I installed ChromeOS Flex on my old Acer Aspire V5 122p with AMD A6 1,00ghz and 6GB of ram with 128gb ssd and it runs perfectly, I can do everything I need to do and the system is simply perfect. They just need to add the playstore
I would say that e-waste is the real nightmare here and that Flex, with its limitations and drawbacks, is at least a potential solution. For the sake of the planet, we need to change the mindset that says we should just throw away perfectly good hardware because it no longer gets updates. I realize that Flex is only a drop in the bucket, but anything that keeps older hardware out of landfills gets my vote.
@@Gemdation Linux is 'scary',and 'difficult to use' for the average user. and the terminal? don't even talk about it. people just don't want to try anything, they only want and know how to open a browser for mails or youtube. even the installation of chrome os flex right here as easy as it is, as intuitive as it is, scare them off. why, you might ask. because 'it is not secure' and 'it is difficult to do'.
@@noahpolimon There are "it-just-works" distributions like Mint, not even mentioning that it is FREE. People chose to ignore it. This chrome OS adds another option, but its not yet better than any existing solutions.
It just woks for our office and university users. Running on old MacBook Airs and old HP Laptops. For those of you expert Linux, stick to Linux on your old hardware. I personally don’t care about any OS, I use Windows, Linux, MacOS, and Chrome OS. They are just tools. Use the one that best meets your needs.
I feel like this video didn't really go over Chrome OS Flex. It seems to be more about Chrome OS having issues installing Linux and running programs that are extremely resource heavy that would have a hard time running anyway.
i tried chrome os on my surface 3 yesterday to try and revive it and his complaints are valid. wifi just refuses to work, it started for a bit but then stopped and never recovered. installing anything is a pain. hardware specific buttons like volume and sleep mode just dont work or dont do what they are supposed to. for me, the wifi alone is a deal braker because i need the surface for school so my only option that runs well is windows lite
That's pretty much what I picked up. This guy is way off-base in this video because he's really just aiming to try and do something else, rather than actually covering the thing he's covering. It's a shame.
@@cursedhellspawn362 If you check the official compatible list, you will find that your device is indeed not supported, so it is normal that something is not working properly
Installed Flex on my HP laptop from 2016 without any issues. It works like a charm and it's far more intuitive and user friendly than most Linux distributions I've tried.
I feel like he judged it almost entirely on things the OS is not intended for. I've tested live booting it on 2 systems so far, just to see how stable and hardware support complete it is, and looking at it from the 'web appliance' perspective it was designed around, it worked quite well. It will probably replace Ubuntu on one of those systems, a Lenovo X200, because I just cant see a reason to cram a bunch of apps I'll never use onto the device, even with a 'lite' distro.
@@sireuchre yeah, I get that the point of the video is the "flex" aspect specifically. I just wanted to point this out, so that some people wouldn't get the bad impression of ChromeOS in general
You can do more than web browsing. If you notice every vendor has implemented or is on the road in adding android apps, Microsoft apps in easier ways. But the fact you can access your vms and management tools is basically all that’s needed for traditional IT. Most companies are moving to cloud or hybrid scenario and most of tools are cloud based.
That would have been pretty sick especially considering how many schools/parents can have a cost effective solution for supplying computers to school children rather than spending a substantial amount of money on a cheapo laptop
I confess. Until COVID hit, I was an "anti-Chromebook" person. Then I saw how many schools bought them in droves, how easy it was for kids of any age to figure out how to use them, and how long batteries last with them. I won't say that made be a believer but it pushed me to pick up a $35 Lenovo Chromebook ($59 after shipping and tax). I only has a low-end Celeron, 4GB RAM, and a 16GB SSD. I was shocked at how "fast" the OS ran and how easy it was to bring up web pages and apps. I won't say I'm a Chromebook loyalist but I see the benefits it offers. I learned of FLEX a few weeks ago and pulled it down from their site. I have a 15 year old, Toshiba laptop with 4GB of RAM and a small 230GB HDD. I took the FLEX install in less than 15 minutes and was fully as functional as the Lenovo but with more drive space and actually "snappier" in its feel. The model is a Satellite M305-S4907. It was designed for Windows Vista and was slow at best, even when new. FLEX makes it very useable and it is now back in my pool of normal computers (I have several laptops and 2 desktops). All-in-all, I say they've got a good idea. For word processing, spreadsheets, and anything that's web-based (including streaming video), it's well worth the time and effort to install.
I put Flex on my daughter's $150 mini desktop and it works just as good as Xubuntu 22.04 maybe even a little better. TH-cam video playback is certainly better, and basically that's the most demanding thing she does with it anyway. I think if you keep your expectations reasonable it's a decent OS. The main selling point for me is that I don't have to really do anything as far as maintenance.
@@bingeflix167 I know this. I'm a Linux nerd and have been using Desktop Linux exclusively for over 10 years, I wrote and maintain a couple GNOME Shell extensions and am the maintainer of Raspotify which is a packaged version of librespot (a Spotify connect client) for Debian stable and Debian Stable based armhf, arm64 and amd64 distros . I also was actually one of the testers that Google sent a Cr-48 in 2010. So I'm pretty familiar with ChromeOS too. I would still consider myself a hobbyist but I've been around the block a couple times.
I installed stable version for my 72 years old dad on a old cheap 2016 HP notebook. He just do browsing and print, scan and copie fotos from his iphone to usb-stick and all of this just works great.
I'm a long-time Linux user (Debian and Fedora with Xfce after my distro hopping stopped). A few months ago I decided to install ChromeOS Flex on a Lenovo Thinkpad T420s. I've enjoyed using it to browse the web and play simple web-based games while relaxing in the evening. Initially the Linux Development Environment would not load, but after changing some BIOS settings it worked just fine. However, I've only used terminal applications like Htop, Midnight Commander, Neovim, Newsboat, Lynx, and Music on Console. So for my use case (Grandpa Coder) Chrome OS Flex is fine, but I would not ask it to replace my Linux machines. Cheers from Wisconsin!
ChromeOS Flex is a Linux. And if I'm not mistaken, the world's first Linux for PCs developed and supported with security updates by a well-known software mega-company...
It could have been great if this Operating System is compatible with the Raspberry Pi. I seen some videos that Modified Chrome OS on raspberry pi were slick as an ubuntu mate like speed.
I forcefully installed chrome os on one of my laptops a few years ago and the app selection of android + Linux is actually really great. I even installed Firefox on it
The only actual use case I can think for this are those crappy $100 Windows laptops. The ones where you should have picked up a Chomebook anyways. With that I do look forward to them increasing hardware compatibility and fine tuning all the features. Could be a great option in the future, but now it's a MAJOR hit or miss.
I use this in the Education space. Budgets do not allow me to get new equipment so this is perfect in my use case. I can buy a supported model (your ThinkPad T450 should be until 2027) and use this in my ecosystem. I do not have any issues. I have been using the beta in a production environment for a while. I do disable the Linux environment and the android apps which makes the experience much more reliable. Many students are growing up with Chrome and will likely start to use it as a daily driver. Creatures of habit and all of that. The supported model list is very short right now so as always have to check that. For most home users a Linux Distro would be better in my opinion but this does have a place.
Would love to see Arch+Plasma on that miniPC I'm really interested in CS:GO (1080p, low details) FPS, however, ETA Prime don't include that in their videos :'(
My Dell Studio from 2009 runs Flex incredibly well. It's great for TH-cam, Netflix and other streaming stuff. If it wasn't for flex, the laptop would be gathering dust in my cupboard. I'm a fan 👍
Running chrome os flex on Lenovo L490. I was having issues on the same machine on windows and Fedora with losing connection to a new yamaha mixer. I decided to give flex a chance just because the mixer wasn't connecting anyway. That was the day that I realized that chrome os flex could be really great! Since that day that mixer has not disconnected one time, and I went from returning it to Yamaha to now using it all day everyday without issues.
