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Google's ChromeOS Flex Now Available to Turn Old Macs into Chromebooks

BF1M said:
Even a really old version of MacOS is better then the most current ChromeOS. This is pointless.
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I agree with people proposing Linux over Chrome OS, but I have to stress that old version of MacOS are not usable.
I have an old black macbook whose hardware is just fine for browsing, documents etc. (2 core 2,4ghz, 4gb ram, brand new ssd disk).
But because Apple restricts me from upgrading to a new MacOS version, I cannot use my Mac.
Every website I enter with Safari is unreachable due to my certificates being out of date, and I cannot even update Safari to the latest version, so it's stuck there.
Can't install Chrome either, since I cannot enter any websites, as already mentioned.
On the other hand, the same macbook runs Elementary OS (Ubuntu flavor) just fine, and I guess Chrome OS too (I'll have to try).
 
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Darth Tulhu said:
Doing this would be the dumbest thing EVER.

For real though, I don't think ANY Mac user would do this.
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Why not? There are many Mac users who don't only use macOS and who are not prejudiced against other OSes. I have an old Mac I might put this on. I already have Linux Mint on it but ChromeOS would make it even easier to use for some.

Why not just use something like Sierra on the old Mac? Running current software on older macOS versions is not fully possible and there are likely some security flaws that will not be fixed. In contrast, I can install the newest versions of various Linux distros and have access to current security updates and software.

This is also true for ChromeOS, which makes sense for those who want the simplicity of that OS. It's not my preferred OS but it has its uses.
 
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I think this option is good, although you have to check how long the OS will support your hardware model. There are some that will only be supported till 2025 or something. Then you'll be at the same position again, an old device with an OS that's no longer supported. Imo going Windows on these old Intel Macs might be a better move.

Still, anything to make older computers secure and up to date is cool in my book. Most people spent their time on the browser anyway that going ChromeOS might not make much of an issue.
 
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hagar said:
That’s not always the case. My 2015 iMac is useless after upgrading to Big Sur. Due to issues between the OS and Fusion Drive it takes 10 minutes to boot and launch MS Word. So this looks like a compelling alternative.
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Big Sur crawls on a spinner. Get yourself an cheap SSD and a usb enclosure, clone your fusion drive to it, then boot from it. That's what I did to my 2009 iMac.
 
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I believe this can be more useful to "resuscitate" old PCs / Windows laptops than Macs which continue working a bit more slowly but pretty well with some old macOS versions.
 
Any Mac running 10.12 Sierra and later can run the latest Firefox and 10.11 El Capitan and later can run the latest Brave. Sure, Apple may not be giving you security updates, but common sense will keep an old Mac in service for Many years.
 
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Several schools have switched to ChromeOS because it's basically free and can run on almost anything cheap. This will help them tremendously, especially schools with very old hardware and no budgets to upgrade.

Apple can either figure out their way of a cloud-based or "lite" version of macOS, or "switching" will be the reality to keep 10+ year old hardware going with some kind of security updates and a browser that actually has security patches.

Linux is a viable option for many, but trying to sell that as a solution to someone not into computers can be a burden. There is no simple plug a USB stick in and get it going installer, plus navigating the flavors of Linux is almost overwhelming for a newbie. They've all heard of Google and many already use Chrome.
 
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hagar said:
That’s not always the case. My 2015 iMac is useless after upgrading to Big Sur. Due to issues between the OS and Fusion Drive it takes 10 minutes to boot and launch MS Word. So this looks like a compelling alternative.
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An alternative where you can't run MS Word at all?
 
Darth Tulhu said:
Doing this would be the dumbest thing EVER.

Even dumber than using Windows when you have the choice not to. ;)

For real though, I don't think ANY Mac user would do this.
Click to expand...

I am one such person. Actually went out and specifically bought a Chromebook so I could run some Chess software that isn’t there for Windows or Mac. And there is always the possibility of Virtualization using Parallels.

But then I had a specific set of softwares in mind to run. And the more computers the better so I can run distributed position analyses.

Tom
 
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Er... no.... why would anyone do this? Can't run Monterey? No probs, just run the latest Mac OS you device will support. I was using Catalina until last year, perfectly happy with it. What on earth would the benefit be in switching to this abomination? How is this even being considered as an option? Parchment and quill pen before I'd do this!
 
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I could understand if someone likes Windows, but ChromeOS? The whole point of ChromeOS (as well as Chrome and Android and all other Google products) is gathering user data for personalized ads. Many people have no idea how little Google respects the privacy of its users. Even if you turn the privacy settings to a maximum, Google still finds ways to track you anyway. For example through your typing pattern when you enter anything into any Google search field. Or by mapping the SSIDs of all WIFI networks ir comes across when taking photos for Street View. The main reason to my an iPhone over a much cheaper Android phone is privacy.
 
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