Tag: Chromebox

With all of the concerns floating about around Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities in Intel processors, Google has been reasonably proactive in letting know users know if their Chromebook or Chromebox is going to be protected.  In that same list, there was another useful bit of information that may have been overlooked:  When devices will stop receiving automatic updates to the next version of Chrome OS.

The column in question can be found on the Meltdown vulnerability list and is marked Auto update ends (*=official).  There you will find the date for everyone Chromebook, Chromebase, Chromebox and Chromebit out there on when it will officially stop getting automatic updates.

The Chromium team within Google has publicly published a detailed list of every Chrome OS device and its status on being protected against the Meltdown vulnerability.  The list can be found here and I strongly encourage readers to visit the link and bookmark it.

The list is broken down into seven columns that provide details for each device.  The columns are:

• Public codename for the device
• Marketing name of the device
• Kernel version
• Architecture (x86, ARM, aarch64)
• Date of when automatic updates end for the device
• If Meltdown protection has come to the Kernel Page Table Isolation (KPTI) in Chrome 63 for that device
• Kernel Page Table Isolation (KPTI) will eventually be updated

The last two columns in this table are the key ones to pay attention to as you review it.  This tells you if your device is protected, will be protect, or at EoL (End of Life) and will not be updated.

HP clearly is continuing to support Chrome OS in a big way.  After announcing two new Chromebooks, the company has announced the 2nd generation of their Chromebox, the HP Chromebox G2.  With the option to power this new Chromebox with up to the latest 8th generation Intel i7 processor, this will be a powerful option for those looking for a workstation or at home Chrome device.  It will be available this Spring.

Keeping with the small form factor, the new HP Chromebox G2 will measure 5.87 x 5.87 x 1.57 inches and weigh 1.48 lbs.  That is pretty consistent with the first generation HP Chromebox.  What changes though are the internals.  The base model will be powered by the Intel Celeron 3865U processor but there is an i5-7300U and i7-8650U option available.  The Celeron option will have the Intel HD Graphics 610 integration graphics option while the Core i models will have the UHD Graphics 620.  Also, you will be able to have up to 16GB of DDR4 RAM and either 32GB or 64GB of storage built into the device.