I compared MX Linux 32Bit and Chrome OS Flex on a Lenovo R61 from 2008. Chrome was snappier and more fun browsing and streaming. But still I would prefer a proper Linux just because of Googles data collection ambitions.
Honestly, chrome os flex may make sense for business and mid to large organisations due to administration ease. But as you say, for low spec machines there are better linux distros (porteus, slax and so on). And a private user with standard laptop is better off with a standard linux distro and use chrome browser.
I installed ChromeOS withPlaystore (brunch framework) on Lenovo X1 5th Gen and apple Macmini 2014 model, and it works smooth as original Chromebook on both machines.
@@KatyushaLauncher well that's exactly the case, unfortunately can't find a necessary alternative to Chrome os to give to people who barely use PCs. I have recommended 3 people who I know to use Chrome Os if they get comfortable, zorin Os lite maybe 🤔.
@Clay Gomera As you all are recommending mint to a newcomer then I'll give install on my uncle's old pc let's see if he can use it well. Hopefully he does and that would be incredible!
kdenlive problem is easily solvable by editing app launcher commands. solution is disabling hardware encoding and using software instead. there is a video about that o youtube.
I had it running on my Lenovo Ideapad 5 with AMD Ryzen 4700u processor. dam that thing was quick. Quick to boot. Quick to open web pages and scroll through TH-cam video's frame by frame etc. Octane 2.00 benchmark of over 56,000 was very impressive. My sons Ryzen 7 pc with 16Gb of ram gets 64,000 on Octane 2.0 ! But ...... I needed the laptop to run software defined radio using SDR++ and I got nowhere trying to get that to work. The drivers / API for the SDR card wouldn't install either and screwed up the Linux environment. So I did try Fedora 36 but that is too new to get working. Back to Elementary OS for me (as that just works)
Every so often I deal with users that own Chromebooks, so I thought Chrome OS Flex would turn out to be a useful tool for me so I could install it on an old computer and play around with it and see how it works to the extent that I can assist users who use Chromebooks, i.e. how to take screenshots, upload files to a cloud storage service, etc. I was hopeful until I tried installing it on an old 2011 MacBook Pro that was running Ubuntu (now I am on Fedora Linux thanks to Tech Hut's videos) at the time - I couldn't get it to install due to the dual GPU nature of the laptop (it has a discrete and integrated GPU). This left me with trying out all sorts of virtualization tools (Boxes, Virtualbox, QEMU) and I wasn't able to get any to work, in the end I had to download a trial version of a Mac VM tool to create a Chrome OS Flex VM. Although I played around with the Chrome OS Flex VM for the trial period of the VM software, I can understand that it's not meant for people who are tech saavy.
@@bruno.calico you might be right and I used to think like that, but if you think about it right now, a cloud-based OS and web apps only won't cut it. most online services are trash and devs are not seriously investing in them. VS Code dev? no terminal even if Google Colab, which is also an online service, has full fledged Linux running right in your browser. "But you can run Android Apps and Linux Apps on Chrome OS". Listen, Crostini is not my cup of tea, it's just not finished, not ready, not to mention that it uses Debian🤦(I know, you can technically install Arch but it will not change anything to the fact that it is not ready). Concerning Android, devs don't like their Android Apps on desktop or don't even optimise their apps for large screens (yes, I'm looking at you Instagram) especially games which makes it useless to have Android apps on a desktop. In the future when everything is stable and better to use than now, sure, why not? even Linus Torvalds said that Chrome OS and Android is the path to the desktop and that Linux distros are doing it all wrong. I agree with him. I also agree with you, except that right now distros are simply better.
@@bruno.calico I think so too, and I'd like it to happen because I also love ChromeOS for its simplicity and clean way of doing this(talking about this insanely good containerization, security +1 there, kudos)
Tried it on a live USB and was taken aback that the right mouse button is permanently disabled on all touchpads. Why not let people choose instead of dictating that we use touchpads their way? My laptop can actually run windows 10 okay (after I disable the update service and other unused services) but it's largely been gathering dust since I bought it. Was impressed with the ease of connecting to my hidden wifi network after messing around with some Linux distros on USB sticks.
I installed it on an old Samsung laptop that wouldn't even play youtube videos properly anymore, and it's working great as a device for playing media and web browsing.
The caveat at 12:35 excuses nearly every sin TechHut brings up in this video for me. Many of the hardware compatibility issues he brings up are unsurprising because the ChromeOS Devs haven't had prior interest for including particular linux drivers in their forked kernel of Linux. I have been on Linux as my daily driver at home long enough to remember encountering issues like he describes being common, and I currently have to work around the ALC4080 USB Audio Driver issue today. I'm no apologist fanboy for Google or the ChromeOS team. As TechHut points out at 7:00, it may be "better to throw a linux distro on it" although I would add "depending on your use case". When making a low-support box from legacy hardware for a relative who more or less needs a web browser, I think even this early version could be bet for that use case. The two things I take away from this video are: 1. ChromeOS Flex is in early development and will probably get better over time. 2. Just because you can do something (like run professional grade video editing software on ChromeOS Flex with inferior drivers), doesn't mean that you should.
elementary OS with a Chrome browser and web apps work better than they do in ChromeOS because you’re running them off a Linux desktop. They’re more well integrated. Like ChromeOS, EOS is immutable desktop where nearly everything runs in containers. Web apps run contained in a browser and flatpak apps are essentially containerised applications. They’re both secure and stable and they do what you expect from them.
min 11:30 I think that Spligate didn't work work because it uses Vulkan, if I remember correctly to get Vulkan working on ChromeOS you have to install an experimental driver that allows the virtual machine to make Vulkan calls to the graphic card. OpenGL games such as minecraft should work fine tho
htop runs under the virtualized linux not on chromeos flex, also run the os on the stable channel I didn’t hear you mention which channel ure using. The installation is weird it took me an hour on an old laptop and 3 tries. I think it’s a good OS for very old hardware it runs better than fedora
I've installed Flex on a 10 year old mac book air that's not officially supported and everything worked except for the web cam. This is better than when I tried fedora on it because then the wifi didn't work. I also installed it on my razer 13" and everything works. Although the officially supported list is just a few hundred laptops, it works with a lot more that are not officially tested.
@@aaaaaa-hh8cq Yep, there are several blogs' articles, and videos here on TH-cam about this. If you look for "ChromeOS Linus Torvalds" you'll find some videos about this.
12:24 The reason so many of the devices on the compatibility list are already Chrome OS devices is that Chrome OS Flex is a way to keep using a lot of models of Chromebooks after their end of life for support on the main Chrome OS distribution. This is a huge deal. Unlike most machines Chromebooks otherwise work well past their OS support period.
you just saved me some time I was about to download it to try on my old EEEPC... but I think I'll leave my Linux distro alone. I'll wait for Chrome OS to be a bit more mature before tryin it.
I installed this on my outdated Chromebook. All it did was install the original end of life ChromeOS. I installed Arch Linux instead and now it's perfect. 😎
The only thing I can see a Chromebook being good for is a replacement for an android tablet; if you get one with a touchscreen and it folds, or the keyboard is detachable. Mainly because the screen is much larger for most cheaper Chromebooks compared to most android tablets (10-11in vs 13in) Tends to work better for Krita as well real estate wise as Krita is cramped on a 10.1 in tablet even with a 2K display.
