The Portable Freeware Collection Forums

Considering CloudReady (https://www.neverware.com/) Home edition is free and it can be run portably from a USB drive, I guess it might interest TPFC's community (untested!).

https://www.neverware.com/support#supportlinks wrote:CloudReady is an operating system [...] based on Google's open source Chromium OS. CloudReady uses web apps and cloud storage instead of traditional software and local storage.

Download CloudReady Home edition latest release (currently v59.3) from https://www.neverware.com/freedownload.

Interesting stuff, thanks for posting about that.

Some notes / concerns

• Looks like this is mainly if you want to run ChromeOS on a non-Chrome computer. You seem to be missing out on a lot of features over buying a Chrome laptop.
  
  This is a bootable OS, meaning you don't appear to be able to run this alongside another OS. I didn't see anything about running it in a VM, but that might be an option.
  
  Like ChromeOS, it claims not to slow down over time the way Windows machines do.
  
  The success of this depends greatly on whether or not Google continues to think keeping ChromeOS mostly open is a good idea so I wouldn't exactly throw my IT dept behind this. If Google closes one of the major OS components tomorrow, this effort is finished.

License: free for personal use only

Questions:

• I'm not clear if it requires a net connection in the same way many ChromeOS tools do. The FAQ talks about giving access to the "Google Platform", which suggests it's largely web-driven.
• No indication about what data is or isn't shared with Google/Neverware.
• Talks about encryption but I don't know what that means. Talks about VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) but I can't get a clear idea on how these are remotely administered.
• Really need to see a list of supported apps.

I did a bit more digging on this and I think it makes sense primarily for slower / older machines. Obviously this is an operating system you could run without a hard drive, but I do wonder if it runs into the old problems Linux has with network drivers.

Also, there's a whole section on VDI right on the homepage. Sorry there. https://www.neverware.com/vdi#vdisecurity

So, anybody attempting to use this OS instead of local installed software on a system not connected to the Internet will not be able to access or use the 'web apps'. Handy. All of my portable apps are stored locally because I despise using 'web apps'. The nearly constant reports of some insidious hacking group breaching a supposedly secure cloud service or website doesn't encourage me to trust cloud storage, web apps, or anything continuously connected to the Internet.

Mixture wrote:The nearly constant reports of some insidious hacking group breaching a supposedly secure cloud service or website doesn't encourage me to trust cloud storage, web apps, or anything continuously connected to the Internet.

The lack of reliance on other sources (including internet access) often one of the primary arguments in favor of portable freeware. That was one of the reasons behind my desert island apps thread (which now that I think of it needs an update).

Also, I have a few devices that I use for inconsequential stuff (e.g. playing music, movies, browsing websites) that I don't trust with anything important. I can see CloudReady functioning in this way.

This program got picked up by Google:

https://screenrant.com/google-neverware ... explained/

"...ChromeReady is designed to bring new life to older Mac and Windows computers.

Neverware was founded in 2011 with a focus on helping the US K-12 education system revive aging computers that may have struggled as Windows and macOS added features to take advantage of higher-performing CPUs and more memory. The lower requirements of a Chromium-based operating system meant these older machines would perform as well as when new. Neverware used the name CloudReady to play upon the increasing focus on cloud services, which was a necessity for its operating system. Just as Chrome OS requires most tasks to be handled in the Chrome browser, CloudReady relies upon the Chromium browser. CloudReady started as an education solution, but it is now available to the public as well."

Evidently the project will continue in it's current state, though I don't expect it to remain static over the years. Standard efforts to sell user data should be expected, but I can see this program still being useful to a LOT of people. Its not as if millions of old computers are going anywhere, except maybe a landfill.