• The original chromeOS was produced by Google in 2011 exclusively for Chromebooks.

• Along came Cloudready in 2015, developed by a company called Neverware, that was a chromeOS clone designed to run on older PCs. Neverware were subsequently acquired by Google in December 2020.

• chromeOS Flex was launched by Google in Feb 2022 and brought Cloudready into the mainstream chromeOS development allowing it to benefit from features previously unavailable.

chromeOS : Explore

The easiest way to launch this App is from the launcher, just look for the “Explore” app icon, or you can launch it by going to Settings > About Chrome OS and Clicking the “Get Help with Chrome OS” link.

Click here for a Google Blog entry from July 2020 called "Explore” helps you get the most out of Chromebook.

Click here to see an article by ChromeStory from May 2020 called "Explore is Now Chromebook’s Default ‘Get Help’ App"

chromeOS : How To .....

Click here to read a Google Support page called "How To Chromebook" that is packed with links to useful features.

chromeOS : Un-Appreciated Masterpiece

Click here to see this interesting video by a popular and respected vlogger called Chris. Admittedly he may at times delve into some complex areas you may not understand, but if you stick with him you'll begin to get the big picture where he explains a whole lot pretty smart things that can be done with Chrome OS in a way that is reasonably easy to understand.

Click here to read an official Google Support page that provides details of what to expect, and perhaps more significantly it rules out support for Play Store / Android [at least initially].

A couple of handy notes:

If you fancy the idea of giving Flex a go it's really easy. First you'll need a spare Memory stick of 8 Gig or more, preferably of USB 3.0 [USB 2.0 and lower will run slower and may have issues] to create your boot media. Next you need any computer with the Chrome browser installed together with the "chromeOS Recovery Tool" extension.

Click here to see a ChromeUnboxed video that demonstrates the process of creating the USB and test loading using the 'Guest' sign-on.

Click here to see a BusinessInsider article from March 2022 "Google's new chromeOS Flex can revive your old computers — here's how it works and how to install it" that is worth reading through too.

More of how to do this is covered in the links below. You can also see more informative videos on Youtube - like this one * - just search for "Chrome OS Flex" and watch a couple so that you can understand 'the big picture' and what you will be required to do.

• by David Harry, who has created a series of videos on the topic - well worth checking out.

Running the OS from your bootable media is straight forward. Just power off your computer and place the USB 3.0 drive into a USB 3 slot [coloured blue inside] for best performance. If your device is older and does not have a USB 3 port the procedure should still work but perhaps takes a bit longer.

Remember that while doing an initial load your old computer is entirely safe and the test will not affect the content of your computer's hard drive so your existing system and data remain intact.

Be aware that there is an 'approved list' of supported devices. However if your particular equipment is not on the approved list then all is not lost.

If your kit is wired to the internet using an ethernet cable then that is one potential hurdle out of the way.

If your kit uses WiFi for it's internet connection then the easiest way to find out if the chipset is compatible is to give it a go by creating the bootable drive and then setting your BIOS to access it.

This will cause chromeOS Flex to run from the memory stick and, if the chipset is compatible, screens leading to the standard desktop will begin to load and you should be able to connect to your Wifi network with the OS.

From here you can play around and see if you like things, and if and when you are ready you can opt to go for the full installation on to your hard drive which will give you a much faster operation all round - especially if you have an SSD drive and opposed to an older mechanical spinning drive.

BEFORE deciding to go ahead with any OS installation to your hard drive [whether it is chromeOS Flex or any other software distribution of Linux or Windows] make sure that you have made back up copies of all data [personal or otherwise] to your own removable media, or preferably to secure storage "in the Cloud" such as Google Drive, Microsoft One Drive, or any similar service.

19/02/2022 : Flex For Old Chromebooks

The official Google stance is that Flex will not be supported on old Chromebooks for several reasons. However if your device has reached it's AUE [Auto Update Expiration, or End-Of-Life] date then maybe it would be worth giving it a shot as you've nothing to lose.

See this Chrome Unboxed page "The Chrome Cast 151: chromeOS Flex arrives to save ageing laptops".

17/02/2022 : More information from Chrome Unboxed

Click here for a Chrome Unboxed article called "chromeOS Flex versus CloudReady: here are the main differences" which is well worth a read.

A couple of things to note is the alignment to chromeOS [not Chromium OS as with Cloudready] sharing the same code base and the Chrome browser [not the Chromium browser] again for tighter integration.

There also a hand full of improvements listed in the article not least of which is the inclusion of the Google Assistant.

Referring back to the short 5 minutes video, mentioned in the above article, if you listen carefully [around the 4 minute mark] you will hear Robby acknowledge that "Android Apps" and "Linux containers" are not along for the ride yet, but by him merely mentioning them like this it would probably suggest that he believes that they will be included in future releases of Flex.

15/02/2022 : Initial announcements and press articles

These articles from 9to5google and gizmodo introduce what to expect from the new OS and it's closer integration with chromeOS including support for Google Assistant. A brief mention of "Android Support" is then contradicted with "no Play Store support" although, like Cloudready, Linux will be supported on suitable hardware.

Similarly an article by Computer World says that they have been in touch with a Google spokesperson who confirmed that initially [in the first general release] that Chrome OS Flex computers won't currently be able to access the Google Play Store and enjoy the Android apps on chromeOS advantage.

However it went on to say that's something Google suggested could change eventually but wasn't possible in this current early version of the effort (which, by the way, is technically still in an "early access" state). When the first release becomes official then anyone currently running Cloudready will be given the option to automatically upgrade.

Click here to see a guide by ItsFoss that explained the OS that originated from Neverware.