I find it really useful to extend the life of and old computer. ChromeOS Flex is light and easy to use. Gave back life to and old Mac Mini that wasn't getting software updates anymore.
It is not a nightmare. And if it is good or not is a point of view. For example my 72 years old dad is someone who just surf in browser, print, scan with epson and copy files from iphone to external harddrive. He has now my low budget Notebook from 2016. 2 weeks ago I installed him ChromeOS Flex because this notebook is not supported and very slow in windows 11. So he can use this nb 10 more years if he wants... And everything works great with chrome os flex, he is happy with that ! So congrats to microsoft's high requirements for windows 11. You now have one user less in the market share. HAHAH!
@@mindofachritianyogi5021 yes because the use case you are referring to is the only use case. Why does it allow for linux apps if this isn't an intended use?
I dual boot Chrome OS Flex with Mint, and for using the browser and the PWA i find it much faster than Mint. Touch support and Bluetooth also work better on Chrome OS than any other Linux distro. Granted If I want to use Linux apps I just boot Mint.
Actually ChromeOS Flex is a Linux. And if I'm not mistaken, the world's first Linux for PCs developed and supported with security updates by a well-known software mega-company...
@@daisyduck8593 Yeah with Linux distro there i meant the usual (most often community mantained) open source distros. I don't know about the second part, if i recall Motorola had a Linux operating system for mobile more than a decade ago. But you can say ChromeOS is the only one successful and consumers faced these days
Don't know about Linode, but the MOST important thing to check is that a hosting provider has is DDoS protection. If they ain't got that, then don't bother.
Used a 6 year old Toshiba Satellite laptop, 12GB ram. Agree installation process not very intuitive. My first attempt was to install it on an external attached drive - it reformatted my internal drive, wasn't expecting that, no warnings. Not an issue as had back up. Once I did get it going it runs pretty well from a USB key. Overall quite impressed but no substitute for a proper Linux system.
Woah this looks very tempting. I'm kind of a Firefox fanboy thought and I like KDE and I use tons of apps so I don't really feel like actually getting it But for it's intended use (schools, non tech enthusiasts that can't use Linux) it seems extremely promising! My WiFi drivers don't come with Linux out of the box and I need to install them manually, so i think this will be the case in ChromeOS too. Is the process the same on ChromeOS?
Google software is a privacy nightmare. I would never use or recommend Chrome, nor would I use or recommend Chrome OS. The support life cycle for Chrome devices is terrible, and I'm not surprised that they are failing to make Chrome OS work on other devices. All the functionality that Google software offers can be replicated with free and open source software such as Nextcloud, and you don't even have to host it yourself, you can rely on a nonprofit organization such as E Foundation. Google Chrome can be drop-in replaced with Brave, and Brave Search is a quite good independent search engine. Google is the "default" option for many people, but it is the best option for no one, unless your workplace is invested in their ecosystem.
I recently tried installing chrome OS flex onto 3 cheap mini PCs With two of them (both are ones that came with Windows 10 Pro pre-installed), it installed just fine, the only issue i noticed was the WiFi didn’t work, but that wasn’t too surprising (im not sure if the sound worked) With the other one (which came with Windows 10 Home Pre-installed), the computer would reboot in a weird way almost as soon as i clicked install, so I wasn’t able to install it
I think the goal of the Chrome OS Flex is to reuse those old computers and refrain from turning them into waste instead convert them into a functioning one atleast for school or work purposes. And for an average user, Chrome OS Flex is way better option than Linux. And if you are running good computers, why would you really convert it to this OS?
A really good video explaining the pros & cons of Chrome OS flex. But ya, even I would rather recommend installing Linux Mint on a old PC/ Laptop to bring it back to life.
Had the same none boot issue with an Atom CPU mini laptop the Samsung N150 plus. Ended up using the Cloudready chromeOS wasn't any good so I gave up on ChromeOS
I installed ChromeOS on my surfacebook 3. Even without camera support, I hardly ever log into windows anymore. Also, the brunch version of ChromeOS is much better. I replaced the Linux container with Ubuntu, its been amazing!!! If you're an arch/fedora person, you can replace the Linux container with that as well
im trying to get chrome os on my microsoft surface 3. it installs and runs well but wifi dies after a minute and never recovers and hardware specifics like buttons and touchscreen dont work, any suggestions?
@@mrme8521 no, trying to use it as the main os. Ive only used the chrome os recovery extension to make a bootable because idk where to start with all the different distros and isos. Im smart but not linux smart
@@cursedhellspawn362 Knowing a tiny little bit of linux helps a lot. That said, you got the utility working, so you should be able to get the brunch version going if you follow the guide closely. I'd watch a few brunch chrome os install videos. That should be enough to get you going. Apparently, the rammus chromeos recovery works well on the surface pro 3. Here's a link to get you going th-cam.com/video/l4Gg7kBLXjM/w-d-xo.html
Look dude any machine that was running Windows 7 when you bought it most likely cannot be upgraded to Windows 10 because it’s probably missing a key instruction codes on the processor doors will run called ready brilliantly
since it's a development release it probably only supports a very few selected drivers, like nouveau and the typical amd driver. Their support for pretty much anything else than chrome isn't set up yet, making it a hard to use and non beneficial experience. I see potential in their project seeing it might make a linux alternative in the future, once it's hopefully getting better driver support and some major bugs get fixed. A guess why they released it as a development release might be to give hardware manufacturers the opertunity to make drivers for it. It's not really advertised as consumer OS and it will probably take years till it will become one.
Google ruined neverwear's cloudready, with there's you could install Linux software, whereas Chrome Flex arbitrarily chooses which computer allows the Linux extension.
Use full ChromeOS instead (ramus) and you won't have those issues with WiFi and Android apps do work. I dual boot ChromOS and Windows 11 on my t550 and ChromeOS absolutely flies
Just installed chrome OS flex on my Lenovo ThinkPad X230 and it runs like an absolute dream. Thank you Google because now I don’t have to bother with all these garbage, unreliable Linux distributions.
It's new, so it will be buggy at first, I have a really slow Lenovo IdeaPad and is not even on the compatibility list, but it worked fine. The chrome flex os load screen loads a little slow, so be patient, don't think it's not working.
I used Google everything, and I still don’t use a chrome book. Mainly because I need a proper file manager and use Inkscape/gimp, code editors. If Google made it easier to use this stuff I’d buy one in a heart beat cos I like how snappy and easy it is
I don't mean for any of the following sound offensive because I was hoping to see more resource comparison like how much ram it takes to load the browser with several tabs and some webgl. Also I put a like and comment on the video because it was in some ways helpful so I am trying to show appreciation for your work.
Cisco Anyconnect and an RDP client such as Remmina are my bare minimum requirements for a remote work PC and both sadly do not work on Chrome OS. Anyconnect is available but does not work for my VPN type. But please note I did not try to install any Linux apps.
Hi, I've tried Chrome OS and Chrome OS Flex already. and this is what I genuinely think. To me, Chrome OS and Chrome OS flex are identical; the primary distinction is that while Chrome OS has the Play Store, Chrome OS flex does not. For older devices and those with 4GB or less of RAM, Chrome Flex is, in my opinion, noticeably faster. I tested it on a Lenovo IdeaPad 1 with a 4GB RAM and an N4020 CPU. The Play Store and Android apps use system resources (RAM, cache, etc.) in the background to function properly under standard Chrome OS. That, in my opinion, is the primary reason why Flex is faster. With regular Chrome OS, I only have 2.2GB of RAM available at idle; with Flex, I have 3.2GB. (out of 4gb ram) Additionally, I saw that the CPU in Flex was constantly on the low stable side, but with Chrome OS, there were more CPU spikes. Thus, if you like Android, install Chrome OS; however, if, like me, you have a slow laptop and want it to run as quickly as possible, utilize the Chrome OS Flex.
