Now more than ever, ChromeOS is Linux with Google’s desktop environment - eviltoast
  • BetaDoggo_@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    As someone who has owned a Chromebook for several years, I can tell you that you shouldn’t. Hardware wise it’s hard to beat Chromebooks at their price points, but the complete lack of control over the system is a deal breaker. I don’t have time to list all of the issues I’ve had. In many cases what would have been trivial fixes on a normal Linux system required full reinstalls on chromeOS. Like the time I accidentally filled up the fairly modest system storage. The system refused to allow me to delete anything, requiring a reset just to get local file management abilities back.

    I ultimately ended up installing full Linux on it, which ended up being a whole other ordeal due to all of Google’s “security” features.

      • BetaDoggo_@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        There are 2 ways to do it, either via depthboot(software only, no custom firmware, lots of manual OS prep, 0 risk) or custom firmware(maybe physical, model dependant, no os prep, small risk). For custom firmware you usually have to either bridge an internal jumper, unplug the battery, or build a custom cable, depending on your model.

        While it is allowed it’s not supported by google.

        I would never recommend buying a Chromebook with the intention of replacing the OS unless you’re looking for a project or you’re getting it for cheap.

        • merthyr1831@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          TLDR it’s harder to replace the OS on a Chromebook than a Mac, and you get none of the benefits of Mac hardware.