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FYI: Neverware is a Google Chromium OS based distribution that you can load onto most laptops through a USB stick. It's main aim is to be able to transform your
by bigtones 6y ago
FYI: Neverware is a Google Chromium OS based distribution that you can load onto most laptops through a USB stick. It's main aim is to be able to transform your old PC or Mac laptop into a ChromeOS laptop.
They've been working pretty closely with the Google ChromeOS team for a while across the consumer, business, and education markets. This deal may be a way for Google to expand the number of devices running ChromeOS.
- jcastro 6y agoI've used neverware on old thinkpads, it's a pretty great tool for rescuing old laptops.
- thinkingemote 6y agoCould installing xubuntu be an alternative? What benefits do neverware have over installing a light weight Ubuntu repo?
- snazz 6y agoIt's a little easier to use and easier to manage for most people compared to a traditional Linux distro.
- p1necone 6y agoIsn't this only because ChromeOS doesn't do anything. xubuntu would be just as easy to use if you confined yourself to a web browser and only used web apps too.
- Google234 6y agoWhy install Ubuntu when you could install the vastly superior Arch Linux?
- eindiran 6y agoBecause not everyone wants to live on the bleeding edge. Because typing ‘pacman -Syu’ 7 times a week gets annoying. Because you want to use the apt/.deb package ecosystem. Because Ubuntu is easier to install, and doesn’t require you to make a huge number of choices about what packages to install. Because you want to use Proton, Lutris and Steam without needing to patch things. Because most $BIGCORP orgs don’t realize that there are ecosystems besides .deb and .rpm. Because Ubuntu is what you already know. Don’t get me wrong: I am a big fan of Arch, but there are a lot of reasons to not prefer it over Ubuntu.
- Lammy 6y agoIs it irony, then, that ChromeOS is based on Gentoo? :v
- yjftsjthsd-h 6y agoNot really; Gentoo isn't "bleeding edge" the way arch is (unless you explicitly configure it that way), and Google builds it into a "final product" that's ready-to-use without configuring.
- awill 6y agoChromeOS isn't based on Gentoo at all. They might share some underlying code. But they're not related at all.
- snazz 6y agoMore than just underlying code; it's directly based on Gentoo and it uses Portage. See the first line of the Wikipedia article on Chrome OS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrome_OS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrome_OS
- awill 6y agoThat's not what I meant. Sure, underneath it shared tech. But when people think of Gentoo, they think 'build from source' and get every kernel dot release etc.. ChromeOS isn't related in that sense.
- the-dude 6y agoNo. Organizations who are using this to revive old hardware do this because it integrates with ... their ChromeOS installed base. Central management, unified app deployment etc.
- jcastro 6y agoAlso the big one, atomic and transparent updates and upgrades. I love Ubuntu (and worked there for a long time!), but no way I'm giving a mutable OS to someone unless I expect to be their sysadmin. They're one google search away from a broken computer, they can't really break chromeOS.
- m-p-3 6y agoSeriously, the amount of time I needed to assist my relatives since they switched to ChromeOS became almost null. They don't play AAA games, they don't really do administrative work (and the times they do, Google Drive can help), and they can't really break it even if they tried.
- tgsovlerkhgsel 6y ago> they can't really break chromeOS You'd be surprised. They can (and will): - install crapware extensions - allow notifications from random shady sites, which will then make them install more crapware extensions - change their default search engine (and a lot of data that Chrome sends goes to the default search engine, e.g. keystrokes in the address bar) It doesn't break the OS per se, but it still results in "my computer has a virus" support calls.
- wmf 6y agoI assume those can be locked down in an education/corporate environment.
- tgsovlerkhgsel 6y agoYes, it's a problem mainly if you set up a chromebook for a relative, outside of a managed environment.
- ashtonkem 6y agoDifferent user groups. If you’re savvy enough to know about Xububtu as an option, then you don’t really need Neverware. The issue is for those that can’t or won’t use a Nix, but might find a ChromeOS palatable.
- chaostheory 6y agoPersonal anecdote, but I had a hard time getting this to work with HP computers a few years ago. imo The issue is more on HP's end than with Neverware though
- wyldfire 6y agoDoes it install from the USB flash drive onto the system disk(s)? Or is it intended to boot and run from the USB device without altering the system?
- nvrspyx 6y agoI believe it needs to be installed on the system. It requires the ChromeOS Recovery Tool on a chromium browser to create the USB, which I don't think supports liveboot.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- Pamar 6y agoI see that they stopped supporting 32-bits architecture though
- mmerlin 6y agoHopefully this acquisition means they will soon be allowed to offer Play Store android apps (currently not available) https://cloudreadykb.neverware.com/s/article/Does-CloudReady-Support-The-Google-Play-Store-Android-Apps https://cloudreadykb.neverware.com/s/article/Does-CloudReady...
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- crazygringo 6y agoWow, this product is... really clever. Especially when put on one of the "mini" USB sticks that sit nearly flush with the port. It seems like it could potentially really enable massive reuse of older, slower laptops that might otherwise be thrown away. It seems to me like handling driver support would be the hard part. Is that their special sauce? I can't see this as anything but a clear win for the environment and for education. And unlike the "Google shuts down everything" meme, this seems so obviously massively helpful to their entire ChromeOS strategy it looks like it'll be here to stay.
- numpad0 6y agoMostly they are just among very few to support generic Chromium OS builds
- ocdtrekkie 6y agoThe problem I see is that Neverware was filling in a gap where Google has failed to provide extended support. That wasn't something Google couldn't do before... it just didn't want to. So this acquisition likely means a return to old Chromebooks being ewaste because Google bought out the company that was providing a longer lifecycle. When Google's team decides a computer is too old to support, do you think their other team is going to be allowed to step in and support it? Google is likely interested in CloudReady for it's newer uses on Windows PCs, I've seen an employer ship a brand new HP laptop with CloudReady on it instead of the OEM Windows license included. But long term support is likely going to suffer.
- noemit 6y agoah, of course, i mean after all, their mission is something like .. - im not sure if i have this right - "be evil" right?
- codetrotter 6y agohttps://killedbygoogle.com/ https://killedbygoogle.com/
- ashtonkem 6y agoI guess that gives them a fighting chance of not being thrown away next year.
- harryf 6y agoThanks for explaining! I wish these types of takeover announcements didn’t always assume the reader already knows what the product / company does