Removing the only feature that I'd install Chrome OS Flex for is a stupid mistake on google's part. Waydroid & Anbox kinda suck tbh so I'd have dual booted this for android apps.
so... i installed latest flex on an acer 5532 (athlon 64 dualcore 2.2ghz 2GB ddr2 some 120 gb sata ssd) and wifi works. all ports work. web browsing is only hindered by the cpu specs. the screen will flicker on and off if not aat full brightness...
The great thing about it is that it just works and integrates itself well with other devices within the google ecosystem, it's simple to install and it's just efficient to use. i installed it on my mothers laptop, which was problematic due to windows constantly crashing, ever since the laptop feels a new system, faster than ever and the battery lasts much longer at full brightness, and it caters well to all the basic needs of a general user and all the peripherals just works. It's simple and great for a lot of people, not crap as some people are making it out to be.
"The great thing about it is that it just works", well, obviously not that well, its support for hardware is extremely lacking. U tried any other OS besides Windows? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy it worked out for you, I do have high hopes for it, but right now there are way too many problems. If it is just for the browser-like experience, any other OS will do. Now, once it gets Android apps support, all of this will change. To me, the whole point of chromeOS flex will be on Android apps
I think if you're looking for good linux support and universal driver solutions then it's pretty obviously the wrong product! Who ever said it was for that? There's a very robust compatibility list on their website and they make it pretty clear in the documentation that it is for web browsing, email, and light office work. I've got an officially supported, crusty, education line Lenovo and the install process was a million times more painless than any linux distro I've messed around with, it can look at websites without hiccups and the battery doesn't drop like a stone like it did with Windows 10. Why do reviewers expect stupid things from bizarre use cases of vanilla products?
I think your critique is a bit harsh this time. Having owned and used chromebooks since 2015 this experience without any apps is the same as my old Acer Chromebook CB3-111. And for old computers that are not powerful (like the Yoga 2 11" I am typing on) who aren't powerful enough to run even linux distros well. Sure I agree 100% that Chrome OS isn't perfect - a large chunk of that being they still run the Chrome OS kernel (which I think they are up to 5.10 these days) and I feel like for flex they should just bake in the regular linux Kernel, along with some tools to handle driver installation etc for those devices that don't work. In any case I also have a T450 and the only issues I had while testing it was the container failing early on (fixed in later versions) and it wasn't reading my dual batteries quite right.
I'm older in my 50's. Been working on computers since 82 when I learned how to make HANGMAN swear by hitting Ctrl Break, editing the BASIC and typing RUN - or was it CLOAD? PET Computers, ATARI Computers ... WGF these days. ANYWAY: So I know what I'm talking about. My girlfriend however doesn't know much about computers. She bought a slow useless thing without checking with me only about five years ago. It was so slow it was almost dead then. Linux was not for her, so she just put up with it. In the meantime, she updated her TV to huge and Android. Now she understands Android, uses her phone and TV without a problem, and after yesterday's install of Chrome OS Flex on her gutless newer than anything I have laptop, she's happier than ever. We're only talking emails, TH-cam, and documents to type, print and read. It's no use to me, but for her, it's added something extra to her life that she didn't have; a WORKING laptop linked with her Android TV and Phone.
I have a Chromebook but I only use it for Google and word processors. The Play Store gets very buggy sometimes and loads applications a little slower. I haven't used Linux on it for year but maybe there's less bugs now.
From how I understand you, I'd say that OS Flex has done to Google's operating system is change it to a Apple Clone. So! Google has done to it self, the very thing I've been avoiding for as long as I've used computers. (40+decades) That is Touch & Go, Press & Play computing. If I wanted that, I'd of bought an Apple system in 1985. Instead of the MS DOS system with it's greater FLEXibility.
Wanna see the text version of this video?? techhut.tv/chrome-os-flex-is-a-nightmare/
And before you ask: I no longer have it on my computer.
Try FydeOS ( it is way better and have Android Support too)
You can try enabling GPU acceleration for Linux in chrome://flags
no?
Weird Flex but okay.
+1 like
Just take my like and leave.
Nice Pun!
amogusp
Old meme but okay. (liked)
I installed ChromeOS Flex on my old Acer Aspire V5 122p with AMD A6 1,00ghz and 6GB of ram with 128gb ssd and it runs perfectly, I can do everything I need to do and the system is simply perfect. They just need to add the playstore
May I recommend looking into Brunching your laptop?
Was wondering, can u install an Apk on this OS?
Can you install Linux apps
@@malawisupasoldier7478, Yes.
I would say that e-waste is the real nightmare here and that Flex, with its limitations and drawbacks, is at least a potential solution. For the sake of the planet, we need to change the mindset that says we should just throw away perfectly good hardware because it no longer gets updates. I realize that Flex is only a drop in the bucket, but anything that keeps older hardware out of landfills gets my vote.
What about Linux?
@@Gemdation Linux is 'scary',and 'difficult to use' for the average user. and the terminal? don't even talk about it. people just don't want to try anything, they only want and know how to open a browser for mails or youtube. even the installation of chrome os flex right here as easy as it is, as intuitive as it is, scare them off. why, you might ask. because 'it is not secure' and 'it is difficult to do'.
@@noahpolimon There are "it-just-works" distributions like Mint, not even mentioning that it is FREE. People chose to ignore it. This chrome OS adds another option, but its not yet better than any existing solutions.
@@ionlywatch that' what I said. the process of even installing those distros also scare them.
Peppermint linux and Antix Linux would save a lot more machines than this OS would and those are full featured Linux os
It just woks for our office and university users. Running on old MacBook Airs and old HP Laptops. For those of you expert Linux, stick to Linux on your old hardware. I personally don’t care about any OS, I use Windows, Linux, MacOS, and Chrome OS. They are just tools. Use the one that best meets your needs.
I feel like this video didn't really go over Chrome OS Flex. It seems to be more about Chrome OS having issues installing Linux and running programs that are extremely resource heavy that would have a hard time running anyway.
i tried chrome os on my surface 3 yesterday to try and revive it and his complaints are valid. wifi just refuses to work, it started for a bit but then stopped and never recovered. installing anything is a pain. hardware specific buttons like volume and sleep mode just dont work or dont do what they are supposed to. for me, the wifi alone is a deal braker because i need the surface for school so my only option that runs well is windows lite
Exactly
That's pretty much what I picked up. This guy is way off-base in this video because he's really just aiming to try and do something else, rather than actually covering the thing he's covering. It's a shame.
@@cursedhellspawn362 If you check the official compatible list, you will find that your device is indeed not supported, so it is normal that something is not working properly
I've used it on two non-compatible devices and works great. These laptops were ready for the trash can.
Installed Flex on my HP laptop from 2016 without any issues. It works like a charm and it's far more intuitive and user friendly than most Linux distributions I've tried.
When used as intended (on chromebooks and mainly for web-browsing), Chrome OS is actually a pretty great system.
I feel like he judged it almost entirely on things the OS is not intended for. I've tested live booting it on 2 systems so far, just to see how stable and hardware support complete it is, and looking at it from the 'web appliance' perspective it was designed around, it worked quite well. It will probably replace Ubuntu on one of those systems, a Lenovo X200, because I just cant see a reason to cram a bunch of apps I'll never use onto the device, even with a 'lite' distro.
