"The "damn" times they are a changing!" Bob Dylan? (well not exactly)

[frahse]

I seem to collect devices and machines that just keep marching on.
Yes as an engineer i am proud of my ability to squeeze useful life out "old," "very old," and "really, really old" products but I get mad when someone takes it out of my hands and thwarts me.

I personally (meaning not my company or my wife) have 2 Windows 10 laptops, a old huge legacy Windows XP tower hooked to my legacy HP printer, all running well, and a really fast expensive laptop from the office that only needs a hard drive to scream again, but I usually use a small convenient Chromebook that I got from my wife when she decided that she had to have Windows software again or her "life was not complete."

The Chromebook is a small 11.6" Acer C710-2487, 4 GB Ram, 340 GB HD workhorse that never fails me for reading, browsing, stock portfolio handling, occasional email to several accounts and I never have to upgrade the software. I am on it right now. To find the model number above I only had to read the permanent marking notation at the top of the keyboard where I put it a few years ago. I use this machine 85 to 95 percent of the time because it is so convenient.

BUT --Just a few minutes ago I got a notice:

"End of support
Now that your Chromebook is getting up there in years, its ability to take advantage of the latest features is coming to an end. The latest software requires the latest hardware to work properly.

Find a perfect match
There are more Chromebooks to choose from than ever before. Whether for work, school or play, we can help you find the perfect fit.

Check out the latest Chromebooks.

What it means
Chromebooks that reach end of support will stop receiving the automatic updates that enhance both the device itself and the software on the device.

Visit the Help Center for more information.

Learn how to recycle your used Chromebook"


Have you noticed? Someone is always trying to ruin our day...

[kansaskyle]

I remember a commercial years ago that mentioned a seven-year-old computer is a lot different than a seven-year-old airplane.

Is the end-of-support message coming from Acer, Google, or both? Do you think it will still work, but just not get updates?

It's sad that we are turning into a society of disposable hardware users, which is clearly a first-world issue.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by kansaskyle

Is the end-of-support message coming from Acer, Google, or both?

Chromebooks are directly updated by Google, so the message is from them.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by frahse

I seem to collect devices and machines that just keep marching on.
Yes as an engineer i am proud of my ability to squeeze useful life out "old," "very old," and "really, really old" products but I get mad when someone takes it out of my hands and thwarts me.

I personally (meaning not my company or my wife) have 2 Windows 10 laptops, a old huge legacy Windows XP tower hooked to my legacy HP printer, all running well, and a really fast expensive laptop from the office that only needs a hard drive to scream again, but I usually use a small convenient Chromebook that I got from my wife when she decided that she had to have Windows software again or her "life was not complete."

The Chromebook is a small 11.6" Acer C710-2487, 4 GB Ram, 340 GB HD workhorse that never fails me for reading, browsing, stock portfolio handling, occasional email to several accounts and I never have to upgrade the software. I am on it right now. To find the model number above I only had to read the permanent marking notation at the top of the keyboard where I put it a few years ago. I use this machine 85 to 95 percent of the time because it is so convenient.

BUT --Just a few minutes ago I got a notice:

"End of support
Now that your Chromebook is getting up there in years, its ability to take advantage of the latest features is coming to an end. The latest software requires the latest hardware to work properly.

Find a perfect match
There are more Chromebooks to choose from than ever before. Whether for work, school or play, we can help you find the perfect fit.

Check out the latest Chromebooks.

What it means
Chromebooks that reach end of support will stop receiving the automatic updates that enhance both the device itself and the software on the device.

Visit the Help Center for more information.

Learn how to recycle your used Chromebook"


Have you noticed? Someone is always trying to ruin our day...

But you're still using Windows XP and Microsoft stopped supporting that a while back.

No further updates to the Chromebook doesn't seem to be the worst thing in the world.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

But you're still using Windows XP and Microsoft stopped supporting that a while back.

No further updates to the Chromebook doesn't seem to be the worst thing in the world.

Don't be so sure.

Windows XP doesn't need online to be useful.
Indeed, these days it is only useful offline.
But there are still uses for it.

Chromebooks are thin clients that rely heavily on online services. Especially Google services. If the services won't support the older device... it's a boat anchor. Or a door stop.

[arjaybe]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Don't be so sure.

Windows XP doesn't need online to be useful.
Indeed, these days it is only useful offline.
But there are still uses for it.

Chromebooks are thin clients that rely heavily on online services. Especially Google services. If the services won't support the older device... it's a boat anchor. Or a door stop.

Or a snappy linux machine.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by arjaybe

Or a snappy linux machine.

