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Google Wants to Turn Your Old Mac into a Chromebook With Chrome OS Flex
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How many consumers will care?
You seem to be under the impression that because you and I know about Flex that it'll light the world on fire.
Here's the thing - most people have no idea about it. My sister doesn't even know what model iPhone she has, my brother in law still calls the OS on his MacBook "Windows".
For most folk they'll either keep running the old OS until the computer dies, or they'll buy a newer one.
That's the world we live in - a world populated by the average user. We're not the average user - to think otherwise would be foolish.
I think Apple's decision not to support old Macs to this point is a business/profits one, not a lack of capability issue.
It's embarrassing because Apple is unwilling to support old Macs, whereas the second most valuable brand in the world is.
I have no idea how many consumers will care about Google's offer. Some will, for sure, because they have perfectly good but old unsupported Apple equipment that is too dangerous to be unleashed on the web,
Very few people know that I locked myself out of my house, but that does not spare me the embarrassment of having done so.
For sure I am not the average user. I buy expensive new Apple laptops every couple of years. I'm really thinking about the very average number of users who continue using unsupported Apple computers. There are many of them, precisely because Apple computer hardware is generally of a high standard.
That's obviously true, since Google find it no problem installing their OS on older Macs.
Actually, Google MUST be finding it a problem, because they’re having to adapt Chrome OS and find out ways to support the hardware.
The fact that they have made a decision to do this can only mean one thing: this is to improve their bottom line.
They’re not doing this out of love or charity - they’re doing this to spread their name and slurp data that they might otherwise not get.
Them doing this doesn’t mean its not a problem - it just means they have counted up the financial return and decided it’s worth it for them to do so.
Meanwhile, there’s a loooooong list of Chromebooks sold in 2015 that are already out of support and the owners are left dangling in the wind..
- Google Cr-48 Dec 2015
- Samsung Chromebook Series 5 Jun 2016
- Acer AC700 Aug 2016
- Samsung Chromebook Series 5 550 May 2017
- Acer C7 Chromebook Oct 2017
- HP Pavilion Chromebook 14 Feb 2018
- Samsung Chromebox Series 3 Mar 2018
- Google Chromebook Pixel Jun 2018
- Lenovo Thinkpad X131e Chromebook Jun 2018
- Samsung Chromebook – XE303 Jul 2018
- HP Chromebook 11 G1 Oct 2018
- Acer Chromebook 11 (C720, C720P) Jun 2019
- Asus Chromebook C200 Jun 2019
- Dell Chromebook 11 Jun 2019
- HP Chromebook 11 G2 Jun 2019
- HP Chromebook 14 Jun 2019
- Lenovo N20 Chromebook Jun 2019
- Lenovo ThinkPad 11e Chromebook Jun 2019
- Samsung Chromebook 2 11 Jun 2019
- Samsung Chromebook 2 13 Jun 2019
- Senkatel Chromebook Jun 2019
- Asus Chromebook C300 Aug 2019
- Acer Chromebook 13 (CB5-311, C810) Sep 2019
- Acer Chromebox Sep 2019
- Asus Chromebox (CN60) Sep 2019
- Dell Chromebox Sep 2019
- HP Chromebox G1 Sep 2019
- HP Chromebook 14 G3 Oct 2019
- Asus Chromebook C201PA Jun 2020
- CTL J2 / J4 Chromebook Jun 2020
- EduGear Chromebook K Jun 2020
- EduGear Chromebook M Jun 2020
- Edxis Education Chromebook Jun 2020
- Haier Chromebook 11 Jun 2020
- Haier Chromebook 11e Jun 2020
- Hisense Chromebook 11 Jun 2020
- Lava Xolo Chromebook Jun 2020
- LG Chromebase (22CB25S, 22CV241) Jun 2020
- Medion Chromebook S2015 Jun 2020
- Medion Chromebook Akoya S2013 Jun 2020
- Mustek Mecer Chromebook Jun 2020
- Ncomputing Chromebook CX100 Jun 2020
- Ncomputing Chromebook CX110 Jun 2020
- Nexian Chromebook 11.6” Jun 2020
- PCMerge Chromebook PCM-116E/PCM-116EB Jun 2020
- Poin2 Chromebook 11 Jun 2020
- Positvo Chromebook CH1190 Jun 2020
- Prowise Chromebook Entryline Jun 2020
- Sector 5 E1 Rugged Chromebook Jun 2020
- Viglen Chromebook 11 Jun 2020
- Asus Chromebook Flip C100PA Jul 2020
- Acer Chromebase Aug 2020
- Asus Chromebit CS10 Nov 2020
- Acer Chromebook 11 (C740) Jun 2021
- Acer Chromebook 15 (CB5-571, C910) Jun 2021
- Acer Chromebox CXI2 Jun 2021
- Acer Chromebox for Meetings CXV2 Jun 2021
- Acer Chromebase 24 (CA24I) Jun 2021
- Acer Chromebase for Meetings (CA24V) Jun 2021
- Asus Chromebox 2 (CN62) Jun 2021
- Dell Chromebook 13 (7310) Jun 2021
- Google Chromebook Pixel (2015) Jun 2021
- Lenovo ThinkCentre Chromebox Jun 2021
- Senkatel Chromebook 2 (2015 Edition) Jun 2021
- Acer Chromebook 11 (CB3-111, C730, C730E) Sep 2021
- Acer Chromebook 11 (CB3-131, C735) Sep 2021
- Acer Chromebook 15 (CB3-531) Sep 2021
- Aopen Chromebase Commercial Sep 2021
- Aopen Chromebox Commercial Sep 2021
- Bobicus Chromebook 11 Sep 2021
- CTL N6 Education Chromebook Sep 2021
- Dell Chromebook 11 (3120) Sep 2021
- EduGear Chromebook R Sep 2021
- Edxis Chromebook Sep 2021
- Edxis Education Chromebook (NL6) Sep 2021
- Haier Chromebook 11 G2 Sep 2021
- HEXA Chromebook Pi Sep 2021
- HP Chromebook 11 G3 Sep 2021
- HP Chromebook 11 G4/G4 EE Sep 2021
- HP Chromebook 14 G4 Sep 2021
- Lenovo 100S Chromebook Sep 2021
- Lenovo N21 Chromebook Sep 2021
- M&A Chromebook Sep 2021
- Samsung Chromebook 2 11 – XE500C12 Sep 2021
- Senkatel C1101 Chromebook Sep 2021
- Senkatel Chromebook 2 Sep 2021
Guess Google have a problem supporting their own line.
