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After Negative User Response, ChromeOS To Re-Introduce Support For Ext{2,3,4}

Posted by Soulskill on from the squeeky-wheels dept.

NotInHere writes: Only three days after the public learned that the ChromeOS project was going to disable ext2fs support for external drives (causing Linux users to voice many protests on websites like Slashdot and the issue tracker), the ChromeOS team now plans to support it again. To quote Ben Goodger's comment: "Thanks for all of your feedback on this bug. We've heard you loud and clear. We plan to re-enable ext2/3/4 support in Files.app immediately. It will come back, just like it was before, and we're working to get it into the next stable channel release."

14 of 183 comments (clear)

  1. re ext support by freddieb · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Correct response. Thanks Google for listening. I definitely would consider a Chromebox however ext support is manditory!

    1. Re:re ext support by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Absolutely, I was in the same camp of considering a Chromebook, but removal of extFS support could have made it a lot harder to work smoothly together with my Linux desktop. I'm glad the devs listen to the feedback they get and are willing to go back on their previous decisions if they prove hugely unpopular with the users.

      Now, all I have to do is wait for the 64-bit Tegra K1 "Denver" Chromebooks to hit the market.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    2. Re:re ext support by SourceFrog · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yeah, I hate Microsoft as much as the next guy, but I'd rather pay for an OS that doesn't spy on me than have a "free" one that does. Each to their own though .. some people are either happy to make that trade-off (which I can understand) or prefer to live in ignorance of it.

      --
      My other UID is three digits.
    3. Re:re ext support by spacepimp · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Fact: MS has been fined for selling (illegally) personal and identifying information of users to political parties in the US.
      Fact: Win 8.1 is a giant step in tying a cloud service/tracking account for all that you now do in their OS, and to boot, the backdoors built in for the NSA are also usable by the black hats of the world.
      Fact: Google doesn't sell your data, they serve ads. Your data is never known to an advertiser, ever, by anything supplied to them via Google.

      You might want to ask yourself why even in the Enterprise, MS tries to foist upon you personally identifying information. so they can track app uses/web c alls made by applications, and send them all to MS for collection.

  2. Re:FOSS by gweihir · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No zombified, closed-down Linux for me. I will continue to use the real thing.

    --
    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  3. So now I've contributed to OSS! by Thantik · · Score: 4, Funny

    So now bitching and moaning constitutes contributing to F/OSS? Awesome! I'm an open source contributor! Now to put this on my resume.....

  4. Confused by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So a bug is a feature and per Google, a removed feature is a bug? Okay, I think I have it.

    --
    Jumpstart the tartan drive.
  5. Re:Ditch ChromeOS, focus on Android by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 3, Informative

    Have you ever tried to use Android in a desktop context? I used it for a while on my netbook (in the form of Android-x86) and let me tell you, it sucked ass.

    Android is made for the "singletasking one fullscreen app" paradigm of phones and tablets, with large touch-friendly controls for small-screen devices. There are a couple of Android-based laptops available, and you know what? They're not selling, because Android sucks for the desktop.

    ChromeOS on the other hand, is made for the desktop paradigm of multiple simultaneous overlapping windows, with controls that are sized for mouse/touchpad usage, not direct touch usage. Sure, Chromebooks have large touchpads now for gesture controls that are kinda sorta similar to what you get on touchscreen devices, but I know I'd much rather use a touchpad than drag my grubby mitts all over the screen, leaving greasy fingerprints.

    Tell us what Android does that ChromeOS currently can't do? Even the most popular apps for Android are severely limited (due to their small-scren touch interface designs), whereas ChromeOS runs the full-on Chrome browser, bells and whistles included. Everything you can do in Chrome on your Windows/Linux/Mac desktop, you can do in ChromeOS. Try that with Android.

    --
    Eat the rich.
  6. Re:FOSS by Charliemopps · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Next up, after negative user response, ChromeOS to publish full source code and become free user-respecting software.

    ChromeOS tends to ship on Tivoized hardware, which isn't exactly Gnu-Freedom; but, in terms of the software on top of the bootloader, what are the deficiencies? I know it ships a proprietary Flash, and whatever bullshit makes Netflix work; but is there anything else?

    I'd like to hear this to. Googles been generally friendly to my FOSS concerns. Perfect? No... but we really are a tiny minority. I appreciate that they understand what we're about and are making an effort. If all you ever do when these companies offer things like this is get pissed and scream "NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!" they will eventually stop trying in the first place.

  7. Just think by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 4, Insightful
    If this was Microsoft instead of Google, the fanbois would be out yelling at the people who complained, telling them what idiots they were, and that no one in their right mind would ever want an external drive on their Chromebook.

    Then Google would have completely ignored the complaints claiming that their research showed absolutely everyone just loved elimination of support for external drives.

    We talked, they listened.

    Sitting here at breakfast, happily using my little Chromebook that boots into Linux when I need it.

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  8. Re:FOSS by Khyber · · Score: 4, Informative

    Of course we're going to rant.

    Fix the old shit first before pushing something new and similarly broken upon us so we at least have something stable to fall back upon.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  9. Don't Bullshit Me, Man by TangoMargarine · · Score: 3, Insightful

    To quote Ben Goodger's comment: "Thanks for all of your feedback on this bug. We've heard you loud and clear. We plan to re-enable ext2/3/4 support in Files.app immediately. It will come back, just like it was before, and we're working to get it into the next stable channel release."

    It's not a bug unless it was an accident.

    --
    Unity? Screw that: XFCE. Slashdot Beta? Screw that: SoylentNews. Australis? Screw that: Pale Moon. UX developers DIAF
  10. Re:FOSS by LWATCDR · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Except this is from Lockheed. While I would not stop all other research Lockheed has a history of making things that most people think is impossible possible.
    First production US jet fighter.
    First aircraft to fly over 70,000ft "level flight".
    First US mach 2 fighter.
    First Spysat.
    First Mach 3 aircraft.
    First stealth aircraft.
    I really would not dismiss this one. It is as least very interesting.

    --
    See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
  11. Re:FOSS by Rich0 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    No zombified, closed-down Linux for me. I will continue to use the real thing.

    Please be sure to stop using your DVR, automobile, and the other 47 Linux systems you intereact with every day which don't offer you a bash prompt. :)

    I do get what you're saying, but the purpose of a Chromebook is not the same as the purpose for the general-purpose Linux distro I'm typing this on.