Google releases Chrome OS on PC and Mac. It comes out under the name Chrome OS Flex and it is intended that it can give your old PC or Mac a second life. Google hopes to provide a sustainable solution with this, because it means you don’t have to get rid of or replace your old laptop as quickly.
Chrome OS Flex
Initially, Google Chrome OS Flex is intended for the business world and schools. It should also make it very easy for IT admins, because the operating system should be installed within a few minutes. Google promises a fast work experience, fast startup and… even better: devices should not slow down over time. If you do clean up regularly, because the Chrome browser, for example, often becomes slow if you store too much data and cookies.
Chrome OS Flex is a new version of the existing Chrome OS, which, according to The Verge, feels exactly like the Chrome OS we know from the Chromebook. The same code is used. However, it is not the case that everything is available in the same way as in Chrome: some features will not work if your hardware is not good enough. Think, for example, of synchronizing your Android phone or using the always-on option of the Google Assistant.
more sustainable
It’s good news that Google wants to do something about the problem that many PCs and Macs are getting too old over time. They become slow and it becomes more and more difficult to work on them. Of course, every laptop gets worse over time: you notice that, for example, in a battery life that decreases. But because Windows and Mac OS are both quite large and demanding operating systems, Google is filling in a hole with this release of Chrome OS. Chrome OS is significantly ‘lighter’.
While Apple and Microsoft have also increasingly made cloud work the norm in recent years, including across their operating systems, Chrome OS is still the operating system that does most of the work on the web. Depending on your system, you can save large files and use Photoshop, for example, but the power of the operating system is that it is quite simple.
in the cloud
You actually open almost all apps in the browser and everything is stored in the cloud, so that your computer is not enough with all kinds of documents. The disadvantage is that you have to be online for that, the advantage is that everything is always stored continuously, so if your battery is empty, you don’t have to worry that your work is gone.
In short, it is imaginable that Google is indeed doing a good job of this. It not only saves a lot of ewaste (waste from laptops that are thrown away): it also saves you money, because you have to buy a new system less quickly. You probably have to get used to it, because Chrome OS works slightly differently than Windows and then Mac OS. It is hoped that Chrome OS Flex will come to other systems as well, so that we can reduce the number of laptops in the graveyard around the world. You can now sign up for early access for Chrome OS Flex.