ChromeOS: The Stress-Free Alternative?
ChromeOS. Chromebooks. I am aware that they exist, I know the OS is developed by Google. I know that they are often coupled with low powered hardware and sold cheaply in Currys. But that’s about the extent of my knowledge. Up until now I haven’t really had any reason to even consider a new OS for daily use, but now with the impending Windows 11 upgrade rendered 1 of my 3 desktop computers ‘useless’, (at least from a Windows point of view), I started researching about ChromeOS. Below is a description of the process I went through to switch from Windows to ChromeOS without losing any of my files or bookmarks. From backing up to the new importance of Google Drive, importing browser data, & most importantly, finding alternatives to your favorite Windows programs that you have been using for years! Change is painful, I know, but remember the words of Charles F. Kettering “People are very open-minded about new things, as long as they’re exactly like the old ones.” Unfortunately, in this case ChromeOS is a very different animal from Windows. I’ll consider ChromeOS Flex, which lets you have the ChromeOS experience on your existing Windows machine (or old machine as the case may be) before you commit to anything. By the end, you’ll know exactly whether this switch makes sense for you & what you do.
Getting Your Files Ready for the Move
The idea of switching operating systems sounds like a mess of lost files and missing bookmarks, but that nightmare is just for those who don’t prepare. The biggest fear most Windows users have isn’t learning ChromeOS, it’s the fear of losing a lifetime of important docs, photos, spreadsheets and even browser favorites during the switch. People tend to put off the move for months because they’re convinced it’s going to be complicated, but, like many other things in life, the actual reality is much less frightening!
The truth is the backup process from Windows to Google Drive is surprisingly straightforward: you can drag and drop entire folders. The only issue you might encounter is file space. Will your free 15gb of Google Drive space be enough to hold your data? If your free 15gb Google Drive allocation isn’t going to be enough, just use a USB external hard drive to transport your files from your old Windows machine to your new ChromeOS Flex.
The other big part of most peoples ‘digital life is browser data, think bookmarks, saved logins for websites, handy browser extensions etc. Chrome’s synchronization abilities automatically transfers bookmarks, passwords, and even your browsing history, which means you will have a very smooth transfer while extensions may need to be reauthorized or downloaded and installed again. This sync will work whether you’re using Chrome on your old machine or if you need to import from Edge or Firefox first. The sync is so useful; it includes not just the login deets for all your regular sites but also the autofill data for forms and addresses. Things like this really help to make the transition friction-free.
The photo backup process deserves special mention because Google Photos can handle your entire Windows photo library, including those random screenshots cluttering your desktop. I tested this with about 12,000 photos mixed with videos spanning 8 years (but remember if you’re running a free Google account, then 15gb will be your upper limit of cloud storage before you will have to pay an annual subscription for more). Google Photos automatically organizes your media by date and location and recognizes faces and objects which makes searching so simple. The backup tool maintains the original quality if you choose that option, though you’ll use more space. In Google world storage space is a big ‘important’ issue. Of course you can install ChromeOS Flex on a huge SSD and use that local storage to store your things, but files stored this way won’t be accessible on your other devices. If you nip back over to your Windows machine, then you won’t be able to see them. You won’t benefit from the fancy features of Google Photos.
Your First Hour with ChromeOS
The moment you first boot up ChromeOS will likely be a pleasant surprise. Most Windows folk expect it to feel completely different, but the interface is actually more familiar than different. However, there’s a crucial mental shift that causes problems for huge numbers of new users in their first outings.
Think of ChromeOS as your ‘Windows Start Menu’ Launcher works almost exactly like your Windows Start menu: you click it, type what you’re after, and it appears. The circle icon for the Launcher sits in the bottom, left corner just like your old buddy Windows, or you can press the Search key on the keyboard to open it instantly.
Think of The Shelf at the bottom of ChromeOS as your ‘Windows taskbar’, showing running applications & giving you a place to pin your favorites and regularly used. Right clicking on any app icon pins it on the shelf, and a small indicator underneath indicated which app is currently running. Simple & tidy!
The desktop Window management feels familiar as well! Windows can be snapped to the sides of your workspace left or right, maxamised, minimized etc just like over at Microsoft, and even most of the keyboard shortcuts are surprisingly similar. Your probably using a Windows keyboard; if so, you can use the Windows key instead of the Search key for some shortcuts, which makes the experience even smoother.
The most pleasant surprise is how fast everything loads. App responsiveness and startup times are stunning. And on some hardware, its ‘come out of sleep’ time is just amazing, almost instant!
This is where that mental shift I mentioned becomes crucial: you have to start thinking less about the user interface, and more about your programs and data. Where do they live? The interface familiarity means you can be working within your first hour, but the real test of your nerve comes when you start looking for your old Windows programs that you have used for years to do various jobs. So, what happens to all the old programs you relied on?
Finding Your Software Alternatives
I’m afraid there’s no magic wand here. It’s off to hunt for alternatives. There is no way around it. This is the moment of truth that will decide whether ChromeOS will be able to play a part in your life: that list of Windows programs you use every day and finding what (if anything) can replace them in the ChromeOS world. The common fear is that ChromeOS alternatives will be inferior substitutes, 2nd class citizens. But I got a surprise when I tested the web versions of popular software (a pleasant surprise).
Microsoft Office for example has full web versions that handle complex documents really well and you can access Word, Excel, and PowerPoint through your browser or install them as ‘Progressive Web Apps’, which makes them feel more like native Windows applications.
Photo editing needs are covered by everything from the full Adobe CS web apps to Canva and Photopea, which handles PSD really really well. Photopea particularly impressed me because it opens Photoshop files with all layers intact and supports most of the keyboard shortcuts, you’re already familiar with. And nowadays Canva needs no introduction, and it works flawlessly on ChromeOS. Its interface is arguably more intuitive than many photo editors in Windows, and it includes templates and stock images that massively boost image creation.
A core benefit running though ChromeOS is its Google Play Store integration which means you can run Android versions of your favorite apps. I have to say that some productivity tools actually feel more responsive than theirs when I’m using them on Windows! I’ve found the Android versions of streaming apps launch faster and use less system resources than their Windows counterparts.
For specialized software, PWS’s (Progressive Web Apps) have become increasingly powerful. Some tools like Figma, Notion, and even some CAD programs seem to run smoother in ChromeOS than they do in Windows browsers. I’ve used Figma for design work and Notion for project management, and both performed better on ChromeOS than when I accessed them through Chrome on Windows.
At a rough estimate I would say that about 90% of my typical Windows workflows have equal or better alternatives on ChromeOS, and the remaining 10% remain problematic. All of this leaves me with 1 big question: Can ChromeOS replace Windows for me?
At the time of writing, I’m chuckling at the main headline on the ChromeOS Flex website ‘Upgrade your PCs and Macs to ChromeOS Flex’! So is it a major upgrade or a backward step?
After walking through this entire process, the most surprising discovery for me is that switching to ChromeOS isn’t really about learning a new system (which I was sure it was going to be). It’s more about unlearning the complexity you’ve accepted as normal in Windows. If you’re curious about making this switch, start with ChromeOS Flex on your current machine this weekend – you’ll know within a few hours whether this approach matches your workflow, and you won’t have spent a penny!
“There is nothing wrong with change…if it is in the right direction.” —Winston Churchill