@@sireuchre yeah, I get that the point of the video is the "flex" aspect specifically. I just wanted to point this out, so that some people wouldn't get the bad impression of ChromeOS in general
@@Pyro-Moloch your acting like people having bad impressions of chrome os is bad
@@killertigergaming6762 you're*
You can do more than web browsing. If you notice every vendor has implemented or is on the road in adding android apps, Microsoft apps in easier ways. But the fact you can access your vms and management tools is basically all that’s needed for traditional IT.
Most companies are moving to cloud or hybrid scenario and most of tools are cloud based.
I wish flex was in the pi, it could have been the flagship platform
That would have been pretty sick especially considering how many schools/parents can have a cost effective solution for supplying computers to school children rather than spending a substantial amount of money on a cheapo laptop
@@JoelJosephReji yes indeed
I confess. Until COVID hit, I was an "anti-Chromebook" person. Then I saw how many schools bought them in droves, how easy it was for kids of any age to figure out how to use them, and how long batteries last with them. I won't say that made be a believer but it pushed me to pick up a $35 Lenovo Chromebook ($59 after shipping and tax). I only has a low-end Celeron, 4GB RAM, and a 16GB SSD. I was shocked at how "fast" the OS ran and how easy it was to bring up web pages and apps. I won't say I'm a Chromebook loyalist but I see the benefits it offers. I learned of FLEX a few weeks ago and pulled it down from their site. I have a 15 year old, Toshiba laptop with 4GB of RAM and a small 230GB HDD. I took the FLEX install in less than 15 minutes and was fully as functional as the Lenovo but with more drive space and actually "snappier" in its feel. The model is a Satellite M305-S4907. It was designed for Windows Vista and was slow at best, even when new. FLEX makes it very useable and it is now back in my pool of normal computers (I have several laptops and 2 desktops). All-in-all, I say they've got a good idea. For word processing, spreadsheets, and anything that's web-based (including streaming video), it's well worth the time and effort to install.
Nice review sir. Imma try it out later
I put Flex on my daughter's $150 mini desktop and it works just as good as Xubuntu 22.04 maybe even a little better. TH-cam video playback is certainly better, and basically that's the most demanding thing she does with it anyway. I think if you keep your expectations reasonable it's a decent OS. The main selling point for me is that I don't have to really do anything as far as maintenance.
:) if you install linux you can get more apps
@@bingeflix167 It had Xubuntu on it as I mentioned. I don't need more apps. All my daughter does with the computer is web based.
@@MrJasonLG yes, i know, im saying you can install limux apps in chrome os using one of the features :)
@@bingeflix167 I know this. I'm a Linux nerd and have been using Desktop Linux exclusively for over 10 years, I wrote and maintain a couple GNOME Shell extensions and am the maintainer of Raspotify which is a packaged version of librespot (a Spotify connect client) for Debian stable and Debian Stable based armhf, arm64 and amd64 distros . I also was actually one of the testers that Google sent a Cr-48 in 2010. So I'm pretty familiar with ChromeOS too. I would still consider myself a hobbyist but I've been around the block a couple times.
@@MrJasonLG i love linux and chrome os, do you like to host websites?
Chrome OS has the most polish and smooth web fonts out of the box that I have ever seen an any Linux distro over there, hands down!
I installed stable version for my 72 years old dad on a old cheap 2016 HP notebook. He just do browsing and print, scan and copie fotos from his iphone to usb-stick and all of this just works great.
I'm a long-time Linux user (Debian and Fedora with Xfce after my distro hopping stopped). A few months ago I decided to install ChromeOS Flex on a Lenovo Thinkpad T420s. I've enjoyed using it to browse the web and play simple web-based games while relaxing in the evening. Initially the Linux Development Environment would not load, but after changing some BIOS settings it worked just fine. However, I've only used terminal applications like Htop, Midnight Commander, Neovim, Newsboat, Lynx, and Music on Console. So for my use case (Grandpa Coder) Chrome OS Flex is fine, but I would not ask it to replace my Linux machines. Cheers from Wisconsin!
ChromeOS Flex is a Linux. And if I'm not mistaken, the world's first Linux for PCs developed and supported with security updates by a well-known software mega-company...
Previous version is named CloudReady...Flex is 2.0 version
@@LongLongKo ah ok
ChromeOS is working great in my Lenovo Flex 5 laptop. Thanks to Google no more trying inconsistent Linux distros.
It could have been great if this Operating System is compatible with the Raspberry Pi. I seen some videos that Modified Chrome OS on raspberry pi were slick as an ubuntu mate like speed.
diet coke speed
its accually not that hard to get and honestly was the best os i tried on my pi 3 it could finnally play youtube at hd
I forcefully installed chrome os on one of my laptops a few years ago and the app selection of android + Linux is actually really great. I even installed Firefox on it
i was considering this as an option for a really old laptop. but so far it looks like linux mint is a more realistic choice.
from very very far, yes. Who still trust google nowadays anyway? At least Linux distro, for most, start with the basic tools to start work right away.
As always writing a comment to support the channel
This is me doing the same
леха здарова
@@gum3213 Truly, the bed is healthy.
You might have to enable GPU acceleration for Crostini in Chrome flags, that might fix most of your issues.
Used brunch to install Chrome OS on a surface pro 3, no issues apart from the screen not auto rotating
The only actual use case I can think for this are those crappy $100 Windows laptops. The ones where you should have picked up a Chomebook anyways. With that I do look forward to them increasing hardware compatibility and fine tuning all the features. Could be a great option in the future, but now it's a MAJOR hit or miss.
Arch is still a better idea xD
It's "out of beta" apparently lol
I use this in the Education space. Budgets do not allow me to get new equipment so this is perfect in my use case. I can buy a supported model (your ThinkPad T450 should be until 2027) and use this in my ecosystem. I do not have any issues. I have been using the beta in a production environment for a while. I do disable the Linux environment and the android apps which makes the experience much more reliable.
Many students are growing up with Chrome and will likely start to use it as a daily driver. Creatures of habit and all of that.
The supported model list is very short right now so as always have to check that. For most home users a Linux Distro would be better in my opinion but this does have a place.
But in such case, why not just install real Linux at that point
Try FydeOS. I heard it's better than Chrome OS Flex.
Would love to see Arch+Plasma on that miniPC
I'm really interested in CS:GO (1080p, low details) FPS, however, ETA Prime don't include that in their videos :'(
CS:GO has a native Linux version. Whatever performance he got on windows, I'd expect the same on Linux.
@@oakmen4604 If they included CS:GO (even running on ms windows) in their performance comparisons, I'd be more than happy, however, they do not :'(
My Dell Studio from 2009 runs Flex incredibly well. It's great for TH-cam, Netflix and other streaming stuff. If it wasn't for flex, the laptop would be gathering dust in my cupboard. I'm a fan 👍
I just did it to mine too today! Seems to work great except for the camera.
Running chrome os flex on Lenovo L490. I was having issues on the same machine on windows and Fedora with losing connection to a new yamaha mixer. I decided to give flex a chance just because the mixer wasn't connecting anyway. That was the day that I realized that chrome os flex could be really great! Since that day that mixer has not disconnected one time, and I went from returning it to Yamaha to now using it all day everyday without issues.
Well TechHut, I just appreciate you taking the time to test and review new and different OSs all the time. Thanks.
I compared MX Linux 32Bit and Chrome OS Flex on a Lenovo R61 from 2008. Chrome was snappier and more fun browsing and streaming. But still I would prefer a proper Linux just because of Googles data collection ambitions.
I don't understand why people would consider this ...
