CHROME OS FLEX
If you want to try out the ChromeOS and are not interested in buying a Chromebook, and if you have an old computer laying around you can install ChromeOS flex on the device. Flex is a version of ChromeOS available to download and install on old equipment. It is free for personal use, although it is marketed as a enterprise level solution for organisations as a way to extend the lifespan of older PC infrastruture.
If for no other reason than to prevent a perfectly usable device from becoming another piece of E-waste I decided to trying Flex. All you need is a USB flash drive, an old laptop, and a little time. The process requires a minimal effort, and is well documented on YouTube. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZdjWS-Nbf0&t=840s )The price is certainly right. I have an old HP Stream 11 laptop that I have used with Linux.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-i-revived-three-ancient-laptops-with-chrome-os-flex/
I had mixed success. I followed the instructions provided by Google. ( https://support.google.com/chromeosflex/answer/11552529?hl=en&visit_id=638101757157274101-3561983015&ref_topic=11551271&rd=1 ) Creating the USB stick was easy enough, but I ran into issues booting my Stream laptop. The boot process stalled and I was unable to test Flex. I did a little research and found that Flex may not work on all old hardware. (See this list to see if your device is compatible.) https://support.google.com/chromeosflex/answer/11513094?hl=en#zippy=%2Chp
Alas my old stream was not compatible. I used the USB on a couple of newer devices and they booted without any problems. I am sure I would have been able to install the OS without issue, but I didn’t. That is the beauty of the USB trial, you don’t have to go all in.
I didn’t give up. I have been using lightweight distributions to breathe new life into old PCs for many years. I had an idea to try an replicate the ChromeOS idea on Linux. This worked much better than I expected.
I used the lightweight version of the Zorin OS ( https://zorin.com/os/ ) as the basis of this experiment. It installed easily (Using a similar USB trial / install process.) The wifi card on the stream was a little unreliable after the installation. It worked well some days and not others. I solved this problem by buying a D-Link USB WiFi adapter which was sale priced at $20. With the connectivity problem solved I went to work replicating the ChromeOS feel.
I uninstalled the perfectly fine LibreOffice suite installed with Zorin OS. In it’s place I configure the web version of MS 365 personal. (I chose to use the progressive web apps for Word, Outlook, OneDrive, Google Keep, YouTube, and Spotify.) The productivity apps worked well as on a purpose built Chromebook. I was very happy. Linux also had the advantage of some excellent utilities such as full featured file manager, and the Gimp image manipulation program (https://www.gimp.org/) Android apps will not run on Zorin OS, but the native Linux apps are more than suitable. Printer support for older printers is better on Linux than ChromeOS. I created a quick booting device capable of editing Word document, web browsing, and other light computing tasks, just what I wanted.
A survey of some light Linux distributions ideal for reviving an old PC.
In my next post I will tell you my final impressions of my experiment with cloud computing.