There could be big security problem to run an old OS without any patch for years.
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Google Wants to Turn Your Old Mac into a Chromebook With Chrome OS Flex
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There could be big security problem to run an old OS without any patch for years.
Because a lot of laptops desktops cannot update to Windows 11, that is what Google targets now for sure.
It’s the second time I hear this OpenCore approach, earlier today it was someone related to a hackintosh built as an iMac Pro 18-core.Partly agree. However, it gets to a stage where you can't use the internet because no modern browsers work (and if they do, there's serious security/rendering issues).
I use a 2008 Mac Pro with a Vega 64 and have installed Monterey (using OpenCore). This OS supports my semi-modern GPU and all the features I want.
But yeah... I wouldn't go OpenCore'ing old Macs that doesn't support Metal in order to install Monterey. That's just silly.
Chrome? Meh. Guessing it'll give you a modern web browser, a word processing app and some Android-style games? I'll stick with Monterey on my 2008 Mac Pro thanks
In short, could an iMac 2013 (up to Catalina) and/or MacBook Pro mid 2013 (up to Big Sur) be boosted to Monterey?
I do get the point the Metal approach, these ones mentioned have NVidia cards which might introduce issues? I guess the trick here is to stick to amd cards like your Vega64.
From the article, this is an evolution of Neverware CloudReady. Just that instead of shipping with the Chromium browser it's shipping with Chrome and therefore presumably also ships with all of the media codecs that were required to be installed separately in CloudReady. During the early stages of the pandemic, with kids homeschooling, I used CloudReady on a HP PC I had picked up from Costco a few years ago on a clearance sale for $200. It was ultra low spec as the price point indicates. Think Celeron CPU, 4GB RAM. I updated the HDD to an SSD from one that I had lying around and it was still too slow to be usable in Windows. Given it was very close specs to other HP Chromebook's at the time, I thought that CloudReady might be usable. In fact when it worked, it was fantastic. It booted quickly, Chrome was entirely usable as a browser. It was also possible to install Linux and use Docker through CloudReady to install various Linux apps. I recall having LibreOffice installed this way. However, once in every three boots it just refused to load the trackpad driver and that unreliability meant that I had to install Linux Mint.
Linux Mint was 100% reliable but significantly slower. Faster than Windows yes, but only just usable. CloudReady / ChromeOS was just a much better user experience. I used their support forums and they had a fix for the trackpad issue I was experiencing ready but unfortunately by then the laptop experienced some catastrophic fault and wouldn't even boot to the BIOS/firmware. This ChromeOS Flex might be a good use case for something like my 2009 MacBook Pro - the MacOS version it is running still allows a modern version of Chrome to be installed. I am not sure how much longer that will be the case.
Linux Mint was 100% reliable but significantly slower. Faster than Windows yes, but only just usable. CloudReady / ChromeOS was just a much better user experience. I used their support forums and they had a fix for the trackpad issue I was experiencing ready but unfortunately by then the laptop experienced some catastrophic fault and wouldn't even boot to the BIOS/firmware. This ChromeOS Flex might be a good use case for something like my 2009 MacBook Pro - the MacOS version it is running still allows a modern version of Chrome to be installed. I am not sure how much longer that will be the case.
Complexity is much higher than installing Linux. Worth it if you want to build a high end hackintosh but probably not if repurposing an old Mac/Macbook.
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Has anyone tried to install or run it live via a USB drive on one of the supported Macs?
I tried to follow the steps, but the recovery app doesn't list Apple as an option, and you can't go further unless you select something.
I tried to follow the steps, but the recovery app doesn't list Apple as an option, and you can't go further unless you select something.
Just ignore that and skip to the next step to install Chromebook Recovery Utility extension for Chrome browser then choose Chrome OS Flex to create USB installer.
https://support.google.com/chromeosflex/answer/11541904
Cheers!
Though I don't think you can skip it, but I selected a random model, it's downloading now. Lets see how I go from here.
edit:
Oooooh, I totally skimmed over this
For Select a manufacturer, find and click Google Chrome OS Flex
Though I don't think you can skip it, but I selected a random model, it's downloading now. Lets see how I go from here.
edit:
Oooooh, I totally skimmed over this
For Select a manufacturer, find and click Google Chrome OS Flex
They might extend it anyway, since many companies haven't still upgraded to W11.
In fact, we don't have any companies that has upgraded to W11. And it's still, for years.
And to be fair, even Windows 7 is still supported. We have companies that pay for Windows 7's security updates.
Hardware brands need people to buy new computers to make profit, and those brands “work with” Microsoft to achieve this goal.
I would rather install a standard modern Linux distribution with XFCE, LXQt, LXDE or other low resource Desktop Environments.
You can also install Raspberry Pi Desktop, a Linux distribution for low-end PC and Mac.
www.raspberrypi.com
You can also install Raspberry Pi Desktop, a Linux distribution for low-end PC and Mac.
Raspberry Pi OS – Raspberry Pi
From industries large and small, to the kitchen table tinkerer, to the classroom coder, we make computing accessible and affordable for everybody.
www.raspberrypi.com
I have a late 2013 MBP which still works but wont run Monterey. The way I use it has changed over the years and its no longer my primary machine and is only really used for casual web browsing. Its a bit slow for me so I gave this a go to see if it gave a performance improvement. Unfortunately while I get the ChromeOS splash screen it doesn't seem to want to boot into the desktop. I am going to keep an eye on it as its still in beta and hopefully will mean if i can get it working then I could get a couple more years use out of the MBP with luck.