8:34. Oh man, that's a really cool effect right there :D. That could be a very cool trend for video makers on TH-cam. That's so funky 😂😂😂😂
That GIMP menu bug seems to be a general (X)Wayland thing, I have the same issue on Gnome. Hopefully that'll be fixed with GIMP 3
Chrome OS Flex uses wayland
@@abhinav9374 It has a built in Wayland micro-compositor called sommelier used to display Linux apps.
Honestly, chrome os flex may make sense for business and mid to large organisations due to administration ease. But as you say, for low spec machines there are better linux distros (porteus, slax and so on). And a private user with standard laptop is better off with a standard linux distro and use chrome browser.
Just installed this on a 12 year old VIAO laptop my parents had in their basement on Sunday: Works 100% great, so there's that.
Sounds like the perfect OS for 40yo parents that have no idea how to operate a PC even tho you've explained it to them 13x already.
I installed ChromeOS withPlaystore (brunch framework) on Lenovo X1 5th Gen and apple Macmini 2014 model, and it works smooth as original Chromebook on both machines.
Maybe a nightmare for you but not for everyone else, i did a fresh install on my uncle's 10 year old laptop and he has been enjoying it.
I use arch btw
Well he did says it's a bad option IF you do anything beyond Web browsing and Web Apps, and in case of your Uncle then that should be enough
Hardware wise it's a real hit or miss. If I were to have even gotten it to boot on the old HP with basic functionality I have I would have praised it.
@@KatyushaLauncher well that's exactly the case, unfortunately can't find a necessary alternative to Chrome os to give to people who barely use PCs. I have recommended 3 people who I know to use Chrome Os if they get comfortable, zorin Os lite maybe 🤔.
@Clay Gomera As you all are recommending mint to a newcomer then I'll give install on my uncle's old pc let's see if he can use it well. Hopefully he does and that would be incredible!
kdenlive problem is easily solvable by editing app launcher commands. solution is disabling hardware encoding and using software instead. there is a video about that o youtube.
I had it running on my Lenovo Ideapad 5 with AMD Ryzen 4700u processor.
dam that thing was quick. Quick to boot. Quick to open web pages and scroll through TH-cam video's frame by frame etc.
Octane 2.00 benchmark of over 56,000 was very impressive.
My sons Ryzen 7 pc with 16Gb of ram gets 64,000 on Octane 2.0 !
But ...... I needed the laptop to run software defined radio using SDR++ and I got nowhere trying to get that to work.
The drivers / API for the SDR card wouldn't install either and screwed up the Linux environment.
So I did try Fedora 36 but that is too new to get working. Back to Elementary OS for me (as that just works)
6:16 looks like one of those scenes from sitcoms where inventions do really well but fail unexpectedly, terribly, but amusingly.
Every so often I deal with users that own Chromebooks, so I thought Chrome OS Flex would turn out to be a useful tool for me so I could install it on an old computer and play around with it and see how it works to the extent that I can assist users who use Chromebooks, i.e. how to take screenshots, upload files to a cloud storage service, etc.
I was hopeful until I tried installing it on an old 2011 MacBook Pro that was running Ubuntu (now I am on Fedora Linux thanks to Tech Hut's videos) at the time - I couldn't get it to install due to the dual GPU nature of the laptop (it has a discrete and integrated GPU). This left me with trying out all sorts of virtualization tools (Boxes, Virtualbox, QEMU) and I wasn't able to get any to work, in the end I had to download a trial version of a Mac VM tool to create a Chrome OS Flex VM.
Although I played around with the Chrome OS Flex VM for the trial period of the VM software, I can understand that it's not meant for people who are tech saavy.
There are alternatives like brunch
this OS is meant for the average user PERIOD no discussion on that. advanced users don't want to use that even if I myself find it a good concept.
@@noahpolimon Totally agree, that's been my experience with Chrome OS Flex when I was able to use it as a VM.
@@bruno.calico you might be right and I used to think like that, but if you think about it right now, a cloud-based OS and web apps only won't cut it. most online services are trash and devs are not seriously investing in them. VS Code dev? no terminal even if Google Colab, which is also an online service, has full fledged Linux running right in your browser.
"But you can run Android Apps and Linux Apps on Chrome OS".
Listen, Crostini is not my cup of tea, it's just not finished, not ready, not to mention that it uses Debian🤦(I know, you can technically install Arch but it will not change anything to the fact that it is not ready). Concerning Android, devs don't like their Android Apps on desktop or don't even optimise their apps for large screens (yes, I'm looking at you Instagram) especially games which makes it useless to have Android apps on a desktop.
In the future when everything is stable and better to use than now, sure, why not? even Linus Torvalds said that Chrome OS and Android is the path to the desktop and that Linux distros are doing it all wrong. I agree with him. I also agree with you, except that right now distros are simply better.
@@bruno.calico I think so too, and I'd like it to happen because I also love ChromeOS for its simplicity and clean way of doing this(talking about this insanely good containerization, security +1 there, kudos)
Tried it on a live USB and was taken aback that the right mouse button is permanently disabled on all touchpads. Why not let people choose instead of dictating that we use touchpads their way?
My laptop can actually run windows 10 okay (after I disable the update service and other unused services) but it's largely been gathering dust since I bought it.
Was impressed with the ease of connecting to my hidden wifi network after messing around with some Linux distros on USB sticks.
Sounds like Google need to get their drivers sorted out.
I installed it on an old Samsung laptop that wouldn't even play youtube videos properly anymore, and it's working great as a device for playing media and web browsing.
The caveat at 12:35 excuses nearly every sin TechHut brings up in this video for me.
Many of the hardware compatibility issues he brings up are unsurprising because the ChromeOS Devs haven't had prior interest for including particular linux drivers in their forked kernel of Linux. I have been on Linux as my daily driver at home long enough to remember encountering issues like he describes being common, and I currently have to work around the ALC4080 USB Audio Driver issue today.
I'm no apologist fanboy for Google or the ChromeOS team. As TechHut points out at 7:00, it may be "better to throw a linux distro on it" although I would add "depending on your use case". When making a low-support box from legacy hardware for a relative who more or less needs a web browser, I think even this early version could be bet for that use case.
The two things I take away from this video are:
1. ChromeOS Flex is in early development and will probably get better over time.
2. Just because you can do something (like run professional grade video editing software on ChromeOS Flex with inferior drivers), doesn't mean that you should.
elementary OS with a Chrome browser and web apps work better than they do in ChromeOS because you’re running them off a Linux desktop. They’re more well integrated. Like ChromeOS, EOS is immutable desktop where nearly everything runs in containers. Web apps run contained in a browser and flatpak apps are essentially containerised applications. They’re both secure and stable and they do what you expect from them.
min 11:30
I think that Spligate didn't work work because it uses Vulkan, if I remember correctly to get Vulkan working on ChromeOS you have to install an experimental driver that allows the virtual machine to make Vulkan calls to the graphic card.
OpenGL games such as minecraft should work fine tho
htop runs under the virtualized linux not on chromeos flex, also run the os on the stable channel I didn’t hear you mention which channel ure using. The installation is weird it took me an hour on an old laptop and 3 tries. I think it’s a good OS for very old hardware it runs better than fedora
Runs best on actual chrome partner developed devices but it works on most devices
I am running it on a T530 think pad and it has no bugs , it works a good as a Chromebook. I had used linux mint on it and it was buggy. fyi...
I've installed Flex on a 10 year old mac book air that's not officially supported and everything worked except for the web cam. This is better than when I tried fedora on it because then the wifi didn't work. I also installed it on my razer 13" and everything works. Although the officially supported list is just a few hundred laptops, it works with a lot more that are not officially tested.
