Is Chrome OS Flex a Viable Windows Alternative?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 4 июн 2024
- Every few months or so I like to take a look at the current state of Chrome OS Flex and see how it's coming along. At this point I think it can be a suitable Windows 10 replacement for most users, except for gamers.
Наука
Google needs to enable Android apps support on flex, otherwise it is very limited for lots of people especially if they don't know about Linux.
I think the lack of Android is what will make it a non starter for most non-technical users
yeah i agree chrome os flex is pretty simple easy to use. Linux is a bit too complicated as i tried some one of the distro but reverted back to windows
Honestly, i dont think that Android apps are really useful. In particular if you dont have a touch screen. I tested this now for a few months on a chromebook. Most apps can be replaced with the corresponding pwa. Many apps just dont work properly. It is more of a selling feature to me. On the other hand, the linux vm impressed me really. And virtual gpu in the steam vm is extremely well engineered.
After almost 8 years of using a Chromebook, I also installed Chrome OS Flex on my pc desktop. I am very happy with it, I think that Android apps are very useful if you use convertible Chromebooks with touch, they are useful for reading apps for example. But on a desktop PC, Chrome OS Flex is also fine
I can see the Apps being good on a tablet or convertible. The Chromebook I have (IdeaPad slim 3i) did run Android apps well, but I noticed my RAM usage (it has 8gb) would be almost maxed out even after a reboot, when I disabled Android I had a lot more free RAM and it seemed to perform better, so idk.
@@BrandonStecklein i had that same issue with windows subsystem for android, that it maxed out ram and cpu usage. it is more of a gimmick, because you are running a VM to run android apps (and now they said they are removing it). The only reason i see to download android apps is because of downloading from streaming services because for some reason they don't want you to download stuff on your computer. netflix is the only one that still allows it, for now.
Ich habe Chrome OS Flex, aber auf dem dortigen Videoplayer kann man keine Untertitel ausführen. Mein Gerät unterstützt kein Linux. Ein anderer Player geht deshalb nicht zu installieren. So ist das Betriebssystem für mich nicht zu verwenden.
I switched to Linux but I have been messing around with ChromeOS Flex on one of my laptops. I wouldn't rely on it as a daily driver, but it's cool for casual computing. I was able to install Libre Office and Krita, so I could potentially use it as a daily driver if I were in a pinch. I do like the fact that you can sync it to your android phone and Google Calendar and Gmail. I am right there with you about Windows 11, which is unusable garbage in my opinion. I keep Windows 10 around for some games and Windows stuff, but I nuked Windows 11 once they started sending in spyware through the updates. You just can't trust Microsoft anymore, and with Recall rolling out every user's personal data is at high risk of being compromised.
I use the Ms Office 2013 version on my flex
Installed Flex on an old Lenovo m700 Tiny Thinkcentre and it runs really well. The desktop is very polished. It’s seems Flex suddenly became a good OS, having been a bit hit-and-miss in the past.
Those mini Lenovo towers are great for Flex, you can sometimes pick them up < $100 too
I’m in the UK. The secondhand PC market isn’t as cheap here as it is in the USA. To say I’m a little envious would be an understatement. Good to see your second Beelink is still running without incident. I didn’t want to chance a second disappointment. Please keep the videos coming; I thoroughly enjoy them.
Recently I tried archlinux, ubuntu, linux mint on lenovo t460s but I'm not getting better web rendaring support. Laptop battery discharge quickly and temp also high when playing youtube videos. I'm also tried with gpu acceleration but not good as support same on chromeos. And web browsing on chromeos better than my testing distro. Maybe out of the box that distro not support well. I like also chromeos select to speak accessibility features and unlock by my android phone. Over all chromeos is best for google eco system. I'm dual booting chromeos by brunch framework.
Kernel 6.6 is in 127/august.
messed around with Flex about a year ago.. now on Ubuntu and happy.. chromeOs itself is good with android apps but Flex seems to be pointless
I think Flex could serve as a good set of "training wheels" for someone with no Linux experience trying to get away from Windows. To me the Android situation is not a big deal, but I get why it's an issue for most!
For me Ubuntu had disappointed me (24.04 LTS). Bugs and crashes. Flex runs perfectly all the time.
First of all thanks! I agree with you in almost all points. I'll even replace my macbook if it would get broken. Quickshare runs very reliable, I often use that feature for file transfer with my android device (that I use as a camera). Gaming is also possible as I managed some Linux games like Age Of Wonders 3 to work, but you have of course less performance. You have to enable repositories and than can install all the 32 bit libraries, so you can use many GOG games, as well. But I agree, if you are a "gamer" and especially play new games, ChromeOS Flex is not well suitable, yet. (maybe in future). Android Apps would still be a really nice feature for me, I belive it could give ChromeOS Flex a big boost (but people may buy less Chromebooks.)
Thanks. For me the biggest benefit of Android would be some games and entertainment/streaming apps
Store all of my files on Google's servers so their dumb AI can read them all and then delete out of whim? Sign me up!!!
lol. I don't particularly trust Cloud storage either. Just FYI though, you do not have to use Google Drive at all on any variant of Chrome OS, it does also support all of the common filesystems.
