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There is no reason you shouldn't be able to use this hardware 10~15 years from now. People use old Apple IIs and C64s from decades ago. The trouble is the locke

There is no reason you shouldn't be able to use this hardware 10~15 years from now. People use old Apple IIs and C64s from decades ago. The trouble is the locked bootloaders, secure boot and all the binary blob drivers.

skybrian 8y ago
I don't know about Apple II's but some C64's died due to bad power supplies. You can still find working ones, but that doesn't mean you can count on any particular device to last. They weren't designed for that any more than today's computers. Chromebooks are designed to preserve data. The hardware is presumed vulnerable to failure.
- sireat 8y ago
  How are Chromebooks designed to preserve data? They are basically modern version of a dumb/dumbed down network terminal. Chromebook experience is tailored for doing everything in the browser. For fsck's sake you have to print through the "cloud": https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/how-to-set-up-google-print-on-your-chromebook https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/how-to-set-up-google-prin... You have to trust that Google will preserve your data in its cloud.
  - skybrian 8y ago
    Yes, exactly. There are vulnerabilities to be aware of (primarily, losing control of your account, which would be catastrophic), but at least replacing the hardware is just a shopping trip. This is much better than getting an elderly relative off Windows XP.
    - afandian 8y ago
      Arguably it's much harder to get an elderly relative off Google than XP.
      - skybrian 8y ago
        I don't see a similar situation happening where I'd have to do that. I can buy a new Chromebook easily, so no need to worry about hardware obsolescence, and ChromeOS auto-updates.
  - saagarjha 8y ago
    Many Chromebooks have a reasonable amount of storage in them: it’s possible to use them without relying on the “cloud”.
  - ewoodrich 8y ago
    ChromeOS has supported CUPS for a while now.
- reaperducer 8y ago
  some C64's died due to bad power supplies. There are several companies currently making new (more stable, more reliable) power supplies for C-64's.
kllrnohj 8y ago
> There is no reason you shouldn't be able to use this hardware 10~15 years from now. People use old Apple IIs and C64s from decades ago. And you still can, you just won't be getting updates. Just like Apple IIs and C64s from decades ago don't get any updates. It's not like 6.5 years after release it just immediately refuses to power on anymore, it still works
- solarkraft 8y ago
  It still works, but potentially insecurely so - which I'd consider a bit of a problem for daily use.
- userbinator 8y ago
  It's not a matter of "updates", but the fact that stuff like secure boot means you don't actually own the hardware anymore. You can "update" a C64 long after its manufacturer is gone, but these devices are literally designed to lock you out.

skybrian 8y ago

I don't know about Apple II's but some C64's died due to bad power supplies. You can still find working ones, but that doesn't mean you can count on any particular device to last. They weren't designed for that any more than today's computers. Chromebooks are designed to preserve data. The hardware is presumed vulnerable to failure.

sireat 8y ago
How are Chromebooks designed to preserve data? They are basically modern version of a dumb/dumbed down network terminal. Chromebook experience is tailored for doing everything in the browser. For fsck's sake you have to print through the "cloud": https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/how-to-set-up-google-print-on-your-chromebook https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/how-to-set-up-google-prin... You have to trust that Google will preserve your data in its cloud.
- skybrian 8y ago
  Yes, exactly. There are vulnerabilities to be aware of (primarily, losing control of your account, which would be catastrophic), but at least replacing the hardware is just a shopping trip. This is much better than getting an elderly relative off Windows XP.
  - afandian 8y ago
    Arguably it's much harder to get an elderly relative off Google than XP.
    - skybrian 8y ago
      I don't see a similar situation happening where I'd have to do that. I can buy a new Chromebook easily, so no need to worry about hardware obsolescence, and ChromeOS auto-updates.
- saagarjha 8y ago
  Many Chromebooks have a reasonable amount of storage in them: it’s possible to use them without relying on the “cloud”.
- ewoodrich 8y ago
  ChromeOS has supported CUPS for a while now.
reaperducer 8y ago
some C64's died due to bad power supplies. There are several companies currently making new (more stable, more reliable) power supplies for C-64's.

kllrnohj 8y ago

> There is no reason you shouldn't be able to use this hardware 10~15 years from now. People use old Apple IIs and C64s from decades ago. And you still can, you just won't be getting updates. Just like Apple IIs and C64s from decades ago don't get any updates. It's not like 6.5 years after release it just immediately refuses to power on anymore, it still works

solarkraft 8y ago
It still works, but potentially insecurely so - which I'd consider a bit of a problem for daily use.
userbinator 8y ago
It's not a matter of "updates", but the fact that stuff like secure boot means you don't actually own the hardware anymore. You can "update" a C64 long after its manufacturer is gone, but these devices are literally designed to lock you out.