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Built-in software ‘death dates’ are sending thousands of schools’ Chromebooks to the recycling bin (www.mercurynews.com)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/technology@beehaw.org
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There are few things quite as emblematic of late stage capitalism than the concept of "planned obsolescence".

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[–] 14 points 3 years ago* (7 children)

Give them to the kids with a QR code guide sticker about installing Linux on them? I'm not a kid, but I would love if someone "threw" a couple of these in my general direction.

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  • [–] 12 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    Almost certainly not allowed, schools are responsible for privacy and security on these devices.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    Any standard desktop linux is more private and secure than google spyware

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  • [–] 8 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    And as soon as the IT guy at school installs Linux on these machines, he's responsible for said privacy and security. And he's a lot easier to sue than Google if something goes wrong.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 years ago*

    This is exactly why right here, cost aside.

    I would not hand out hundreds of Chromebooks to kids running some Linux distro I installed even if I could. It's critical to have full manufacturer support in these types of environments.

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  • [–] 9 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Most of these Chromebooks are 3-4 years old and in really rough shape. Kids use these things for literally everything. You likely wouldn't even want them for free. Probably bio-waste at this point.

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  • [–] [B] 2 points 3 years ago

    A friend asked me to fix their daughter's desktop and also asked if she could borrow an old laptop to use in the meantime. The desktop was disgusting with food smeared all over the keys and display. I cleaned it up and fixed it and sent it back. My laptop was returned with food smeared everywhere after just a few days. I was stunned.

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