Chrome OS is a weird system, but Linus Torvalds spoke that one is the future of Linux's desktop.
It’s not weird
Wait, Linus made it ?
@@aaaaaa-hh8cq Yep, there are several blogs' articles, and videos here on TH-cam about this. If you look for "ChromeOS Linus Torvalds" you'll find some videos about this.
@@kristopherleslie8343 Maybe, it is limited.
@@ulissesdecastro in what way
12:24 The reason so many of the devices on the compatibility list are already Chrome OS devices is that Chrome OS Flex is a way to keep using a lot of models of Chromebooks after their end of life for support on the main Chrome OS distribution. This is a huge deal. Unlike most machines Chromebooks otherwise work well past their OS support period.
Also lacros
you just saved me some time
I was about to download it to try on my old EEEPC... but I think I'll leave my Linux distro alone. I'll wait for Chrome OS to be a bit more mature before tryin it.
I installed this on my outdated Chromebook. All it did was install the original end of life ChromeOS. I installed Arch Linux instead and now it's perfect. 😎
Based arch, a nice desktop env, for easy use may also install pamac and that's it
Works flawlessly on HP250G3.
12:25 ah yes, finally, i can turn a chromebook into a chromebook
The only thing I can see a Chromebook being good for is a replacement for an android tablet; if you get one with a touchscreen and it folds, or the keyboard is detachable. Mainly because the screen is much larger for most cheaper Chromebooks compared to most android tablets (10-11in vs 13in) Tends to work better for Krita as well real estate wise as Krita is cramped on a 10.1 in tablet even with a 2K display.
I find it really useful to extend the life of and old computer. ChromeOS Flex is light and easy to use. Gave back life to and old Mac Mini that wasn't getting software updates anymore.
It is not a nightmare. And if it is good or not is a point of view. For example my 72 years old dad is someone who just surf in browser, print, scan with epson and copy files from iphone to external harddrive. He has now my low budget Notebook from 2016. 2 weeks ago I installed him ChromeOS Flex because this notebook is not supported and very slow in windows 11. So he can use this nb 10 more years if he wants... And everything works great with chrome os flex, he is happy with that !
So congrats to microsoft's high requirements for windows 11. You now have one user less in the market share. HAHAH!
He says at the end the user case that you are talking about then Chromeos Flex is fine
@@kc4101 then he and others should not crap all over it, but review it for its intended use....
@@mindofachritianyogi5021 yes because the use case you are referring to is the only use case. Why does it allow for linux apps if this isn't an intended use?
The problem is that google is installing the Linux in an VM instead of side/container. We loose so much power and possiblies of this.
I dual boot Chrome OS Flex with Mint, and for using the browser and the PWA i find it much faster than Mint. Touch support and Bluetooth also work better on Chrome OS than any other Linux distro. Granted If I want to use Linux apps I just boot Mint.
Actually ChromeOS Flex is a Linux. And if I'm not mistaken, the world's first Linux for PCs developed and supported with security updates by a well-known software mega-company...
@@daisyduck8593 Yeah with Linux distro there i meant the usual (most often community mantained) open source distros.
I don't know about the second part, if i recall Motorola had a Linux operating system for mobile more than a decade ago.
But you can say ChromeOS is the only one successful and consumers faced these days
@@mi2-c035 cool but i had writen linux for pcs so we can kick motorolla...
I really like ChromeOS Flex but you definitely have to take it for a test drive before installing because it doesn't always gel with every device.
Don't know about Linode, but the MOST important thing to check is that a hosting provider has is DDoS protection. If they ain't got that, then don't bother.
Used a 6 year old Toshiba Satellite laptop, 12GB ram.
Agree installation process not very intuitive. My first attempt was to install it on an external attached drive - it reformatted my internal drive, wasn't expecting that, no warnings. Not an issue as had back up.
Once I did get it going it runs pretty well from a USB key. Overall quite impressed but no substitute for a proper Linux system.
Changing WiFi flakey.
Woah this looks very tempting.
I'm kind of a Firefox fanboy thought and I like KDE and I use tons of apps so I don't really feel like actually getting it
But for it's intended use (schools, non tech enthusiasts that can't use Linux) it seems extremely promising!
My WiFi drivers don't come with Linux out of the box and I need to install them manually, so i think this will be the case in ChromeOS too. Is the process the same on ChromeOS?
Google software is a privacy nightmare. I would never use or recommend Chrome, nor would I use or recommend Chrome OS. The support life cycle for Chrome devices is terrible, and I'm not surprised that they are failing to make Chrome OS work on other devices. All the functionality that Google software offers can be replicated with free and open source software such as Nextcloud, and you don't even have to host it yourself, you can rely on a nonprofit organization such as E Foundation. Google Chrome can be drop-in replaced with Brave, and Brave Search is a quite good independent search engine. Google is the "default" option for many people, but it is the best option for no one, unless your workplace is invested in their ecosystem.
Brendan Eich, Brave's ceo voted against gay marriage in california, and using Brave products gives them money, remember this before using
100% agreed
@@fred-youtube switching to brave now thanks
@@sulzh Did you read????
@@fred-youtube Always other browsers like Waterfox I suppose
The graphics aren't supported on these Atom CPUs.
Another alternative would be to just install Android x86 🤷♂
There is an approved list of machines from Google, were these machine all approved????
This video is not about ChromrOS flex, it is like buying a tractor and comparing it to a car.
As stability, comparability, and feature parity improve, (apk support for example) this experience will improve. It is still very early on with this.
I recently tried installing chrome OS flex onto 3 cheap mini PCs
With two of them (both are ones that came with Windows 10 Pro pre-installed), it installed just fine, the only issue i noticed was the WiFi didn’t work, but that wasn’t too surprising (im not sure if the sound worked)
With the other one (which came with Windows 10 Home Pre-installed), the computer would reboot in a weird way almost as soon as i clicked install, so I wasn’t able to install it
I think the goal of the Chrome OS Flex is to reuse those old computers and refrain from turning them into waste instead convert them into a functioning one atleast for school or work purposes. And for an average user, Chrome OS Flex is way better option than Linux. And if you are running good computers, why would you really convert it to this OS?
A really good video explaining the pros & cons of Chrome OS flex.
But ya, even I would rather recommend installing Linux Mint on a old PC/ Laptop to bring it back to life.
Had the same none boot issue with an Atom CPU mini laptop the Samsung N150 plus.
Ended up using the Cloudready chromeOS wasn't any good so I gave up on ChromeOS
ChromeOS Flex is CloudReady. Google bought it and it's what Flex is based on
@@allanmarsh1 and yet one worst the other doesn't boot to setup at all.
I installed ChromeOS on my surfacebook 3. Even without camera support, I hardly ever log into windows anymore.
Also, the brunch version of ChromeOS is much better.
I replaced the Linux container with Ubuntu, its been amazing!!! If you're an arch/fedora person, you can replace the Linux container with that as well
im trying to get chrome os on my microsoft surface 3. it installs and runs well but wifi dies after a minute and never recovers and hardware specifics like buttons and touchscreen dont work, any suggestions?
@@cursedhellspawn362 Are you trying to dual boot?
@@mrme8521 no, trying to use it as the main os. Ive only used the chrome os recovery extension to make a bootable because idk where to start with all the different distros and isos. Im smart but not linux smart
@@cursedhellspawn362 Knowing a tiny little bit of linux helps a lot. That said, you got the utility working, so you should be able to get the brunch version going if you follow the guide closely. I'd watch a few brunch chrome os install videos. That should be enough to get you going. Apparently, the rammus chromeos recovery works well on the surface pro 3. Here's a link to get you going th-cam.com/video/l4Gg7kBLXjM/w-d-xo.html
Look dude any machine that was running Windows 7 when you bought it most likely cannot be upgraded to Windows 10 because it’s probably missing a key instruction codes on the processor doors will run called ready brilliantly
since it's a development release it probably only supports a very few selected drivers, like nouveau and the typical amd driver.