Odd, that. My mid-2012 MacBook Pro on Catalina just got a security update this week.
Years ago, I tried to install FreeBSD and ended up with Ubuntu Linux and didn't really get anything done, except searching for alternatives for my applications. At least, ChromeOS is good enough for simple browsing and communication, without update complications.I was actually looking into the possibility of doing this a few years back with my old 2007 MBP since Chrome OS is basically designed to run well on a potato..
A 10y old Mac would likely still run Chrome OS better- or at least just as good as brand new chrome book would today.
It’s not for everyone, but it’s a great way to put some new life into older hardware
If I had an old machine that I still wanted to use but couldn't run a current secure MacOS on then I'd be tempted to install Linux on it, can't think why I'd ever opt for ChromeOS. Unsure what it would bring to the table.
Google has announced early access to Chrome OS Flex, a method of replacing the operating system on older PCs and Macs "within minutes" to essentially turn them into Chromebooks.
The company is encouraging individuals, schools, and businesses to download Chrome OS Flex so they can "easily try modern computing with cloud-based management" while extending the lifespan of older devices, thereby reducing e-waste.
The idea is that if you have an aging Mac lying around that can't run macOS 12 Monterey, then you can install Chrome OS Flex on it using a bootable USB stick and then try out what Google's cloud-first operating system has to offer. From the website:
Google says Chrome OS Flex has the same look and feel as the Chrome OS shipped with every Chromebook, as it's built on the same code base and includes Google Assistant, the Chrome browser, and Nearby Sharing. However, there's currently no Google Play Store, and Google has outlined some other, mainly system-level limitations of OS Flex that distinguish it from Chrome OS on native Google devices.
Chrome OS Flex is the result of Google's 2020 purchase of Neverware, a company that offered an app called CloudReady that allows users to convert old PCs into Chrome OS machines.
Google says it will automatically move CloudReady home, school, and enterprise users to Chrome OS Flex when the OS is stable. Use of OS Flex is free for individuals, but schools and businesses using CloudReady will continue to be charged a fee and subscription rate, respectively.
If you want to try out Chrome OS Flex, you can learn more and download it on the Chrome Enterprise website. As this is early access, expect some bugs, although the OS can be booted directly from a USB stick if you don't want to commit to installation. A stable version of the OS is expected to launch in the coming months.
Article Link: Google Wants to Turn Your Old Mac into a Chromebook With Chrome OS Flex
Kinda and no.
OpenCore injects code between the boot loader and actually booting the MacOS kernel. That enables one to do all sorts of stuff. On older macs you can spoof the device so that MacOS recognizes it as a Mac that still can run the version of MacOS you want to run. On off the shelf PC hardware it does much of the same, and also introduces fixes to make it usable in the first place. Intel Macs are pretty much PCs, but they have a few quirks, and MacOS stringently does not support hardware that has never been used in a Mac. OpenCore (or more precisely: modules for OpenCore) can fix some of these things and work around others.
The problem is that this is by no means a simple, user friendly task. It's not complicated in that you need a degree in Computer Sciences to successfully do it, but it's not something a normal user would understand how to do without a recipe of how to actually do it.
The advantage over Linux is that you can "simply" run MacOS on your legacy device, even if Tim Apple has deemed it unfit for duty. This may or may not come with restrictions such as certain features or apps not working, especially those relying on newer CPUs that do have instructions older CPU models lack. Iirc newer versions of Photoshop are a rather prominent example of this. iMessage also is prone to issues on pre-Sandy-Bridge machines as far as I am aware of. HD video on Safari might not work (but will work fine in Chromium). With this approach you kinda accept that there will be some things that will not work as expected and that you personally will have limited power to change that.
The question is: What do you want to use your legacy Mac for?
Do you just want a maintained OS that is capable of running a browser? Then Linux is probably the better option as it is more lightweight and will deal with things as limited memory better, especially if you choose a lightweight distribution (Lubuntu is probably the most beginner friendly of distributions aimed at older machines).
Do you want to retain your Mac as an actual Mac, but want to run a more modern version of MacOS? Then OpenCore is the way to go, but there are potential issues that are simply due to the software expecting hardware that isn't there - and those cannot be fixed, but at best worked around. Also (assuming lack of experience) don't expect to succeed at this at first try, and don't expect this to be something you do on a Thursday afternoon. More like a weekend.
The point kinda is: it shouldn't have to be this way. If Apple wanted they could support these old machines, and in my opinion they should as it would probably even serve their own interests. Google now prying on legacy Macintoshs is evidence that there is a market to be had supporting these old machines. And if Apple could just deny Google that market it would be worth doing for them.
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The two main problems I have with everything Google are the following:
1) They obsolete stuff out of the blue at their own leisure as soon as it doesn't serve their current interests anymore.
2) I hardly trust Apple with my data, I certainly don't trust companies whose business model is openly stated as collecting data and selling targeted ads based on said data such as Facebook or Google.
Linux is a pain (and there is a reason I migrated from Linux to MacOS after over a decade running Linux almost exclusively), but at least (most) Linux distributions are honest and you can reasonably expect them to do what they tell you they're doing - and nothing else.