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Comment by Wowfunhappy | Hacker News Reader

Meanwhile, the Chromebooks we use at an after-school program where I teach are no longer receiving security updates. I'm not sure how old the machines are, but they're quite speedy compared to other Chromebooks I've used, and perfectly capable of browsing the modern web.

I love the idea of Chrome OS Flex, but I wish Google extended the same support to hardware designed for Chrome OS...

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Meanwhile 20 year old machines running linux still get updates. How is it that software support became tied to specific hardware? This used to be a solved problem, but with a lot of effort and ingenuity, a few corporations un-solved it, first for smartphones, tablets, and now for whatever Chromebooks count as.

Nobody makes money off of a 20 year old machine. This is planned obsolescence to maintain demand.

I feel like "unsolving" problems is becoming the only way to make a good buck in IT anymore.

I suspect Google will eventually use Chrome OS Flex as a subscription service to provide extended Hardware/Software support for Education and Enterprise. They came up with Chrome OS Flex after buying Neverware in 2020, which already provided Chrome OS support for Education and Enterprise.

Yeah, as I was reading the page I was wonder who this is really for, the links in the last paragraph were a tip-off.

> Visit the Chrome OS Flex _website_ to learn more, get installation instructions, and see certified devices. Additionally, if you want to combine modern computing with cloud-first management, you can _start a free trial_ of Chrome Enterprise Upgrade to secure and manage your Chrome OS Flex devices.

The free trial link says:

> Chrome Enterprise Upgrade provides a simple and secure way to manage your Chrome OS devices in the admin console.

> Sign up for a free 30-day trial of the Chrome Enterprise Upgrade and enroll up to 50 existing Chromebooks in your organization.

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