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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

#61

Post by boddhi »

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.

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

#62

Post by iainmerrick »

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…

How well does the trackpad work?

Mac trackpads are terrific, and I don’t know if that’s down to the hardware, firmware or software -- I assume a combination of all three.

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

#63

Post by mattlondon »

sorenjan wrote: post #51
andrewmutz wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The UX is extremely easy to use. For most users, you're just using web browsers and the window manager for chrome os is designed for just manipulating browser windows. Unless you install Linux stuff (most users don't) you can't download any software. This means no malware is possible. It guides you to store everything in the cloud, which allows you to treat your workstations as cattle rather than pets.

Can you install Firefox?

Yes. You can also install vscode etc. Seamlessly integrated into the UI - cannot tell the difference between "native" ChromeOS apps and e.g. Firefox etc.

At least on "normal" Chromebooks anyway you can - I have no direct experience or knowledge of flex.

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

#64

Post by fartcannon »

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…

Lineage is always good for older (and certain new) phones.

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

#65

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

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.

Nobody makes money off of a 20 year old machine. This is planned obsolescence to maintain demand.

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

#66

Post by fartcannon »

Schools should be using Linux (or a BSD) exclusively. And preferably, open format alternatives to anything locked down. Proprietary software is fine if the data is easily exported to another format.

Transforming a perfectly good Linux machine into a Google data pipeline is a horrible thing to do to children.

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

#67

Post by csouza-f »

merwanedr wrote: post #24

Ha, for a minute I thought Google actually built a Cloud-native OS. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't really see the use-case for this. Sounds like it could be an orchestration solution for schools or bootcamps at best. What's incredible about real cloud-native operating systems is that "OS" is merely an acronym. The reality is that companies like Mighty are working on cloud-native computers, where even hardware upgradabi…

Maybe I had the same perception as you. Seems like, removing the marketing thing of the Google's website, this is just the Chrome OS but with support for devices that are not designed for run Chrome OS, that's why "Flex" appended in the name. This is super nice, by the way.

My first thought, not knowing very much about Chrome OS history, was that the OS is just a ground to run the system that will connect with some machine in the cloud that will do all complicated-processing things and you'll just visualize that, like a VNC. But, seems not like it.

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

#68

Post by Zhenya »

my123 wrote: post #60
Zhenya wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

For Chrome OS not the problem a lot of the time, they drop support for devices using commodity SoCs that are still supported elsewhere... it's a quite hardcoded expiry date. And they don't even drop support for all machines using a given SoC at the same time. For Chrome OS updates are wholly owned by Google too.

I am more knowledgeable about the arm / android world.

I do wonder if for the chrome os world there are SoC+BSP vs ChromeOS feature requirements that cause this lack of ability to support (e.g. trust zone etc)

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

#69

Post by fartcannon »

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 makes you think websites can't give you malware for your Chromebook?

That's like the number one way to get it.

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

#70

Post by fartcannon »

LoveMortuus wrote: post #46

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what does "cloud first" mean in the context of an operating system, does it mean that you need to always be connected to the internet to use it, like can you use the computer offline?

It means you're renting it and they're using your data for profit.
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