Wave a Chrome OS wand over musty PCs and Macs
Maybe a little bit too old… © iStock.
Do you have an aging Windows PC or an out-of-date Mac in the basement that can’t even handle macOS 12? Dust it off because Google wants to turn it into a Chromebook. Google just announced a developer preview of Chrome OS Flex, a tool that downloads the Chromebook operating system to Macs or Windows PCs. Chrome OS Flex is basically a newer version of CloudReady, which Google acquired when it purchased Neverware in 2020. Flex lets you download Chrome OS to a USB flash drive for free and easily install it on an Intel Mac or a Windows PC. You can also boot the operating system from a USB key rather than installing it on the computer. Chrome OS Flex is fairy dust for old PCs and Macs if you toil away in a browser window and don’t rely on specific Windows or Mac applications.
⇨ Ars Technica, Andrew Cunningham, “Chrome OS Flex is an ideal off-ramp for millions of PCs that can’t run Windows 11.”
2022-02-16