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The annoying thing is that they can do this, but they won't offer some sort of extended support for old chromebooks. It seems like they could at least keep the

by _ea1k 5y ago

The annoying thing is that they can do this, but they won't offer some sort of extended support for old chromebooks. It seems like they could at least keep the user layer up to date and ship patches for critical vulnerabilities.

vero2 5y ago
Blame intel for not updating older devices...
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- mh- 5y ago
  What updates could they need from Intel to keep the OS/userspace up to date?
  - jeffbee 5y ago
    "up to date" implies that fixes are being identified, developed, and distributed. If your wifi card has some flaw, and intel fixes it, and google distributes the fix then your device is "up to date". If you don't care about this property then you also don't care that a Chromebook only gets updates for 7 years. It is, after all, not going to just switch itself off at the end of the support term.
  - vero2 5y ago
    1. Intel spectre/CVE? 2. Note that these old devices have no support from Wayland as intel does not provide drivers 3. These were introductory chromebooks and I am sure OEMs will be annoyed if they are unlimited updates. (or they may be have contracts) 4. Even if google kepps them away from Wayland, users will then expect same performance/features like the new ones - and blame Google.
livinglist 5y ago
that’s how google does things, I won’t be surprised.
yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago
For bonus points: I'm trying to figure out if this will work on Chromebooks. So you flash a coreboot+tianocore build (mrchromebox is a popular prebuilt option) to convert your EOL chromebook to a normal UEFI laptop... and then install Chrome OS Flex, and get a supported Chrome OS device again? I can't see any reason it wouldn't work...
- kingcharles 5y ago
  What CPUs does Flex support though? This would be great to recover EOL Chromebooks. There are literally millions of them out there that are dead now, but would perform perfectly with Flex.
- onion2k 5y ago
  If you try it and it's good this would be worth doing a Show HN post for.
- billiam 5y ago
  seems like they would be doing this with Flex if they could support the old CPUs.
- blacksmith_tb 5y ago
  I think the chances are pretty good, I have an old Toshiba Chromebook 2 running Cloudready, several years past the end of official support.
- opencl 5y ago
  You can already do this with Neverware CloudReady, which Chrome OS Flex is basically a rebrand of. https://www.ifixit.com/News/30282/how-to-get-updates-on-your-end-of-life-chromebook https://www.ifixit.com/News/30282/how-to-get-updates-on-your...
nmstoker 5y ago
That was my first thought too. They charge in like heroes to extend the life of laptops with other company's operating systems and yet the four year old Chromebook that perfectly suits my parents' limited performance needs is being abandoned even though it's still fully functional.
notyourday 5y ago
I have installed it onto an Asus CN60 which is not supported by ChromeOS since Sep 2019: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30354398 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30354398

by _ea1k 5y ago

vero2 5y ago

Blame intel for not updating older devices...

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
mh- 5y ago
What updates could they need from Intel to keep the OS/userspace up to date?
- jeffbee 5y ago
  "up to date" implies that fixes are being identified, developed, and distributed. If your wifi card has some flaw, and intel fixes it, and google distributes the fix then your device is "up to date". If you don't care about this property then you also don't care that a Chromebook only gets updates for 7 years. It is, after all, not going to just switch itself off at the end of the support term.
- vero2 5y ago
  1. Intel spectre/CVE? 2. Note that these old devices have no support from Wayland as intel does not provide drivers 3. These were introductory chromebooks and I am sure OEMs will be annoyed if they are unlimited updates. (or they may be have contracts) 4. Even if google kepps them away from Wayland, users will then expect same performance/features like the new ones - and blame Google.

livinglist 5y ago

that’s how google does things, I won’t be surprised.

yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago

For bonus points: I'm trying to figure out if this will work on Chromebooks. So you flash a coreboot+tianocore build (mrchromebox is a popular prebuilt option) to convert your EOL chromebook to a normal UEFI laptop... and then install Chrome OS Flex, and get a supported Chrome OS device again? I can't see any reason it wouldn't work...

kingcharles 5y ago
What CPUs does Flex support though? This would be great to recover EOL Chromebooks. There are literally millions of them out there that are dead now, but would perform perfectly with Flex.
onion2k 5y ago
If you try it and it's good this would be worth doing a Show HN post for.
billiam 5y ago
seems like they would be doing this with Flex if they could support the old CPUs.
blacksmith_tb 5y ago
I think the chances are pretty good, I have an old Toshiba Chromebook 2 running Cloudready, several years past the end of official support.
opencl 5y ago
You can already do this with Neverware CloudReady, which Chrome OS Flex is basically a rebrand of. https://www.ifixit.com/News/30282/how-to-get-updates-on-your-end-of-life-chromebook https://www.ifixit.com/News/30282/how-to-get-updates-on-your...

nmstoker 5y ago

That was my first thought too. They charge in like heroes to extend the life of laptops with other company's operating systems and yet the four year old Chromebook that perfectly suits my parents' limited performance needs is being abandoned even though it's still fully functional.

notyourday 5y ago

I have installed it onto an Asus CN60 which is not supported by ChromeOS since Sep 2019: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30354398 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30354398