"With a software death date baked into each model, older versions of these inexpensive computers are set to expire three to six years after their release. Despite having fully functioning hardware, an expired Chromebook will no longer receive the software updates it needs, blocking basic websites and applications from use…
[Pictured] A pile of Chromebooks with expired software sit in a classroom at Montera Middle School in Oakland, Calif"
@mcc
This is starting to bite at the local library where I teach Code Club (Scratch for kids).
Most of the Chromebooks were purchased about 3 years ago and they’re showing “final update” alerts. Now websites are no longer validating because the Let’s Encrypt certificates are signed by an expired root and they don’t have the new root.
Perfectly serviceable laptops but Google just needed to kill something and so they killed working Chromebooks.
@futuresprog @mcc Yeah, the thing that really hurts is that the number of years that a Chromebook is supported starts on the date then it is released. If the model is being supported for 5 years and it sat on a shelf at Best Buy for 2 years, you are only getting 3 years worth of support out of it.
You can get this screaming deal on a Chromebook that is less than a year away from not being supported and a lot of people bite at that.
mcc
Future Sprog
Joe Steinbring 