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Google Wants to Turn Your Old Mac into a Chromebook With Chrome OS Flex
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Great. Let me put it on my G4 PowerBook
Obviously they’re not talking about my 2012 MBP. That can run Monterey with a few clicks.
Obviously they’re not talking about my 2012 MBP. That can run Monterey with a few clicks.
Cloud computing is far from being a reality.
Is something similar to having an electric car for a family.
Those are good options for some, but they have some extra troubles vs traditional systems so you have to adapt to them and sometimes is not easy or the options aren't comfortable enough.
Is something similar to having an electric car for a family.
Those are good options for some, but they have some extra troubles vs traditional systems so you have to adapt to them and sometimes is not easy or the options aren't comfortable enough.
I’m almost at EOL with my 10,1 (early 2013) i7 Catalina rMBP, I won’t be able getting
Mac OS security updates soon-ish….and Win 10 security updates stop in ~2025
so it’s Mint / other or something like this Chrome OS 🤨
Mac OS security updates soon-ish….and Win 10 security updates stop in ~2025
so it’s Mint / other or something like this Chrome OS 🤨
In the tech universe there will always be people trying to put a square peg into a round hole. It’s all about ego and bragging. Just remember that Mac users are the weird ones when the rest of the world runs on Windows.
Actually it would be somewhat manageable to do that. The available hardware configurations are limited, so you could most likely offer a rather reliable graphical installer that even doesn't have to ask you questions. Imho customization in the installer process are not only overrated, but actually harmful unless you are fully aware what you are doing, and the target audience for such a Linux Distro wouldn't care about it anyways.
You could probably even base it on Gentoo, as is Chrome OS itself. (Yes, you can create and manage a binary distribution with Gentoo, I've done that.) The goal, again, isn't customization, the goal is just a sleek, minimalist, standard no questions asked web centric "OS" that runs your hardware and offers most basic functionality out of the box. You could even support Snaps known from Ubuntu and technically have a working app store.
But.... that's quite a bit of effort and would require a well supported project to garner any form of acceptance in the educational sector. It's a bit sad that Google is the only force in the market that has seen this potential and actually brought it to maturity. Sounds like the ideal holy-unicorn-project to me.
Edit: plus, as I've noted, Linux for Apple Silicon is a thing, and with Gentoo having excellent ARM support, it would even be conceivable to offer such an OS for Apple Silicon devices eventually.
Unfortunately this will be the only option in 10 years or sooner for Intel Macs.
Huh, says you can just boot from USB, too. Which means I'd be able to use it on my new M1 MBP along with my 2015 MBP, my 2010 MBP, and my G5 PPC Mac Pro? Or my Mom's Windows PC? Just keep it in my bag and use it wherever I can use a computer that boots from USB? I mean, I'm sure the "experience" will vary greatly depending on the device you're using it on, but still.. I can see how that'd be handy, but not often.
This is where severely BLOATED and resource Intensive operating systems Lose out.
I'm talking about the HUGE footprint of macOS Monterey and BIG SUR at a whopping 12.5 GB in size.
Linux and Windows 10 and 11 are small and run on almost any computer with low resources. 4 to 5 GB in size footprint.
Catalina is not bad but still big at 8.5 GB.
MOJAVE the last great macOS that is stable and runs 32 bit and 64 bit software.
I'm talking about the HUGE footprint of macOS Monterey and BIG SUR at a whopping 12.5 GB in size.
Linux and Windows 10 and 11 are small and run on almost any computer with low resources. 4 to 5 GB in size footprint.
Catalina is not bad but still big at 8.5 GB.
MOJAVE the last great macOS that is stable and runs 32 bit and 64 bit software.
You must be kidding, right?
Don't parrot mainstream misconceptions, please.
Security between you and Google is different than between Google and third parties (malicious or not)
I wonder, and I hope that after the ARM transition, Apple will support their new Mac OS hardware for at least 2 years longer than their Intel macs. My 10 year old Mac is in perfect working condition, and is fully operational, until I lose those security updates. I’m ok with Mint, but the wife is not. The biggest concern is she uses our Mac for TurboTax And other banking.
As a matter of fact I still don't get why they don't do that. Every single individual I know, me including, that has run a Hackintosh has eventually purchased a Mac, some of them even the Mac Pro despite all its shortcomings (and hilarious price tag).
In fact I've been making the case that Apple should just sell an ITX board that comes with official MacOS support. So many people would jump on that, even if it would cost 500 bucks, even without storage, CPU and memory.
I stay on Mojave for almost 4 years! It was so nice.
This might be the perfect solution to getting some use out of some older hardware which I was planning to otherwise install Linux on. Eg white clamshell non unibody MacBook.
I do wonder if this will perform well on netbooks though as we have a few of those lying around too.
I do wonder if this will perform well on netbooks though as we have a few of those lying around too.
Apple faithful: Update your OS or your system will be vulnerable!!!
Google: (makes Chrome OS Flex available for unsupported Apple hardware)
Apple faithful: NOT THAT WAY!!! 😤
As big of a fan of Chrome OS that I am, I don't think putting Chrome OS Flex on Apple hardware is a good way to go. I kicked the tires on Chrome OS Flex and it is basically a rebadging of CloudReady. (Flex is CrOS v.100, CloudReady is v.94)
Whether it is Windows, Mac OS, or Chrome OS, they each rely on custom keyboard layouts and keys. Using a Mac keyboard on a Windows system is a bit of an annoyance. So too, is using a non-Chromebook keyboard on Chrome OS.
That is one of the greater annoyances of using CloudReady or Flex on non-chromebook hardware.
So what do I suggest for obsolete Mac hardware? I'll leave THAT discussion for another thread. 😀
Google: (makes Chrome OS Flex available for unsupported Apple hardware)
Apple faithful: NOT THAT WAY!!! 😤
As big of a fan of Chrome OS that I am, I don't think putting Chrome OS Flex on Apple hardware is a good way to go. I kicked the tires on Chrome OS Flex and it is basically a rebadging of CloudReady. (Flex is CrOS v.100, CloudReady is v.94)
Whether it is Windows, Mac OS, or Chrome OS, they each rely on custom keyboard layouts and keys. Using a Mac keyboard on a Windows system is a bit of an annoyance. So too, is using a non-Chromebook keyboard on Chrome OS.
That is one of the greater annoyances of using CloudReady or Flex on non-chromebook hardware.
So what do I suggest for obsolete Mac hardware? I'll leave THAT discussion for another thread. 😀
I see this as a nice option for donating old Macs to Impoverished Countries, where I believe many would be very happy with it.
I don’t think Google is officially supporting anything, they are just giving you the option to install their OS - if it works, it works.
Would these impoverished countries have widespread internet available to use chromeOS?