[vero2]

most chromebooks got up to 6 years support. BTW, one can still use these old ones, they will get LaCros (where only browser gets updated).

> Flies in the face of many functional Chromebooks/Chromeboxens losing support

On these old hardware you can install Linux or even cloudready. Are you expecting support forever?

[_Algernon_]

I used my last laptop for 10 years. If you actually want to "Reduce e-waste and extend the life of your existing devices", install a Linux distro with a light DE (e.g i3 or xfce).

[vero2]

The problem is regular user does NOT want i3. Google cannot build a i3 and provide it as an update to old chromebook.

BTW even latest Lubuntu needs 4GB RAM... Sure you can use minimal window manager like awesome, but not the average joe!

[_Algernon_]

I mentioned xfce for that exact reason. It is still pretty light, while being a more familiar to the average user.

That being said, most average users aren't gonna care about e-waste anyways, and are gonna buy a new computer ever couple of years, so for them this is a non-issue.

[MarkusWandel]

I use Linux on 10 year old laptops, though typically with minimum 4GB RAM installed. The desktop environment being bloated has been a solved problem for years. Gnome Shell is crisply responsive and Mate (my choice) even more so. Want to watch videos in 1080p fullscreen? No problem.

It's the browser, or rather the stuff that runs in it, that bogs down old laptops. The >1 second delay to switch folders in Gmail, for example, or the sluggish loading of video thumbnails in Youtube.

[_Algernon_]

True. Browsing on that laptop was not a great experience. But the rest of the experience was much better than windows 10 would have been. Instead of 1-2GB RAM usage at idle I was at <500MB with i3.

[eeeficus]

No, of course not! Let’s throw away perfectly good computers. Yes I know that you can use Linux but I expect that if I’m buying a chromebook, I like the OS as well?

[HelixEndeavor]

The whole premise of the Chromebook and reason for its market share is the simplicity to average users. Most of what we do is web browser-focused. So cut out the fat and have a computer that's all about the web browser.

The proposition of installing Linux on these machines once they're EOL flies in the face of the reasons most users buy them, and won't at all address the core issue.

[yjftsjthsd-h]

> Are you expecting support forever?

I mean... maybe? Why not? At worst, drop to a second tier of support where firmware might not get updated and new features that actually need new hardware don't work, but why should chromebook hardware stop working any more than any other PC? Most of my machines are 5-10 year old machines that Linux happily supports; why should Chrome OS - built on top of Linux - support any less?

[zinekeller]

??????

I have a Windows laptop from 2010 still working fine, and a lot of Linux enthusiasts also say the same thing. Six years is pathethic for laptop support. Fortunately Google has realised this, but their insistence on not applying this on existing machines is hypocritical.

[jethro_tell]

I'd like support until I decide to be done with it.

With a Linux base, it seems like releasing the drivers to mainline and supplying browser updates ought to take care of that. I don't really understand what else would need to go into that so maybe I'm missing something but especially for x86 boxes it should be pretty simple.

[fleddr]

Yes, I'm expecting support for as long as the hardware runs. Disposing hardware that is perfectly functional is ludicrous and insane.

Further, if your hardware product requires never-ending software updates just to keep it working, perhaps you should invest in writing less crappy software to begin with.

[notacoward]

> Are you expecting support forever?

How about as long as Microsoft? Or Red Hat? Why the hell not?

[vero2]

Does Redhat provide OS for 2GB RAM, celeron devices? Poor comparison. And BTW, are you willing to pay > $200 per year for chromeOS (like RHEL)? Note that RHEL is also frozen, but average Joe wants all latest features in chromebook. Also even youtube/facebook needs so much RAM. Only you can survive browsing with w3m or wget - then chromeos is not for you.

[notacoward]

> Does Redhat provide OS for 2GB RAM?

Actually yes. The standard is ten years from when the version is released, compared to Google's six. RHEL 7 (for example) was released in 2014 requiring 2GB, so people could indeed still have RHEL on such a system with two years of support left to go.

> RHEL is also frozen

Untrue. It doesn't move fast, to be sure, but it does get updated. Source: I used to be in the RHEL team.

> And BTW, are you willing to pay > $200 per year for chromeOS

I paid Google $1600 for the machine itself. The OS was bundled with the machine. It worked out to more than $200 per year. Please do some more research before cross-examining others - or, since the guidelines preclude that, just don't.

[arianvanp]

That is what I'm expecting because that is what the competition they're trying to protect from ewaste with this weird product is already basically offering. My last laptop I've used for 10 years. A good gaming desktop will stay relevant for at least 10 years. Microsoft will support it for longer than that