News Google proposes users of older Windows 10 PCs to migrate to ChromeOS Flex — 600 devices certified

[Admin]

Want to keep your old Windows 10 PC, but maintain support after October, 2025? Google says to use ChromeOS Flex.

Google proposes users of older Windows 10 PCs to migrate to ChromeOS Flex — 600 devices certified : Read more

 

[Geef]

> ChromeOS currently holds a modest 1.78% share of the global PC OS market

That number would probably be much lower if so many low end laptops didn't come with ChromeOS. Sort of feeding on the 'not so smart' people of the world who don't check the OS before buying a laptop.

 

[parkerthon]

> ChromeOS currently holds a modest 1.78% share of the global PC OS market

That number would probably be much lower if so many low end laptops didn't come with ChromeOS. Sort of feeding on the 'not so smart' people of the world who don't check the OS before buying a laptop.

I will defend chromeOS for what it is… a very light OS for people that do web browser everything. Works great for students, people with limited budgets but that need a laptop for typing etc. Just like google for work, that also made a splash initially for people resisting upgrading exchange servers/paying big for office 365 migrations, it is currently zero threat to Microsoft’s monopoly of desktop compute and office productivity software. Not least because google has simply not advanced the offering much. They are even losing with public schools going back to Microsoft now.

 

[Geef]

Yeah I'm sure Chrome would run great for my parents who only browse the web, unless... it didn't have Spider Solitaire. My mom wouldn't survive using the PC without that!

 

[Findecanor]

That number would probably be much lower if so many low end laptops didn't come with ChromeOS. Sort of feeding on the 'not so smart' people of the world who don't check the OS before buying a laptop.

Many people just don't know about other OS:es. All they have ever known is Windows. Macintoshes are "for hipsters".
And then the box says "Intel CPU", so it must be a PC, right?

Similarly when I ask "Do you have an iPhone or an Android phone?" and get the reply "errr.. I have a Samsung?".

 

[LolaGT]

Too bad that is a non-starter for all but the very lowest tier PC user.
I guess people who know some basic old school working from the prompt will switch to whatever version of linux is running at the time.
At least a lot if not most things one likes will still run, maybe.
Sure will make a lot of e-waste for everyone else, though.

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

If only they let out-of-date Android smartphones (of which there are a ton) be updated to an alternative OS, like Lineage, simply by inserting a USB drive.

 

[ThomasKinsley]

I have a really old laptop that could probably benefit from Chrome Flex (I only keep it around because I have files on the hard drive). But my other systems can run Windows 10 just fine. Why would I switch to an OS that can't run desktop class programs? I also don't like the idea of being forced to sign into Google just to use my computer. Good attempt at marketing by Google, but their product in its current form is not the answer. Take away login requirements and add desktop-class apps and it will be a different story.

 

[USAFRet]

(I only keep it around because I have files on the hard drive)

You should really consider getting those files OFF that drive.
Now.

 

[ThomasKinsley]

You should really consider getting those files OFF that drive.
Now.

Don't ask. It was a favor for a friend whose PC died. Lifted their hard drive, but they saved some of their most important files as Outlook drafts. Turns out it's not so easy to recover, but I managed to recover them in the most crude and jerry-rigged fashion - too crude for a USB stick to even be recognized. I've given them the files, but they periodically request them again, so I am slowly writing them out manually. 🙃 I'd love to finish, but I'm waiting for them to say there's another file I somehow missed so I just leave it for them. Come to think of it, I probably should just take pictures instead.

 

[Darkoverlordofdata]

Actually, it will run just about anything you can run on Debian - just enable linux, and you can install Gimp or LibreOffice. It's a great linux box for people new to linux because you don't have to much with linux DE garbage - just use the ChromeOS desktop, it's very stable.

 

[rluker5]

I'm not a fan of Linux, but I like it way better than chrome. It has uses others prioritize, I just don't want to learn a bunch when I'm happy with what I've been using. Zorin OS would probably be my second choice after Windows.

 

[pug_s]

There's already millions of depreciated Chromebooks that needs Chromeosflex love.

 

[usertests]

Actually, it will run just about anything you can run on Debian - just enable linux, and you can install Gimp or LibreOffice. It's a great linux box for people new to linux because you don't have to much with linux DE garbage - just use the ChromeOS desktop, it's very stable.

I somehow thought that ChromeOS Flex didn't support Linux (meaning Crostini). I think I confused it with Flex not supporting Android apps and Google Play instead:
https://support.google.com/chromeosflex/answer/11542901

 

[excalibur1814]

I bought a Pixel book. Nice machine.
I found that the office apps didn't exist. Online only.
I tried to sell it.
I sold it, for less than I bought it. Oh.

Possibly Stick with Windows.

 

[Notton]

I have a fanless touchscreen celeron chromebook.
I use it in bed or the kitchen when I want to use a browser.

I don't even use it for email.

It doesn't even have a proper chromeOS native app to edit photos, or make a playlist for videos and music. When doing something that's not even all that advanced, it relies heavily on ported android apps.
Take a guess how well those ported apps work?
They work like garbage.

I'd install linux or windows on it, if it weren't for the fact that the eMMC storage is soldered directly to the mobo.

In my mind, Google is now worse than microsoft when it comes to privacy, so doubly no thanks.

 

[bit_user]

there is one thing that Google's ChromeOS does not offer, and which could render the operating system useless for the vast majority of owners of Windows 10-based PCs. For obvious reasons, ChromeOS does not support Windows applications and many users — both businesses and consumers — of outdated Windows machines use their PCs to keep using programs they know and like.

Most of these will probably work fine, in Wine. If you boot ChromeOS Flex off a USB stick, you could still access your Windows apps & data on the PC's main storage device.