Why colleges in US are affected by a Chromebook ‘drawback’ – Instances of India

The Covid-19 pandemic introduced unmitigated catastrophe internationally and its influence remains to be being felt by many. But, some classes or companies noticed a possibility as properly. A kind of was Chromebooks. Within the final quarter of 2020, the sale of Chromebooks rose a whopping 287% in comparison with the corresponding quarter of 2019. The quite inexpensive laptops which run Google’ ChromeOS caught the flowery of many faculties and college students, particularly within the US. A report now highlights the problems that colleges appear to be dealing with after shopping for Chromebooks.
The quite ‘short’ shelf lifetime of Chromebooks
Based on a report by Public Curiosity Analysis Group (PIRG), colleges are starting to see their laptops fail, creating piles of digital waste and finally forcing colleges to spend additional. The e-waste, in keeping with the report, is a large drawback. “When technology like Chromebooks reach their expiration date, only one-third of this electronic waste is properly recycled. If it isn’t designed to last, our environment pays the price,” famous the report.
Chromebook shipments have additionally been on a decline in the previous few quarters. In February 2023, an IDC Jitesh Ubrani, analysis supervisor with IDC’s Mobility and Client Machine Trackers, stated that “any traction that Chromebooks made outside the education sector will continue to suffer as the economy stalls and as tablets and PCs supplant Chrome-based devices.”
Google’s ChromeOS replace coverage can be a little bit of a difficulty for individuals who purchase used or refurbished Chromebooks. Google says that, “Every ChromeOS device receives regular updates from Google until it reaches its Auto Update Expiration (AUE) date, listed below, subject to support from component manufacturers. When a device reaches AUE, automatic software updates from Google will no longer be provided.”
PIRG argues that no faculty ought to must cease utilizing a laptop computer that also works, simply because it’s reached its “death date.” Moreover, it says that many working Chromebooks find yourself as e-waste because of the finish of software program updates. “Google should extend all model’s Automatic Update Expiration (AUE) to 10 years after its launch date,” prompt PIRG.
Repairing Chromebooks can be a problem, as per PIRG. Spare components aren’t straightforward to seek out and they’re costly as properly. “10 of the 29 keyboards we reviewed price $89.99 or extra, which is almost half the price of a typical $200 Chromebook,” famous the report.