So you want a Chromebook… but you’re not thrilled about the idea of sharing data with Google? NayuOS is an operating system designed to run on Chromebooks without sending any data to Google’s servers.
It’s a free and open source fork of Chromium OS from developers at Nexedi, and there are builds available for download for a number of Chromebooks from Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo, and Toshiba.
A Chromebook without Google services might not have some of the features you’d expect from a normal laptop running Chrome OS. You won’t be able to easily install apps from the Chrome Web Store or have your preferences backed up to Google’s servers so you can pick up on one machine where you left off on another.
But the developers of NayyOS says you still get some of the benefits of a Chromebook when using their software, including support for inexpensive hardware, fast boot speeds, and strong security since apps are run in a sandboxed environment that isolates them from the core operating system.
NayuOS is aimed at developers and in addition to removing the Google login (you always run NayuOS in guest mode), the operating system adds tools for development, connecting to other devices on a local network, and more.
Another advantage to NayuOS is that it’s said to work well in China or other locations that gave limited access to Google services.
via Hacker News