this post was submitted on 03 Dec 2023
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I'm wondering if Chromebooks can run Firefox? I'm guessing not. I know you can install adblockers on them. Not after mid-2024, I guess.
It really sucks that an affordable notebook computer means getting locked into an advertising system. You can get a Chromebook for under $100 and they have a very, very easy-to-use OS. They're great for poor people and elderly people.
So much for putting an adblocker on Grandma's computer now.
you can have refurbished thinkpad for the same price and you don't have to deal with some chrome-crap.
honestly, the fact that people have to be reminded there are alternatives to chrome is the most mindblowing fact from the article.
You can run the android version or use the Linux VM. Neither are great but are workable. Unless they've changed it recently, you can also dual boot them and run Linux off an external drive.
I'd honestly say skip the Chromebook, get an older used laptop that is known to be fully supported by Linux, install a lightweight distro, and off you go if all Grandma needs is a web browser. Older used laptops are usually far better powered than a cheap Chromebook for the same price anyways. Plus it fights e-waste.
A further option is to do adblocking at the router or through the computer's own networking system or something like a Pihole. These all come with their own pros and cons.
It's not always an option. For example, every computer in my house runs normal desktop GNU, except that I was forced to buy a Chromebook because my university's proctoring software only supported that, MacOS, or Windows.
Windows in a VM on Linux?
Lots of those fucking proctoring softwares detect when you're in a VM and refuse to run. 🙄
Afaik there were ways even around that.
There are but sometimes you want shit to just work. Annoyingly, a real windows computer is the easiest sometimes.
Yeah I remember our school stuck out like a massive sore thumb and ran Linux on its computers until the very, very fucking end. The Dept. Education eventually threatened budget cuts that would kill the school. They eventually folded but to really make it hard for the dept. ed they said that all the laptops that were already running linux could and would continue to run linux. The reason why is because of some monitoring program the dept. ed wanted to put on that linux wouldn't run.
If all you need is a cheap laptop, there's thousands of deals on refurbished or used ones. You don't need this year's model to browse the web and send email.
Throw Ubuntu or something on it and you can go even cheaper hardware wise.
I have 10 year old Laptop that runs fine. It runs even finer on Linux.
If she'd allow you, you could always put a little pihole ($10-20) on her network (with the bare minimum lists so that it doesn't break things too often). Wouldn't change anything about her computer.
Just started running PiHole with a couple lists (default + more restrictions) and have seen zero negative effects so far. Surprising really.
I've installed the Android version of Firefox on my wife's Chromebook via the Google Play store. There's also a way to enable Linux within ChromeOS and install the more full fledged version of FF.
See: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browsers/chromebook/
The pricing only really works if you factor in the advertising afterwards.
There are ways to run Linux on Chromebooks
Sure, but do you think Grandma who spent $100 on a Chromebook at Walmart is going to be able to figure out Linux even if their grandson knows how to install it? Chrome OS is the push-here-dummy of OSes. You really can't get much simpler. This is dangling a carrot in front of them so they'll be forced to look at endless advertising.
That's fair enough although I'd argue some desktop environments and Linux distributions are usable very easily. Remember that people like grandma are using "the operating system as a bootloader for the browser" and if they can open Chrome or Firefox they're good.
That being said when writing my response I admittedly had you in mind as the user who simply wanted to save money.
Well I do want to save money, but I'm not interested in a Chromebook for myself. My mother-in-law swears by hers though.
A lot of chromebooks run linux pretty well since chromeOS is essentially just linux which is always an option.
Just get a linux or android tablet instead.
My mother-in-law, who has a Chromebook, doesn't want a tablet because she wants a reliable keyboard. That makes sense to me.
Also, lots of school systems have opted to give their students Chromebooks and turning educational platforms into advertising platforms is criminal. Currently, my daughter's school Chromebook (thankfully she returns it in a few weeks) is ad-free unless she goes to a third party website. How long is that going to last?
"Just get a Linux tablet" is not a universal solution. Nor is all of these people saying people should just get older refurbished or used notebooks instead. That will work for some people, sure, but it will not work for all people. Not for school systems and not for people who already own Chromebooks and can't handle a Linux learning curve.
That said, according to others, you can install FF on them through their Android compatibility, but how long will Google allow that?
I'm sorry, but "just switch to X" is really not a solution for a lot of people. And they don't deserve this from companies like Google.
It's not all about advertising. It's just that Chromebooks are practically disposable and locked down enough to ~~break most LMS, and~~ prevent idiots from breaking / installing stuff. And Netbooks have fallen out of vogue.