes, you can enable Linux support and install Firefox. A very small number of ChromeOS users will do so, if they're even allowed to. Note that Linux support is beta and comes with a lot of known issues. For organizations that support Linux, there are better routes to getting Linux into their engineers' hands.

The cloud-oriented nature of the laptop is sort of secondary. Dumb terminals have always had a place in the enterprise, for so-called 'tethered' users. It's entirely unsurprising that Chromebooks are similarly popular, they're better designed than most dumb terminals, and the BeyondCorp (zero-trust) approach to security is a good one.

> journalists or hobbyists may have a hard time appreciating the OS

While there are scenarios (e.g. travel) where Chromebook may be useful for journalists, journalists who need to keep their sources secret would be particularly ill-served by Chromebooks. People who're working on stuff that competes with Google (or indeed Microsoft, as Office 365 also works on Chromebook via web/Android), may also worry.

In short, if you're a 'tethered' user at work and could conceivably use a Wyse thin client, Chromebooks are great and probably superior to most other dumb terminals.

Re: Chrome OS has stalled out

#189

Post by bagacrap »

dgellow wrote: post #45

> In 2019, a public space, restaurant, or even a shopping center without free Wi-Fi is basically unconscionable. The author isn't familiar with Berlin's cafes and restaurants ;)

I too have been to popular coffee shops without WiFi. You wouldn't have known just by looking. Everyone was tethering.

Lumping restaurants in there seems a bit bizarre unless he's just talking about SV.

Re: Chrome OS has stalled out

#190

Post by signal11 »

gowld wrote: post #169
Analemma_ wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But when you look at that list there's nothing as substantial as ChromeOS. Google+ got way, way more investment than ChromeOS and was considered a top priority at the C-level. Still killed.

The context of this thread is Enterprise, where G+ was not killed.

In the enterprise context, I guess the Google Search Appliance would be a good example.

Before you say "it wasn't widely used" -- that's probably why it was killed. Google customers who use a product that doesn't lead its market and/or make megabucks should be worried.

We know there are other products that are failing to gain traction in the marketplace -- like GCP. While I'm not saying GCP will meet Search Appliance's fate, it has already been reported[1] that there will be financial consequences if GCP is unable to get a #2 position in the cloud marketplace by 2023.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21815260

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