[isp]

ChromeOS is wildly underrated in general, not only for software development.

App sandboxing on standard (non-ChromeOS) Linux distributions is painful and finicky, while it "just works" on ChromeOS.

I wish there was a non-hacky way to use Chromebooks without a Google account.

The hacky options are:

- "Switch to dev mode". But I don't want to be prompted to factory reset each boot.

- "Create a dummy Google account and use that". But I don't want file syncing and tracking to reach Google at all, not even on a dummy account.

- "Create a dummy Google account and use guest mode". But I want persistent storage.

[ajross]

> - "Switch to dev mode". But I don't want to be prompted to factory reset each boot.

Developer mode simply puts up a splash at boot warning you that the OS is custom, you just press enter to boot. The requirement to do a drive wipe is a one-time thing when you enable it the first time (for obvious reasons, to prevent exfiltration of data stored by a secured OS).

[isp]

Thanks - has this changed in the past few years?

A few years back (when I last looked in depth), it was very easy at every boot (not only first boot) to accidentally wipe everything - e.g., https://www.reddit.com/r/Crouton/comments/3be2su/reducing_ri...

I also remember that it made a loud beep on every boot!

[senkora]

I used a Chromebook as my main laptop for a year in college, and I always had to apologize to nearby strangers for the beep.

(CS major, coding happened mostly over SSH to the school servers, but I did run RStudio locally)

[ajross]

How often does one reboot their laptop around nearby strangers? I gotta be honest that some of these criticisms seem a little strained. I mean, it's true, they beep at boot when dev mode is enabled!

[doubled112]

I shut all of my computers all the way off when I’m finished using them, which means I have to turn them on when I start using them.

[jeffbee]

Is this an adaptation to some past trauma? I can't imagine a good reason to do this today, certainly not with ChromeOS.

[senkora]

It’s been awhile and I don’t remember why I had to reboot, but it did happen. I guess past me did a lot of work in cafes, office hours, and common areas.

I do remember that running a certain R program consistently caused the Chromebook to turn off, which was quite an issue for one particular office hours session!

[Dylan16807]

The key combo you use to get into dev mode, ctrl+D, will exit the warning screen before it beeps.

[freedomben]

Chromium OS might be a good choice for you. I ran it on my Pinebook Pro for a bit and really liked it, and it's much more open.

[isp]

Thanks - I had a very brief look at Chromium OS, but couldn't spot answers to:

(1) Is there a de-googled version of Chromium OS?

(2) Is there a non-hacky way to install it to a Chromebook?

[rd07]

I haven't used it yet, but maybe openfyde.io is one of the de-googled versions of Chromium OS

[bubblethink]

Nobody has the time to build, test, and maintain Chromium OS. Distros barely manage to build and maintain chromium.