Today I learned about ChromeOS Flex, which is an easy way to install Chrome OS on any computer:

Try the cloud-first, fast, easy-to-manage, and secure operating system for PCs and Macs. ChromeOS Flex is a sustainable way to modernize devices you already own. It’s easy to deploy across your fleet or simply try it to see what a cloud-first OS has to offer.

I don’t really have a use for it, but I wish I did. I think ChromeOS, with its Linux support for things I care about, like Visual Studio Code and the terminal, would be a fantastic OS for web browsing and some types of software development. I have been thinking about taking an old or underpowered Windows computer and putting Linux on it, but Chrome OS may be more polished and better suited to my family’s needs.

Back when I was an IT auditor, I would recommend that IT organizations at big companies shift their lower-skilled workforce from Windows to ChromeOS. Doing so would reduce support costs for their computers considerably, and would not impact their ability to do their jobs. (All their systems had a web front-end.) That was a long time ago, and there were no takers, but I still think it is a good idea. I’m glad Google is pushing forward with it, and expanding the vision beyond ready-made ChromeBooks to an installable OS.