I am a hardcore linux user, but Chrome OS Flex impressed me so much that i even bought a chromebook, at sale. Power users should stay away, gamers also. But it has a very clean, safe design, the linux vm adds a lot of flexibility, just install flatpak. And it does wonders on weaker hardware.
I agree to all of the above
i really love chromeos because it just looks awesome.
agreed
It’s not hard to get Steam running on ChromeOS provided you can mentally parse the error messages and grab the dependencies it asks for.
Granted I’ve only ever tested it with Shovel Knight, but that’s a 3D game faking 2D on the Unity engine.
At least some Steam gaming on Flex should be possible.
Most 2d games I have tried work, as well as older 3d games. I have played Half Life 2 for example, without issue (granted that is a really old game now). I haven't tried to push it really to see what is possible
@@G.Trevize I have an actual Chromebook where native Steam (via borealis) actually works pretty good. It needs a way to have the steam icon in an application try somewhere. Borealis does not seem to be supported on Flex though, at least not on any machine I have tried 😕
STOP IT! GET SOME LINUX ISOS! ( Linux Mint )
I enjoy Linux as well (not mint necessarily)
The files App copy and paste should be improved.
after all announcement about gemini / integrated AI, I install flex again, but there's no AI at all on flex, sad
So I also have a "Chromebook Plus" model and it now has a new Gemini icon on the dock. When I click it, it just goes to the gemini.google.com PWA
@@BrandonStecklein what about AI wallpaper and video background generator?
Never had Chromebook or similar. Are you saying they released an OS on which many generally used stuff didn't work? That reminds me the rushed updates in Windows, crashing many users' systems, making them unusable. What is wrong with those companies?
Really depends on use case I guess. If you are just using Web Apps, browser, email, youtube, etc, then it is fine. But yeah, if you go in expecting to install MS Office it's not going to work
I have a Windows 11 machine for games and I use Chrome Flex OS on another computer for playing on the net. Over the last few months, I have noticed a big improvement in Flex. Hopefully, they will continue keep up the improvements. I also tried Flex on AMD, it wouldn't run.
For me it will not run on my 5th gen ryzen desktop, but I also have a Beelink SER5 with a Ryzen 7 and it runs flawless. Hope they support some newer AMD hardware soon.
I have A Asus laptop with Celeron 3350 processor 64 but architecture will my laptop support Chrome OS flex smoothly
@@dreco924 Intel chips tend to work better than AMD. You can run Chrome OS from a thumbdrive to see if it will run.
While I agree that Win 11 is "basically spyware" for Microsoft; ChromeOS Flex is "basically spyware" for Google/Alphabet. I guess for me it is choose your poison at this point unless you are willing to jump to a Linux distro. Only downside to ChromeOS Flex is no support for Steam based games.
I agree to an extent, but if ChromeOS introduces a new "feature" that takes continuous screenshots of your desktop in order to conduct AI searches, I will be abandoning it as well.
@@BrandonStecklein If chromeos would introduce something like recall, those screenshots would 100% leave the machine to google's servers, no chromebook has enough storage and it's supposed to be always online anyways. It would be even worse than windows recall...
@@utfigyii5987 I agree
@@BrandonStecklein Yes, me too. But I think, Google is not as stupid. Their "memory" project is in early stage, so if they release, I think, things will be different. Google knows, nobody will use ChromeOS anymore if they add (really bad) spyware and Google has not enough market share to make such a big mistake! What do you think?
chromeOS Flex sucks as. I planned to use this to replace Windows based computer to be used as web-only OS alternative, but Google made it so hard to use without Enterprise subscription I just gave up after the trial expired.
I would but google might turn this into spyware eventually too with the gemini era
I would definitely remain on the cautious side with anything involving their product. Even if the OS itself is opensource and spyware free, their applications and services are bad enough that it would never convince me to use their OS.
I think Google will not make same mistakes like Microsoft. I really hope so!
after this create 50 partition on by usb stick and then stuck for 1 hour i switch to msdos :)
I am very much pro-DOS!
I mean, if you think microsoft is spyware google isn't much better. if you truly want "spyware-free" you need linux. that's just how it goes.
Well yes I do agree with that. I was really referring to their new "feature" in Win11 of taking screenshots of your desktop non stop so you can AI search it later. To me that seems like jumping the shark VS the standard practice of telemetry harvesting
It is diverse to recommend something that isn't either Mac or The usual Linux, but in my opinion, with chromeOS, you are substituting one spyware for another. It's not possible for me to trust anything that's in relation with Google, and along with the negatives you have mentioned, I don't even think I'll be able to use it with it's hardware and software limitations. Don't know much about it, but it seems you could have more problems on ChromeOS than on any other Linux Distro.
Sure, depends on the user really. For a lot of people I do think Linux is the better option for sure!
If their is a viable alternative to windows, people will try using it, but Chrome OS/flex ain't it.
I say it depends what you want to do. A lot of people only use the browser anyway.
I'm a Win10 user looking for something to switch to. I appreciate your videos but I don't understand Linux with their 1million 'flavours' and coding all the time. There's gotta be an easier choice.
short answer: LOL
long answer: just use a proper linux distro bud
For me it depends, if someone was only going to use browser/gmail/youtube anyway, I think Flex would be a better option. Linux is great too though, but I wouldn't put it on my wife's computer lol