Chromebooks with the right stuff inside now are able to install and run a complete Linux experience with the KDE desktop without giving up the Chrome OS on the same device. It is not yet flawless, but it does create a hybrid computing platform that lets Linux and Android apps coexist on top of the Chrome OS. I do not mean flashing the Galium OS distribution as a replacement for Chrome OS. I have done that on an end-of-life early Chromebook with usable results. However, I mean running a complete Linux graphical environment with the KDE desktop.
I should just preface that - 49 mins to go but only if I can keep the cat off it!
Chromebooks are to Notebook computers, as Android are to Nokia Symbian smartphones. Both Chromebooks & Android are new, and both threaten the majority holders in their market sectors.
Had some trouble understanding your writings, many months after you had written them. The hardware & software is obviously dated, but not enough detail was presented to understand how relevant the writing is to today's situation.
Here in Australia, we have so much home-schooling, remote working, etc. The internet has arrived, so physical transport (shopping, educations, meetings, exhibitions, etc) has almost ended. Covid-19 has made "THE FUTURE" arrive earlier than most had ever expected.
Not yet dead myself (frail, very old), so decided to see if the old systems can fit today's students. Not notebooks, not smartphones & not iPads. They are costly, limited & difficult for beginners. So we need CHROMEBOOKS.
Trouble is Chrome OS is the commercial version of Chromium OS (open source). Android at the beginning had this same beginning. Hopefully we might see Chromium Books one day, without the USA-government approved spyware from Google?
Luckily Google has dropped the impossible goal of "DO NO HARM". However if the USA government says "don't trust Huawei!", then Google obediently follows.
Back to Chromebooks: we need them for our non-profit, non-commercial agencies: education, lobby groups, special interest groups, etc. Lobby groups, like Donald Trump's Anti-Abortion groups" and Pro-Guns lobby? Yes. The USA government approves, so Google's Chromebooks allows this.
The other advantage of Chromebook is being able to run both Android & Linux applications. However the hardware is important. More memory, better CPU & GPU, makes everything work, if it works OK at all.
When recommending any hardware, we need to know the test hardware being used. Generally the latest hardware is lower priced, better featured than ancient hardware. Perhaps you might mention hardware features in later publications? It would save us need to web search whether your writings are still useful for us.
Lovely comment - I'm 52 and yes I used to program in COBOL, I still think in COBOL. I think netbooks, or slim clients have always been a great idea. It's a shame it's only taken 30 years to get there! Mobile phones are the ultimate thin client. Just installing KDE on my chromebook, we'll see how that goes!
How to Run the Linux KDE Desktop on a Chromebook
Posted by: Jack M. Germain March 11, 2020 11:22 AMChromebooks with the right stuff inside now are able to install and run a complete Linux experience with the KDE desktop without giving up the Chrome OS on the same device. It is not yet flawless, but it does create a hybrid computing platform that lets Linux and Android apps coexist on top of the Chrome OS. I do not mean flashing the Galium OS distribution as a replacement for Chrome OS. I have done that on an end-of-life early Chromebook with usable results. However, I mean running a complete Linux graphical environment with the KDE desktop.
Had some trouble understanding your writings, many months after you had written them. The hardware & software is obviously dated, but not enough detail was presented to understand how relevant the writing is to today's situation.
Here in Australia, we have so much home-schooling, remote working, etc. The internet has arrived, so physical transport (shopping, educations, meetings, exhibitions, etc) has almost ended. Covid-19 has made "THE FUTURE" arrive earlier than most had ever expected.
Not yet dead myself (frail, very old), so decided to see if the old systems can fit today's students. Not notebooks, not smartphones & not iPads. They are costly, limited & difficult for beginners. So we need CHROMEBOOKS.
Trouble is Chrome OS is the commercial version of Chromium OS (open source). Android at the beginning had this same beginning. Hopefully we might see Chromium Books one day, without the USA-government approved spyware from Google?
Luckily Google has dropped the impossible goal of "DO NO HARM". However if the USA government says "don't trust Huawei!", then Google obediently follows.
Back to Chromebooks: we need them for our non-profit, non-commercial agencies: education, lobby groups, special interest groups, etc. Lobby groups, like Donald Trump's Anti-Abortion groups" and Pro-Guns lobby? Yes. The USA government approves, so Google's Chromebooks allows this.
The other advantage of Chromebook is being able to run both Android & Linux applications. However the hardware is important. More memory, better CPU & GPU, makes everything work, if it works OK at all.
When recommending any hardware, we need to know the test hardware being used. Generally the latest hardware is lower priced, better featured than ancient hardware. Perhaps you might mention hardware features in later publications? It would save us need to web search whether your writings are still useful for us.