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0 points_imnothere3d ago0 comments

I can't think of any valid reason for a person with sane mind to do this. Yes, macOS is somewhat closed, but it's definitely more open than ChromeOS.

0 comments

montroser3d ago

What do you mean by open and closed? ChromeOS is based on ChromiumOS, which is open source. I guess macOS is based on Darwin technically, but the ratio of open source to proprietary is much higher for ChromeOS than macOS, no?

galleywest2003d ago

I think they mean closed as in it is more difficult to install whatever you want on a ChromeOS machine as opposed to a MacOS machine.

ufmace3d ago

What is it that you want to install on ChromeOS that you are unable to? All of the usual Linux and open-source stuff works fine on the built-in Linux environment on it. Possibly even a little better than MacOS in some cases, since you don't need to worry about Apple app signing. There's not literally nothing you can't do, but the list is a lot shorter than most people think, especially those who haven't really tried ChromeOS in a decade and think they're all a glorified web browser on $200 hardware.

2 more replies

array_key_first2d ago

But how? You can install Linux and android apps on chrome os. I understand this perspective might intuitively make sense, but we need to analyze if it's actually true.

ototot2d ago

You can even install linux on Chromebooks, and ChromeOS has upstreamed / opensource many of their codes.

In other perspective, ChromeOS supports running Linux apps w/ GUI without much differences. You just open your terminal, type `apt install XXX`, then `XXX` should work out-of-the box.

I don't see any reasons that ChromeOS is less open then macOS

fragmede2d ago

Any? Crostini is neat and all, but it's a VM running inside of ChromeOS, so it's restricted in what it can do.

s1gsegv2d ago

The entire system firmware is open source, so it’s relatively straightforward to replace the system firmware with Coreboot and EDKII to boot normal UEFI Linux. It works excellent. mrchromebox.tech and docs.chrultrabook.com have all the nitty gritty details.

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makeitdouble3d ago

ChromeOS will run on any standard machine and subsystems (qndroid, linux) work decently good.

What concrete points makes you put macos as more open ?

fragmede2d ago

Root on the host OS. Can't change the MAC on the wifi adapter, for instance.

jeffbee2d ago

You can change the wifi mac on any chromeos machine with literally `ifconfig`.

0xBADA553d ago

For small businesses using Google Workspace, Chrome book is so easy to manage.

ryeguy_243d ago

Ha, same. I absolutely love everything about my MacBook Pro.

ant6n2d ago

...except the operating system. And the silly notch. And the weird keyboard. And the hard palm-cutting corner. And the reflective screen. and the finger-print-magnet materials. And the small amount of RAM. and the small SSD. And the weight.

Other than that, it's perfect! (On the blance,still better than any other laptop)

bigyabai3d ago

> but it's definitely more open than ChromeOS.

I don't think that's entirely true. For instance, ChromeOS supports Mesa, which macOS has spent the past decade pretending doesn't exist.

jeffbee3d ago

I can't think of any sense in which this statement could be supported by facts.

babypuncher3d ago

ChromeOS is the absolute last desktop operating system I would choose to use for myself. Linux, macOS, and Windows would have to be completely dead and buried before I would switch, and at that point I might just consider abandoning tech altogether and joining an Amish commune or something.

bigyabai2d ago

When was the last time you tried ChromeOS, out of curiosity? I'd always reach for Linux first, but I'm hard-pressed to put Windows or macOS in second place when both are so miserably bloated.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

montroser3d ago

galleywest2003d ago

I think they mean closed as in it is more difficult to install whatever you want on a ChromeOS machine as opposed to a MacOS machine.

ufmace3d ago

2 more replies

array_key_first2d ago

But how? You can install Linux and android apps on chrome os. I understand this perspective might intuitively make sense, but we need to analyze if it's actually true.

ototot2d ago

You can even install linux on Chromebooks, and ChromeOS has upstreamed / opensource many of their codes.

In other perspective, ChromeOS supports running Linux apps w/ GUI without much differences. You just open your terminal, type `apt install XXX`, then `XXX` should work out-of-the box.

I don't see any reasons that ChromeOS is less open then macOS

fragmede2d ago

Any? Crostini is neat and all, but it's a VM running inside of ChromeOS, so it's restricted in what it can do.

s1gsegv2d ago

1 more reply

makeitdouble3d ago

ChromeOS will run on any standard machine and subsystems (qndroid, linux) work decently good.

What concrete points makes you put macos as more open ?

fragmede2d ago

Root on the host OS. Can't change the MAC on the wifi adapter, for instance.

jeffbee2d ago

You can change the wifi mac on any chromeos machine with literally `ifconfig`.

0xBADA553d ago

For small businesses using Google Workspace, Chrome book is so easy to manage.

ryeguy_243d ago

Ha, same. I absolutely love everything about my MacBook Pro.

ant6n2d ago

Other than that, it's perfect! (On the blance,still better than any other laptop)

bigyabai3d ago

> but it's definitely more open than ChromeOS.

I don't think that's entirely true. For instance, ChromeOS supports Mesa, which macOS has spent the past decade pretending doesn't exist.

jeffbee3d ago

I can't think of any sense in which this statement could be supported by facts.

babypuncher3d ago

bigyabai2d ago

When was the last time you tried ChromeOS, out of curiosity? I'd always reach for Linux first, but I'm hard-pressed to put Windows or macOS in second place when both are so miserably bloated.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse