Hello all! No, that title is right… I will no longer be using Windows 11 as my daily driver computer OS. You may immediately think that I am going to Mac OS because it is what instantly comes to mind as the main competitor for Windows. No, I am not switching to Mac OS or Ubuntu because Mac OS lags behind two OS’s… the first is Windows and the second is Chrome OS.
Why Chrome OS:
Many see Chrome OS as an oversimplified OS for schools or old people with no computer experience, but I see it entirely differently. You see, Chrome OS is made by Google, responsible for arguably the most versatile and powerful phone OS: Android. Google is also developing the first OS utilizing a new code base in over a decade. Google has built an incredibly capable OS hidden behind a simple UI. Bottom line is, Chrome OS has some tricks up its sleeve.
How I’m Going to do it:
You may have seen on headlines a week ago that Google released Chrome OS Flex giving anyone the capability to run Chrome OS on a Windows or Mac machine. To avoid risk, Google also allows you to boot to a USB drive, and that is what I plan to do. Unfortunately, the USB drive isn’t here now but I will install it once that arrives. This installation doesn’t come with Android app support, but I can work around that with apk installs and utilize full linux app support… let me talk more about that ⏬
How will I run Editors:
So, the Adobe suite only supports chromebooks via the Android apps and… those are designed for phones. Since there are a lot of installation options, I can get the full Pro suite through other methods. Then, alt photo editors are easy: Gimp. Gimp does support Chrome OS and so does Glimpse distro. Again, video editing has been an issue on chrome os since day one where Google released a poor and unfinished editor that remains to be the only first party full editor.
Why I’m Switching:
Well, this is a simple answer: performance. Chrome OS is based on Linux, and the difference is substantial and really easy to see. Take a cheap $100 desktop, heck even a $50. Neither of these machines, if running windows, would be able to stream 4k video. On Chrome OS it can. As you may remember, my PC has a dual boot with Endless OS (also Linux based) and Linux is incredible because unlike Mac OS and Windows, Linux doesn’t pull a ton of power from the processor for the OS because Linux doesn’t need that much power to run. Even Chrome OS which ironically is one of the more power hungry Linux distros still blows traditional OS’s out of the ballpark. Chrome OS is popular because it is optimized so well for low end machines, but that really doesn’t mean it can’t work wonders on higher end (in my case midrange high) machines. Finally, Windows 11 is getting so many features… Right? All the new Android integration that is coming to windows is already on Chrome OS and will come to Chrome OS first.
Conclusion:
So, that’s why I am ditching Windows! Let me know your opinion in the comments! See you next week!
-Digital Wonders & Smiles
Digital Wonders and Smiles 