ChromeOS
🤦♂️ My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.
this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2026
306 points (98.7% liked)
Linux
67199 readers
432 users here now
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
Rules
- Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
- No misinformation
- No NSFW content
- No hate speech, bigotry, etc
Related Communities
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
founded 7 years ago
MODERATORS
Be careful here... There will be a learning curve, and you may end up being the tech support person if you aren't already.
I kinda already am. I hate working on their windows problems
Yeah, fair. At least you'll get fewer facepalms this way!
If you already are their tech support, you probably could've forcibly switched then a long time ago.
At least, that's how I treat my computer-illiterate boomer parents. For them, it's "use what I tell you to use or you're on your own." To be fair, on their last few computers that was MacOS, but their iMac from 2013(?) got so obsolete it wasn't good enough anymore, so as of a few months ago they're on a mini PC running Linux whether they like it or not.
My family is famously stubborn and unreasonable to our own detriment. And by famous I mean famous there's a little blurb about my asshole relatives being stubborn in a local history book and we took this fact as a good thing
I kinda love some of them though so I guess I'm fine with it
WARNING they may suffer from less bugs, less annoying updates, better performance, less spyware and functional package management.
Before anyone says anything I am aware there are trade-offs due to switching from what you know.
Are you sure it would be less bugs? I havent been using windows for like 2-3 years, but it cant have gotten that bad, right?
I was part of tech support for work until last year.
My list of ridiculous bugs is quite long.... Even down to basics like the microphone, using Microsoft office at all, windows explorer, and opening teams had bugs where people's work laptops were unusable for day to day tasks.
I may have just had ridiculous luck to avoid all bugs on both linux and windows
Most of the bugs i have seen on linux were actually from a friend i convinced to move to linux
I guess the base version of windows is relatively ok but Microsoft Office and Overdrive/SharePoint are both completely unusable. Which is insane considering they are industry standards.
Although Linux seems to be generally much more stable in my experience. Of course it depends on the distro.
I installed fedora workstation on the computer of the mother of my wife. It just works. I set google chrome on autoboot and told her, if there is a pop up that says update system klick yes. Never had a single problem with it.
I just said no. I'm not going to help you with your computers unless you install Linux on your computer. I can fix all these other dumb operating systems. But I'm not going to do things that are not in your best interest, especially when I'm one doing the tech support.
Like. I'll still love you if you're shooting up heroin but I am not gonna go buy your fucking drugs.
🎼I just said no. No. No. No. No. No. No. Fuck no. No. No. Do this. Now. No. I won't do that. Do this. Now.🎶
Just..... like the world we live in now, I only want to hang out with people that use open source. Period. End of story.
Also, phone etiquette is super important. I will not waste my time around you while you diddle with your thumbs on your phone. Also, I don't want my fucking picture taken unless I know that you have good hygiene and I'll never find myself on the interwebz.
I'm an extremist, and I have no shame. I just say no.
Wow, your extremism is really admirable! Even though I disagree with it
Windows has gotten so bad that my family, who has been reticent about the switch since 2004, has finally given in and is swapping!
Yaaaayyyy!!! Nice one!! Congrats on pulling that off!
So far I got them to agree with ChromeOS Flex
Sorry, you what???
Some were really adamant about it being like android it's very annoying
Kinda wish grapheneos had an x86 ChromeOS-esque build. If waydroid had better integration (e.g. lepton) it'd have been an easier sell. It's on a terribly old laptop. I run different DEs on similar laptops and they didn't like kde, cosmic, or gnome's ui, very picky.
I was partially kidding. I mean, sure, if that's what they want, then what could anyone do about it.
But since they came from Windows, wouldn't they adapt to something like Linux Mint Xfce or Q4OS (that mimics Windows XP)? These are very lightweight distros.
So the criteria is something running the Linux kernel with no concern for what the user space is and ChromeOS is fine? Kind of reminds me of the movie Uncle Buck when he said he quit smoking and switched to cigars.
tbh i'd say debloated windows is much better than chromeos.. its the worst of both worlds
I think there are two sides to this.
-
You are right, I'd rather just get them on Windows 11 Enterprise IoT LTSC than goddamn ChromeOS.
-
ChromeOS will likely lower the bar for switching to a Linux distro so you might consider it a stepping stone. A stepping stone with nails and spiders coming out of it, but still a stepping stone nonetheless.
Why on earth would anyone willfully install ChromeOS? I haven't followed recent developments but I've always thought of it as very limiting, not to mention just as bad in terms of privacy as a Windows install.
It feels "official" and familiar to people outside of this bubble. Hardly anyone has actually heard of Bazzite, Fedora, CachyOS or any of the other distros, so it seems scary to put them on their devices.
I just put Fedora on my mum's Chromebook and told her it was an update
It made it easier for her to access email anyway
Definitely an upgrade
-sshole move, but it's definetely A move.
Funny tho ngl
Switching her OS wasn't to force her into conforming to my ideals or something. I tried setting her up on Chrome OS first, but it's ass. For anything outside of Google's ecosystem, you need an Android app designed for phone displays. There's no real email client, no real office suite, no real way to harden her browser against scams (which she's fallen victim to in the past).
A simple Linux distro with silent automatic updates is genuinely a better fit. Everything she needs is right there on her GNOME dock. She hasn't called me for laptop support in months.
My wife never knew where her windows files are, so I installed Linux on her laptop, she is not happy about Linux, but happier than in windows.
I give the warning before I'm handed the laptop. I've done three in the family, all Linux Mint XFCE, I never hear any complaints. Shit just works.
Mint is a better option, designed to be and actually is very intuitive for people who've only used windows in the past
Why ChromeOS though? Were they already familiar with the UI and features?
They were probably familiar with the name "Google", makes it seem official and supported.
Unfortunately, OS Flex is the worst of both worlds; bad Linux distro and no Android runtime and libraries.
FydeOS is the answer.
I didn't know about this. Looks good.
For extreme non-techies who really don't understand computers and just want to use a few websites it's a solid choice because it's so basic that it's hard to break
I tried this 15ish year ago with my parents, and the results were mixed. Windows wasn't as egregious back then, with its spying and pre-installed garbage, but it did have a tendency to accumulate bloat over time. So my parents' computer would get unusably slow after a couple years. I installed Ubuntu on their system and it solved the bloat problem. It lasted for years without slowing down. The issues they ran into were compatibility. They'd buy a new camera and the connection wouldn't work. Or their friend would send them an attachment and there'd be no default viewer for the filetype. I suspect those issues have been mostly solved, but they've moved back to Windows and are running into the same bloat problems. Now they're thinking of moving to apple.
Man, I would be happy if my parents used any computer.
Our shared family PC is running Aurora. My wife has a ThinkPad T14 Gen 2 on the way and we are trying to figure out what she will be running. She’s coming from an old MacBook Pro so we are going to start with trying to find the best Gnome experience. I was originally thinking Fedora Workstation but I think the updates will get on her nerves.
Aurora is fantastic. I tried just to see how much work it would be to use an immutable os, and ended up using it on my main computer, for both work and gaming. installed and never looked back.
Hooray, great news! Meanwhile im still hoping some of my family will do the same.
Try FydeOS if you want Google Play store and Android apps.
I noticed it but it seemed to be proprietary and a kinda unknown, whats the deal with it?
load more comments
(1 replies)
LOL. You do you but this sounds like a nightmare to me.
edit: it's not just "becoming tech support person", but becoming the default person to blame for everything.
Switched my parents to mint probably 10 years ago and I haven't heard any complaints, just had to remind them to update every so often and had to upgrade once EOL came. It has been the same with my very non technical girlfriend that switched to mint probably a year ago.
If you make sure they have supported hardware (and most of it is supported these days) my bet is you won't have to support them at all.
view more: next ›