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Comment by iddan | Hacker News Reader

Finally! I remember installing Chromium OS on my netbook back in 2011 and I always felt like a supported build from Google has so much opportunity to renovate old computers

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Linux distros like Xubuntu and Linux Mint have been doing this for years. Simple install process, simple GUI, excellent performance, malware almost non-existent, and it doesn't lock you into running everything in a browser.

Yeah but this is backed by Google(TM) so grandmas will be okay with you installing it.

Is this /s

No it isn’t, more people are likely to adopt a Google backed OS than arch or even Ubuntu

I have a previous generation Chromebox that I use for video conferencing. It is absolutely infuriating that a modern ChromeOS does not work on it not because the specs are out of date but because Google just does not allow it.

It has a supported CPU, a supported wifi, a supported USB and a supported bluetooth a supported disk and a supported amount of memory. But it is out of ChromeOS support window.

Disable write protect on the firmware and install Flex or a Linux distro. Wish they'd automatically unlock the firmware on devices that fall out of the support window.

I'm going to try Flex. I don't want Linux on it. It is just a video conferencing box. I want it to be a total appliance.

P.S. I just checked - not a single Chromebook/Chromebox are listed on a supported devices list.

10 to 1 it works well anyway.

Have there been any howtos for installing Flex? It does seem like that'd be a possibility, and it'd be a great way to extend the update window if it worked.

It worked - I'm running it on end of line Asus CN60 Chromebox - the following are the details.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30354398

Good timing given Windows 11 dropping support for all sorts of hardware

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