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I have computers that are over 15 years old and still work today because they were designed to be upgraded and to last.

There are many Chromebook lines that are similar to phones in that you can't just install Linux or a new version of Windows once Google stops supporting your hardware.

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I have used many different computers in past 20 years, and all of them becomes unusable after 4-5 years at max. And this happens to all the people that I know of. You are likely lucky that your hardware is in working condition for 15 years.

Counterpoint: I have used many different computers over the past 30 years, and none of them has become unusable within only 5 years.

Are all the parts unusable or can you fix that just one part which is not working?

Outside of the tech sphere, people have little reason to buy new computers like they do phones. I really doubt I'm that unique.

Most Chromebooks support Linux, though? You just turn on developer mode.

Sure it's possible, but then you make a single mistake during booting and your Linux install is wiped out. And the prompt you see during booting is worded to encourage you to disable developer mode and revert to ChromeOS.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20803968

Mine was something like 'Your Chromebook is in developer mode, press enter to start ChromeOS' along with some messaging about how dangerous developer mode is. Very easy to accidental press enter -- I know because I did it.

That is a problem that could easily be fixed if there is demand. I don't know what you are defending.

I'm not defending anything -- I'm just not expecting Google to fix that so we can run Linux on old Chromebooks.

I meant there is very less demand of running linux on chromebook, and it is definitely not the reason schools are not buying chromebooks.

I was responding to my parent, which was about running Linux on Chromebooks, presumably to extend their life beyond the relatively short time that Google will provide updates. And that's not because schools want to, but because supply is tight right now. It sounds good in theory, but Google and/or the manufactures didn't make developer mode friendly enough -- you'd be better off converting low-end Windows laptops instead.

You can install Linux on every single Chromebook that has ever been produced (even the very first one). You are probably mistaking "managed" Chromebooks as a different line of Chromebook models.

I made no such mistake, and ARM Chromebooks are similar to ARM phones in that the devices don't have enumerable buses and often need a forked kernel to run.

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