This.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Don't be so sure.

Windows XP doesn't need online to be useful.
Indeed, these days it is only useful offline.
But there are still uses for it.

Chromebooks are thin clients that rely heavily on online services. Especially Google services. If the services won't support the older device... it's a boat anchor. Or a door stop.

Originally Posted by arjaybe

Or a snappy linux machine.

Yes, and yes.

Some might not remember when XP "came to an end - offiically" but
XP was/is the backbone of many ATM machines, Vending machines, tooling machines, process machines, etc. The hardware is in place, the programs written, and things work!
Sure replace when necessary and the "time" and funds are available.

My Win XP machine started back in the day with Win 98, then Win ME, then XP. It had Office 97 to begin with. It was a screamer back in the day with a 450MHz (1/2 G for the newbies) processor, and a 56K modem.

It has 2 hard drives.

I use it for simple network/router manager, a print server, charting machine and firstly and finally a "COLLECTOR." It still sits there day and night year after year searching for all those things that I have an interest in. My pile of "stuff" is now massive. Of course over the years those things have changed, from items from the old Bulletin Boards that Bob Metcalfe spoke of as the first "internet" to whatever it is we have today in the so called cloud (mainly a cloud of confusing terms) we are so in awe of.

By the way, Bob's "Metcalfe Law" even touches Bitcoin these days.

Metcalfe on Bitcoin

In my mind Bob was an under rated genius, though he made up for it in finance and investment. But I digress.

I imagine I will find a way to make do with my Chromebook. I usually do in these matters.

[fjtorres]

Can you install alternate OSes on a Chrome book?
Maybe something ultralightweight like LibreElec or Kodibuntu?

I know that at least some Chromeboxes can, but I haven't heard about Chromebooks.

[sjfan]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Can you install alternate OSes on a Chrome book?
Maybe something ultralightweight like LibreElec or Kodibuntu?

I know that at least some Chromeboxes can, but I haven't heard about Chromebooks.

You can install Ubuntu (or another distro) alongside Chrome OS in developer mode. https://sites.google.com/site/chrome...developer-mode

You can also wipe Chrome OS and just install another OS entirely on many laptops that come with Chrome OS preinstalled. But technically at that point you're not installing another OS on a Chromebook—it's no longer a Chromebook, just a laptop running Linux.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by sjfan

You can install Ubuntu (or another distro) alongside Chrome OS in developer mode. https://sites.google.com/site/chrome...developer-mode

You can also wipe Chrome OS and just install another OS entirely on many laptops that come with Chrome OS preinstalled. But technically at that point you're not installing another OS on a Chromebook—it's no longer a Chromebook, just a laptop running Linux.

Arm chromebooks, too?
I've no interest in Chrome but I've seen some real cheap ARM chromebooks that might make decent home servers if repurposed. Built-in UPS.
Mostly just curious.

[cromag]

A couple of years ago I replaced my old Acer netbook (originally shipped with Windows XP, but I replaced that with Ubuntu) with a Lenovo Chromebook -- that I'm currently using right now. I bought it knowing that Google could pull the plug whenever they want and will probably switch over to Ubuntu when that day comes.

Honestly, I've never gotten completely comfortable with the keyboard layout and lack of direct printouts, but it is a quick little internet device. I wouldn't buy another one, but I'm not terribly disappointed with this one.

Anyway, if and when Google starts giving your Chromebook trouble I'd suggest going the Ubuntu route, too.

[sjfan]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Arm chromebooks, too?

Yep. I know you can install Ubuntu on the Samsung Series 3 (ARM Cortex-A15) for sure.

https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton is the easiest option if you just want to try it out without messing with the Chrome OS installation, but there are numerous ways to install to bare metal depending on the particular model (Google is your friend).

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by sjfan

Yep. I know you can install Ubuntu on the Samsung Series 3 (ARM Cortex-A15) for sure.

https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton is the easiest option if you just want to try it out without messing with the Chrome OS installation, but there are numerous ways to install to bare metal depending on the particular model (Google is your friend).

Much obliged.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Don't be so sure.

Windows XP doesn't need online to be useful.
Indeed, these days it is only useful offline.
But there are still uses for it.

Chromebooks are thin clients that rely heavily on online services. Especially Google services. If the services won't support the older device... it's a boat anchor. Or a door stop.

Yes, I understand what Chromebooks are. I have one myself.

But where are you getting that the Chromebook will no longer be able to go online?

Android is notorious for not being updated. Yet old versions of Android can still go online. Why would Chrome O/S behave differently?