Their support for pretty much anything else than chrome isn't set up yet, making it a hard to use and non beneficial experience.
I see potential in their project seeing it might make a linux alternative in the future, once it's hopefully getting better driver support and some major bugs get fixed.
A guess why they released it as a development release might be to give hardware manufacturers the opertunity to make drivers for it.
It's not really advertised as consumer OS and it will probably take years till it will become one.
Did you try using nice command in Linux to stop the audio stuttering ?
Google ruined neverwear's cloudready, with there's you could install Linux software, whereas Chrome Flex arbitrarily chooses which computer allows the Linux extension.
Use full ChromeOS instead (ramus) and you won't have those issues with WiFi and Android apps do work. I dual boot ChromOS and Windows 11 on my t550 and ChromeOS absolutely flies
Just installed chrome OS flex on my Lenovo ThinkPad X230 and it runs like an absolute dream. Thank you Google because now I don’t have to bother with all these garbage, unreliable Linux distributions.
It was nice of google to give people the option, but why bother when you can do more with a serious linux distro for the same amount of effort
Put that into developer mode and set up the proper drivers for your hardware
Wow. Flex is not a nightmare. You are far from the typical user, my friend. It runs fine on my two old Windows notebooks.
It's new, so it will be buggy at first, I have a really slow Lenovo IdeaPad and is not even on the compatibility list, but it worked fine. The chrome flex os load screen loads a little slow, so be patient, don't think it's not working.
I used Google everything, and I still don’t use a chrome book.
Mainly because I need a proper file manager and use Inkscape/gimp, code editors. If Google made it easier to use this stuff I’d buy one in a heart beat cos I like how snappy and easy it is
I don't mean for any of the following sound offensive because I was hoping to see more resource comparison like how much ram it takes to load the browser with several tabs and some webgl. Also I put a like and comment on the video because it was in some ways helpful so I am trying to show appreciation for your work.
@9:15 thats not a slight hit. That's 21% single thread drop and 23% multi thread.
Cisco Anyconnect and an RDP client such as Remmina are my bare minimum requirements for a remote work PC and both sadly do not work on Chrome OS. Anyconnect is available but does not work for my VPN type. But please note I did not try to install any Linux apps.
Hi, I've tried Chrome OS and Chrome OS Flex already.
and this is what I genuinely think.
To me, Chrome OS and Chrome OS flex are identical; the primary distinction is that while Chrome OS has the Play Store, Chrome OS flex does not.
For older devices and those with 4GB or less of RAM, Chrome Flex is, in my opinion, noticeably faster.
I tested it on a Lenovo IdeaPad 1 with a 4GB RAM and an N4020 CPU.
The Play Store and Android apps use system resources (RAM, cache, etc.) in the background to function properly under standard Chrome OS.
That, in my opinion, is the primary reason why Flex is faster.
With regular Chrome OS, I only have 2.2GB of RAM available at idle; with Flex, I have 3.2GB. (out of 4gb ram)
Additionally, I saw that the CPU in Flex was constantly on the low stable side, but with Chrome OS, there were more CPU spikes.
Thus, if you like Android, install Chrome OS; however, if, like me, you have a slow laptop and want it to run as quickly as possible, utilize the Chrome OS Flex.
Removing the only feature that I'd install Chrome OS Flex for is a stupid mistake on google's part. Waydroid & Anbox kinda suck tbh so I'd have dual booted this for android apps.
so... i installed latest flex on an acer 5532 (athlon 64 dualcore 2.2ghz 2GB ddr2 some 120 gb sata ssd) and wifi works. all ports work. web browsing is only hindered by the cpu specs. the screen will flicker on and off if not aat full brightness...
The great thing about it is that it just works and integrates itself well with other devices within the google ecosystem, it's simple to install and it's just efficient to use.
i installed it on my mothers laptop, which was problematic due to windows constantly crashing, ever since the laptop feels a new system, faster than ever and the battery lasts much longer at full brightness, and it caters well to all the basic needs of a general user and all the peripherals just works.
It's simple and great for a lot of people, not crap as some people are making it out to be.
"The great thing about it is that it just works", well, obviously not that well, its support for hardware is extremely lacking. U tried any other OS besides Windows?
Don't get me wrong, I'm happy it worked out for you, I do have high hopes for it, but right now there are way too many problems. If it is just for the browser-like experience, any other OS will do. Now, once it gets Android apps support, all of this will change.
To me, the whole point of chromeOS flex will be on Android apps
I think if you're looking for good linux support and universal driver solutions then it's pretty obviously the wrong product! Who ever said it was for that? There's a very robust compatibility list on their website and they make it pretty clear in the documentation that it is for web browsing, email, and light office work. I've got an officially supported, crusty, education line Lenovo and the install process was a million times more painless than any linux distro I've messed around with, it can look at websites without hiccups and the battery doesn't drop like a stone like it did with Windows 10. Why do reviewers expect stupid things from bizarre use cases of vanilla products?
Had the same problems with other more famous distros. So not even ChromeOS is a stable Linux version...
I think your critique is a bit harsh this time. Having owned and used chromebooks since 2015 this experience without any apps is the same as my old Acer Chromebook CB3-111. And for old computers that are not powerful (like the Yoga 2 11" I am typing on) who aren't powerful enough to run even linux distros well. Sure I agree 100% that Chrome OS isn't perfect - a large chunk of that being they still run the Chrome OS kernel (which I think they are up to 5.10 these days) and I feel like for flex they should just bake in the regular linux Kernel, along with some tools to handle driver installation etc for those devices that don't work. In any case I also have a T450 and the only issues I had while testing it was the container failing early on (fixed in later versions) and it wasn't reading my dual batteries quite right.
There are plenty of distros made for low end hardware. I'd personally rather have my files locally than in the cloud.
@@oakmen4604 I do as well but i sometimes just want to fire a machine up and watch videos or search for something really quick
If you want some non restricted, try FydeOS
I hope Fucsia OS will stay open source
I'm older in my 50's. Been working on computers since 82 when I learned how to make HANGMAN swear by hitting Ctrl Break, editing the BASIC and typing RUN - or was it CLOAD? PET Computers, ATARI Computers ... WGF these days. ANYWAY: So I know what I'm talking about. My girlfriend however doesn't know much about computers. She bought a slow useless thing without checking with me only about five years ago. It was so slow it was almost dead then. Linux was not for her, so she just put up with it. In the meantime, she updated her TV to huge and Android. Now she understands Android, uses her phone and TV without a problem, and after yesterday's install of Chrome OS Flex on her gutless newer than anything I have laptop, she's happier than ever. We're only talking emails, TH-cam, and documents to type, print and read.
It's no use to me, but for her, it's added something extra to her life that she didn't have; a WORKING laptop linked with her Android TV and Phone.
I have a Chromebook but I only use it for Google and word processors. The Play Store gets very buggy sometimes and loads applications a little slower. I haven't used Linux on it for year but maybe there's less bugs now.
From how I understand you, I'd say that OS Flex has done to Google's operating system is change it to a Apple Clone. So! Google has done to it self, the very thing I've been avoiding for as long as I've used computers. (40+decades) That is Touch & Go, Press & Play computing. If I wanted that, I'd of bought an Apple system in 1985. Instead of the MS DOS system with it's greater FLEXibility.