Those who live in glass houses should refrain from throwing stones…
Come off it. If you look at the world that way, lifting a finger to a keyboard is a problem that can be overcome. In engineering terms, it's very little effort for Google to tailor their installation for a Mac computer.
Not in the least. My argument is that it's embarrassing for Apple to have perfectly good computers that are obsolete, yet another company makes them un-obsolete by offering an up-to-date operating system for them.
So why can't they support older Chrome Books?
Money. Money is the answer. You seem to be happy to take a dig at Apple not supporting older MacBooks, but Google apparently don't care about older ChromeBooks.
Google needs to get its own house in order before attempting to fix others.
Again, nothing new. As I said before, You could put Gentoo on many a older Intel MacBook.
You seem awfully willing to give Google praise for something they didn't create but are looking at monetizing.
And happy to give them a free pass for failing to support ChromeBooks - some of which are newer than the currently supported MacBooks.
Many of the ChromeBooks are probably equally good computers, and yet have been obsoleted by Google.
Two companies having different business models is not “embarrassing”.
So therefore how/why is this "embarrassing" for Apple? If Apple decided that it wasn't profitable enough (or would take too much profit away from other areas e.g,. sale of new or newer computers), then it's simply a business decision.
There are a lot of things Apple could easily do but chooses not to based on profitability factors. Some may consider their decisions "right" or "wrong", greedy, etc. but that doesn't necessarily make them "embarrassing".
Personally I find it somewhat sad that Chromebooks’, such as the Asus Chromebook Flip C100PA from July 2015, is already out of support and has been hung out totally to dry - no security updates, no nothing.
Meanwhile even the lowly mid 2012 MacBook Air recently received a security update from Apple via Catalina just last month…
Apparently though @LV426 feels it’s Apple who should be embarrassed.
Why? This isn't as groundbreaking or earthshattering as you seem to think.
Chrome OS is just a Gentoo Linux Distribution. Flex is just a derivative of that...
ChromeOS - Gentoo wiki
wiki.gentoo.org
because Google gives you option to continue to use your Apple hardware but Apple does not...thats why...
Its like saying Apple abandons your iphone 6 , but Google is releasing current Android versions you can use on it.
Er, wot?
You can continue to use your hardware AND all the apps - even when unsupported.
And why won't folk address the issue that ChromeBooks have a fixed 5 year lifespan - from launch day.
Why do the Google apologetics here focus on Apple and totally ignore that the situation is far worse with ChromeBooks.
But no, let's talk about how Apple are bad leaving MUCH MUCH older devices unsupported. Folk, don't stare at the elephants in the middle of the room - all those ChromeBooks released in 2016 that are now totally out of support.
My 2015 MacBook Pro is still rocking Monterey and will most likely still get security updates for another 3 years yet...
I understand it is possible to update an "old" Chromebook with Chrome OS Flex but ironically, it doesn't work as well as with old Macs and Windows PCs. Google doesn't recommend doing it.
Oh yes it is, if one of those models involves abandoning fully functional hardware and letting your large competitor announce to the world that they will take it on.
Please read my numerous responses to this question as to why Apple should be embarrassed. Regardless of whether it makes the company more or less money.
As far as I’m aware, Apple have never offered to install an OS on any Chromebook. That’s the difference.
Google are at liberty to let their older products go to pasture. But if Apple volunteered and announced to the world that an Apple OS was available to be installed on those machines, that would unquestionably be super-embarrassing for Google.
So if I were to start a company that repairs old hardware, you would find it "embarrassing" that the first party who made that hardware in the first place didn't have that idea?
Google isn't doing this because they have a genius way of running an OS on old hardware that Apple does not, nor are they doing it out of goodwil. They're doing it because it makes sense for their business model to have as many people on ChromeOS as possible, whereas for Apple's business model, "why wouldn't they just buy an iPad or newer Mac" makes more sense.
Google didn't "volunteer". They found a way to make money from users with old Macs.
And no, if Apple did the same with old Chromebooks, it wouldn't be "super-embarrassing for Google". For example, if Apple turned old Chromebooks into machines that run Apple Music and Apple TV+, that would make Apple money and wouldn't be of interest to Google. Google did the equivalent here.
You're talking nonsense.
You're blaming Apple for not supporting older machines but giving Google a totally free pass for doing this exact same thing, because I guess, you see them as some benevolent benefactor.
Meanwhile what Google is doing is nothing new. Tech heads have been running Linux on older Mac hardware for years now. But because now Google have got into the game you feel this is new and groovy.
I'm not "blaming" anybody for anything. And you are guessing incorrectly, without justification, that I see Google as a benevolent company. I regard Google in exactly the opposite light, as it happens.
I'm getting a bit fed up repeating myself: Google are doing something new. They are providing an easy install of their OS to consumers, not to linux hacks, and this announcement has had massive publicity. Listen, it's not something I would ever use, but they are targeting your average Joe who has old Apple equipment.