So the criteria is something running the Linux kernel with no concern for what the user space is and ChromeOS is fine? Kind of reminds me of the movie Uncle Buck when he said he quit smoking and switched to cigars.
Why on earth would anyone willfully install ChromeOS? I haven't followed recent developments but I've always thought of it as very limiting, not to mention just as bad in terms of privacy as a Windows install.
ChromeOS
🤦♂️ My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.
yeah 😔
I just said no. I'm not going to help you with your computers unless you install Linux on your computer. I can fix all these other dumb operating systems. But I'm not going to do things that are not in your best interest, especially when I'm one doing the tech support.
Like. I'll still love you if you're shooting up heroin but I am not gonna go buy your fucking drugs.
🎼I just said no. No. No. No. No. No. No. Fuck no. No. No. Do this. Now. No. I won't do that. Do this. Now.🎶
Just..... like the world we live in now, I only want to hang out with people that use open source. Period. End of story.
Also, phone etiquette is super important. I will not waste my time around you while you diddle with your thumbs on your phone. Also, I don't want my fucking picture taken unless I know that you have good hygiene and I'll never find myself on the interwebz.
I'm an extremist, and I have no shame. I just say no.
Wow, your extremism is really admirable! Even though I disagree with it
I tried this 15ish year ago with my parents, and the results were mixed. Windows wasn't as egregious back then, with its spying and pre-installed garbage, but it did have a tendency to accumulate bloat over time. So my parents' computer would get unusably slow after a couple years. I installed Ubuntu on their system and it solved the bloat problem. It lasted for years without slowing down. The issues they ran into were compatibility. They'd buy a new camera and the connection wouldn't work. Or their friend would send them an attachment and there'd be no default viewer for the filetype. I suspect those issues have been mostly solved, but they've moved back to Windows and are running into the same bloat problems. Now they're thinking of moving to apple.
Man, I would be happy if my parents used any computer.
Be careful here... There will be a learning curve, and you may end up being the tech support person if you aren't already.
I kinda already am. I hate working on their windows problems
Yeah, fair. At least you'll get fewer facepalms this way!
If you already are their tech support, you probably could've forcibly switched then a long time ago.
At least, that's how I treat my computer-illiterate boomer parents. For them, it's "use what I tell you to use or you're on your own." To be fair, on their last few computers that was MacOS, but their iMac from 2013(?) got so obsolete it wasn't good enough anymore, so as of a few months ago they're on a mini PC running Linux whether they like it or not.
WARNING they may suffer from less bugs, less annoying updates, better performance, less spyware and functional package management.
Before anyone says anything I am aware there are trade-offs due to switching from what you know.
Are you sure it would be less bugs? I havent been using windows for like 2-3 years, but it cant have gotten that bad, right?
I guess the base version of windows is relatively ok but Microsoft Office and Overdrive/SharePoint are both completely unusable. Which is insane considering they are industry standards.
Although Linux seems to be generally much more stable in my experience. Of course it depends on the distro.
Windows has gotten so bad that my family, who has been reticent about the switch since 2004, has finally given in and is swapping!
Yaaaayyyy!!! Nice one!! Congrats on pulling that off!
So far I got them to agree with ChromeOS Flex
Sorry, you what???
Some were really adamant about it being like android it's very annoying
Kinda wish grapheneos had an x86 ChromeOS-esque build. If waydroid had better integration (e.g. lepton) it'd have been an easier sell. It's on a terribly old laptop. I run different DEs on similar laptops and they didn't like kde, cosmic, or gnome's ui, very picky.
I give the warning before I'm handed the laptop. I've done three in the family, all Linux Mint XFCE, I never hear any complaints. Shit just works.
tbh i'd say debloated windows is much better than chromeos.. its the worst of both worlds
I think there are two sides to this.
You are right, I'd rather just get them on Windows 11 Enterprise IoT LTSC than goddamn ChromeOS.
ChromeOS will likely lower the bar for switching to a Linux distro so you might consider it a stepping stone. A stepping stone with nails and spiders coming out of it, but still a stepping stone nonetheless.
Why ChromeOS though? Were they already familiar with the UI and features?
They were probably familiar with the name "Google", makes it seem official and supported.
Unfortunately, OS Flex is the worst of both worlds; bad Linux distro and no Android runtime and libraries.
FydeOS is the answer.
I didn't know about this. Looks good.
For extreme non-techies who really don't understand computers and just want to use a few websites it's a solid choice because it's so basic that it's hard to break
Our shared family PC is running Aurora. My wife has a ThinkPad T14 Gen 2 on the way and we are trying to figure out what she will be running. She’s coming from an old MacBook Pro so we are going to start with trying to find the best Gnome experience. I was originally thinking Fedora Workstation but I think the updates will get on her nerves.
Aurora is fantastic. I tried just to see how much work it would be to use an immutable os, and ended up using it on my main computer, for both work and gaming. installed and never looked back.
LOL. You do you but this sounds like a nightmare to me.
edit: it's not just "becoming tech support person", but becoming the default person to blame for everything.
Switched my parents to mint probably 10 years ago and I haven't heard any complaints, just had to remind them to update every so often and had to upgrade once EOL came. It has been the same with my very non technical girlfriend that switched to mint probably a year ago.
If you make sure they have supported hardware (and most of it is supported these days) my bet is you won't have to support them at all.
Try FydeOS if you want Google Play store and Android apps.
I noticed it but it seemed to be proprietary and a kinda unknown, whats the deal with it?
They make hardware and this is the OS for that hardware. I ran it on a Windows laptop that had Chromebook specs. ChromeOS Flex was almost useless for my case so this was the next best thing. I run Debian on that now but this was fine while I used it. There is openFyde as well.
Hooray, great news! Meanwhile im still hoping some of my family will do the same.
Nice!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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