Blog Archives

• New Chromebooks will get 8 years of OS support

  Posted on January 22nd, 2020 at 06:55 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  Talk about putting your money where your mouth is….

  Yesterday, the folks at Google dropped quite the bombshell:

  When we first launched Chromebooks, devices only received three years of automatic updates. Over the years, we’ve been able to increase that to over six…  And now, devices launching in 2020 and beyond will receive automatic updates for even longer. The new Lenovo 10e Chromebook Tablet and Acer Chromebook 712 will both receive automatic updates until June 2028.

  The announcement doesn’t come out and, you know, actually say it, and everything is couched in the “for education” bafflegab, but the implication is that new Chromebooks will get eight years of guaranteed support. You can see the end-of-support dates on Google’s Auto Update Policy page.

  The Pixelbook Go, for example, is guaranteed support until June 2026. The Microsoft Surface Go, by contrast, is guaranteed support through… I’m not sure if Windows 10 Home in S mode is being actively supported, really, even now. It doesn’t appear on Microsoft’s end-of-life page.

  Sales of new machines with Win7 pre-installed officially ended on October 31, 2016. Add eight years and you get… one whole heckuvalot later than Jan. 14, 2020.

  Ball’s in your court, Microsoft.

  Chromebook Chromebook end of support

• The Chrome OS FAQ, Part III: You’ve got a Chromebook. Now what?

  Posted on December 16th, 2019 at 01:15 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  

  GOOGLE CHROME OS

  By JR Raphael

  So now that you’ve read Parts I and II of our Chrome OS FAQ, you’ve worked out what Google’s operating system is all about — and possibly picked out the Chromebook that’s right for you.

  Whew! It’s been a busy couple of weeks. (If you missed the first two parts of this series, no worries: just head over to issues 16.44.0 (2019-12-02) and 16.45.0 (2019-12-09) to get all caught up.)

  Now we’re ready for the really fun part: taking your first steps into the world of your shiny new Chromebook. Getting around Chrome OS is mostly self-evident — especially if you’re an experienced Windows user — but there are some initial steps you’ll want to take to get everything set up and configured the way you like it.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.46.0 (2019-12-16).

  Chromebook Android, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Google Chrome OS, Working offline

• The Chrome OS FAQ, Part II: Which Chromebook should you buy?

  Posted on December 9th, 2019 at 01:15 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  

  GOOGLE CHROME OS

  By JR Raphael

  In Part I of this three-part series on Google’s Chrome OS, we covered the ins and outs of Google’s Chrome OS software and the Chromebook laptops that rely on it (see AskWoody Plus issue 16.44.0, 2019-12-02).

  In this week’s Part II, we’ll go into greater detail on the hardware side of things — specifically, what you need to know to buy the best Chromebook for your needs.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.45.0 (2019-12-09).

  Chromebook AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Best Chromebooks, Chrome OS

• Chrome OS FAQ, Part I: Is a Chromebook right for you?

  Posted on December 2nd, 2019 at 01:05 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  

  GOOGLE CHROME

  By JR Raphael

  AskWoody Plus readers will recall that, from time to time, we’ve recommended Google’s Chromebooks as a viable alternative for many Windows users.

  Whether you’re looking to move away from Windows entirely or to complement your primary computer with a low-maintenance secondary system, a Chrome OS–based Chromebook can be a nice addition to your digital life.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.44.0 (2019-12-02).

  Chromebook AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Chrome OS, Chromebook features

• Chromebook expiration dates

  Posted on August 22nd, 2019 at 06:52 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  Just read an article by Tim Anderson in The Reg that explains how to find your Chromebook’s “Auto Update Expiration” date.

  every Chromebook has an “Auto Update Expiration (AUE) Date” after which the operating system is unsupported by Google.

  That’s a concept every Windows user should understand – but the big difference is that Google sets the expiration date before the machine is put on sale. Microsoft arbitrarily decides when a specific chip goes out of support – and the decision is made way after initial release.

  I’ve seen ads for Chromebooks lately that include the AUE expiration date. But if you don’t know your Chromebook’s expiration date, it’s easy to look up. Google has a readily accessible list of machines and their expiration dates.

  If you can’t match up your Chromebook’s specific model name with an expiration date on the list, there’s an additional trick in The Reg article that shows you how to query the OS to get the correct model name. For most people, though, simply knowing which machine you have is enough to get you a definitive answer on when support ends.

  Per Anderson:

  You can continue to use your Chromebook after the AUE but the OS will be frozen in time and Google’s warnings above will apply. The device will show a notification along the lines of: “This device will no longer receive the latest software updates. Please consider upgrading.” … Security is an issue, though a Chromebook is one of the more secure devices out there thanks to the sandboxing of applications and other techniques, so it is less serious than it would be for, say, a Windows PC.

  My all-time favorite Chromebook fell off the AUE turnip truck more than a year ago. It’s still humming along, getting daily workouts both from me and my nine-year-old.

  Thx, @Kirsty

  Chromebook ChromeOS AUE