Whatever happened to the Chromebook?

My Lenovo x200 tablet is still going strong too. Circa 2008. Shipped with Vista, refurbished with 7 Pro license via 3rd party, and took the free upgrade to 10. Currently running 1903 with no issues.

A small bone thrown by Google extending the life of a disposable laptop makes me go "meh" at most. They are still prematurely EOL and that just doesn't bode well with me.

I do not condemn others for owning one. Just not what I consider ethically correct or environmentally responsible for me. I do lose the arguement of being environmentally responsible if you look at power consumption. A newer laptop would hands down beat my 11yr old x200.

Two or three disposable devices in a landfill or maybe recycled, or a more power hungry system still running. Can't win.

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What the...? I could've sworn the list said that my Acer Spin CP315 was good through Nov 2025. Now it says Nov 2013. I really don't see that hardware dying in just 3 years.

Oh well. I've used Google OS devices for years longer than I was supposed to before, I can do it again. Plus, the full version of Linux I have on it will continue to be updated, so if I ever get to the point that I really feel it's a security issue (any more than my Samsung Android tablet EOL'd like 4 years ago), I'll just switch over to the Linux partition.

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Amazon Prime day. Amazon selling a Chromebook, and some live video feed of people touting this thing as gotta have for an amazing price! $249 and it's yours. I had my co-worker look up the EOL. 2 years left. They never mention the EOL, and never will. Yeah...

#nothankyou

 

I'm with you, hc. I hate to abandon perfectly good hardware simply because it needs a software or firmware update and/or a part replacement (e.g., battery or screen). I typically use my devices well beyond what most people would consider usable life. I have friends who buy a new computer every few years because the old one is slow -- yet I get more done with my dusty old equipment than they can with their shiny new toys.

It's definitely a buyer beware situation. By the way, Google's Auto Update policy states:

At least Google publishes its EOL policy. Apple doesn't have one for its OS. Microsoft typically offers 5 years of mainstream support and an additional 5 years of extended support for a total of 10 years.

I think most people (and, unfortunately, many businesses) don't think about EOL when buying electronics, and I think that's a mistake (one that I've made).

I'm still VERY happy that I purchased my Chromebook and have little doubt that one day I'll get another one. I hope it's not for a while, though.

 

I have to keep up with release dates for Chromebooks, as we've got a vast pile of them here at work. The 'platform release date' is rather ambiguous to most users. The date that is more relative to users is the model release date, which doesn't usually translate to your 6.5 years of Google updates.

The way we look at is like this:
We pick out a device from our preferred OEM vendor, then contract for bulk purchasing through a trusted 3rd party reseller. The OEM is never going to be Johnny on the spot and release a device on platform release, so in essence, year number one is wasted in research and development by the OEM and then they release. That leaves you with 5.5 years of practical time. Then comes purchase order, shipping, asset tagging, waiting for school year to start and actual deployment. Depending on your purchase window, that could mean you're left with last years model as the newest you can get. Chop off another year. 4.5 years of support left.

Now give them to the kids. Their hands are magically destructive. Chop off another 2 years as the devices are torn to pieces.
We get maybe 2.5 - 3 years of functional use out of these things before they simply fall apart.

I'd love to put ownership of these things into the parents hands, where they can foot the bill for repairs, and appropriately reprimand their children for misuse and physical damages, but that model does not work if you need managed Chromebooks. It's an ugly situation, and I don't see any light in the tunnel at this current juncture.

*trudges off to work on the incoming batch of Chromebooks that were recently delivered*

 

I feel your pain, man! I do have to say, though -- if the kids are destroying the equipment w/in 2 or 3 years, OS EOL is kind of a moot point.

 

Kinda so... but not quite.

We do a lot of in house repairs but then that brings in EOL. At what point does it not make financial sense to repair a device for $x dollars, when the EOL is within the next x time frame. So, not direct, but indirectly impacts every single repair we make. Especially when I'm directed to research and obtain devices at the $200 per unit range, not including management license. A keyboard repair could be half the cost of a device. Broke the screen too? Now you've spent just as much as a new device...

I'm given a budget of x dollars, and have to get x number of devices for incoming grades, incoming new students, replace decommissioned devices, and replace devices not financially advisable for repair. I don't get to control how much is allocated, so I'm forced into the $200 per unit cost. If I have to replace a device from a previous year, I then have to factor in a new management license with that unit, which is an additional $30 per unit. It's not too big of a number, until you realize that I don't get to move the initial x dollars allocated for the entire fiscal year.

 

Do realize, that because we purchase in bulk, the device I get for $200 is not the same device you'll get for $200.

 

Android Police: Google gives most Chromebooks an extra year of software support.
https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/...hromebooks-an-extra-year-of-software-support/

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My Toshiba Chromebook 2 EOL went from 9/2019 to 6/2020 to 9/2021.