Compare
Against Windows, including where colorburst loses.
If what you need is a browser and some office work, an old machine running Windows is doing a lot of work you never asked for.
| colorburst | Windows | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Licence per machine |
| An 8–10 year old machine | Fast | Usually slow |
| When it breaks | Reset in minutes | Reinstall, half a day |
| Updates | In the background | Asks to restart |
| Account | On the machine | Microsoft account pushed hard |
| Antivirus | Not a thing you buy | A thing you buy |
Where colorburst loses
- Windows software does not run. No Office desktop, no Photoshop, no games. Web versions work; installed Windows programs do not.
- DRM video does not play. Netflix and similar are out.
- Specialised hardware is unlikely to work — scanners, older printers, anything with a Windows-only driver.
- No password recovery. The account is only on your machine, so there is no server to reset it.
Where it wins
- It stays fast on hardware Windows has given up on.
- It resets to a clean state in minutes, not an afternoon.
- It needs no account with anyone, and sends nothing anywhere to sign in.
- It updates itself without interrupting you.
Compared with ChromeOS Flex
Flex is Google's own way of putting ChromeOS on an old PC, and it is good at it. The difference is the account: Flex requires a Google sign-in and is tied to Google's services. colorburst creates the account on the machine and talks to no one. If you want Google's ecosystem, use Flex — it is better supported.