Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Okay, so since I did frugal install of BionicPup64 on to one of my old USB, I'm wondering if I could make my old ThinkPad a Chromebook using CloudReady.

Pros:
- CloudReady will turn my ThinkPad into a more-than-powerful-enough internet machine made for daily casual use.
- It might still have some Linux compatibility now that the Linux thing for Chrome OS is out of beta officially.
- Eventual Android compatiibility
-Synchronization across devices

Cons:
- Another device will probably belong to Google now because Neverware, the makers of CloudReady, is now owned by, well, Google.
- No Android compatibility yet. Will have to work with Linux layer instead.

It may seem for me that the pros outweigh the cons so far.

In any case, I do have BionicPup64 USB for a good reason and that is in case something in my ThinkPad breaks and still need to use it somehow.

The main reason I'm posting about is because my Chromebook only has one year left to live and I want a new one ASAP. This'll probably be the last time I'll use my ThinkPad as a guinea pig. Hopefully.

I'm also still deciding. Let me know what you guys think. <3

what will cloudready let you do that puppy wont?

@williwaw In all honesty, that is a good question.

Since I have a BionicPup installed on to the USB, I was thinking I could use CloudReady for more daily casual use. However, I'll admit, I might choose Android-x86 instead for something like if I feel like running an Android app on my ThinkPad anyway. Though I'm nervous about that as well. Mostly because my BionicPup is actually frugally installed to a USB that happens to be 32 GB. I used f2stickpup to make it happen, so yeah.

But yeah, I'm still unsure.

Currently, my regular installation on my ThinkPad is Linux Mint.

r96chase wrote: Sat Jul 03, 2021 12:26 pm

Currently, my regular installation on my ThinkPad is Linux Mint.

for that matter, what does Mint do Puppy cant? Not being contentious, just haven't distro surfed in a while.

Hi r96chase:

I have done several tests with both the latest (at the time) 64 bit and
the retired (no longer supported) 32 bit CloudReady on several older
PC's and on my relative's Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop with Windows Vista.

I stressed to my relative not to click on the "install" option on
the look-alike Chromebook settings menu so that their personal
disk files created over the years with Windows Vista remain intact.

This means, you have to logon with a Google email account
and enter your WIFI password each reboot.

My relative's CloudReady was version 87.4.22 (free Home Build) stable-channel 64-bit.
Here are a few of that CloudReady version's test results after booting
that Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop:

Reddit videos do not work.

Rotten Tomatoes videos do not work.

Facebook videos do not work

TikTok videos do not work.

Note: settings + media plugins + install (was suggested by a CloudReady popup notification)
fixed the above "not working video issues"

Zoom currently does not work (it immediately crashes on either the browser or the "app";
per CloudReady forum: Zoom worked before (with version 85 but now with 87, it crashes.)

Other than that, websites seem the same as on the relative's real Chromebook.

I was pleased that even when testing my own diskless PC's, CloudReady
started the Chrome browser with my Google account's cloud files and my browser bookmarks.

I noted the Neverware website has a long list of brands and models of PC desktops and laptops which
work well with CloudReady and some PC's or laptops are listed with having issues with
perhaps drivers of specific WIFI or video hardware
(their forum may help overcome those issues. https://neverware.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/community/topics)

You might want to check to see if your specific ThinkPad model is "certified".

I think I saw that you felt you needed your CloudReady software to update automatically
like a newer Chromebook would. I believe that means you need to "install" your CloudReady flash drive
on your internal disk drive controlled entirely by CloudReady (having previously copied your old data
off and later reloading that data back via CloudReady.)

You might want to glance at my earlier CloudReady post:
viewtopic.php?f=145&t=2821&sid=93db82f2 ... 5c5e96ed57

I hope this helps.