Endless - a Linux-Derived OS and a Laptop on Easy Terms

Endless has just announced that testing of Version 5 of their Endless OS distro has just commenced.

The story grabbed me because living on a boat as I do, I got heartily peed off with MS Windows. My bandwidth is often severely restricted and the endless bloatware updates were hammering me. The final nail was not being able to turn off automatic updates.

I was a Unix user way back (System V) and last year I bit the bullet and switched my 3 laptops to Linux Mint (Cinnamon) after decades of Microsoft. I had to set one of them as dual boot because some of the programs I need on my boat are Windows only.

Anyway, I felt that I'd finally got my life back.

Except that this dual-boot laptop has a power management system which is deeply tied to Windows (you either know or don't, no matter).

Back to Endless

Endless is a US company, a nonprofit foundation since 2020 – which is aiming to bring computers, and computer literacy, to a non-geeky group of customers.

Its flagship product is Endless OS, a rather different sort of Linux distribution to my Linux Mint. It also offers the Endless Key, a bootable USB flash drive with Endless OS on it, and the inexpensive Endless Laptop on easy terms.

Endless OS

All the heavy stuff is unavailable, here are the key non-features:

• root partition is read only, even for superuser

• no apt or dpkg commands or any other command-line package management tools

OS updates are automatic background processes like on a smartphone (thumbs down from me but I can see the point of it).

Other updates are handled by a Red Hat application, OSTree.

The end of fractured updates?

I mentioned my personal problems with limited and intermittent broadband access. This is a real concern. I've been considering moving up from Linux Mint Uma 20.2 to 21.1 Vera. There is now an upgrade tool available which avoids the necessity of a complete fresh Mint install, but I'm nervous of doing it until I'm back on dry land with plenty of bandwidth.

Endless gets round this problem very easily: Updates are holistic and 'binary' - they either completely succeed in one go or they fail and rollback is automatic. OK, so I'd still need bandwidth, but at least the risk of ending up with a trashed system and no web access is minimised.

Other features

• Endless OS is designed to be easier than conventional linux distros. The desktop is based on GNOME (currently 3.38 moving to 3.41 in Endless 5) modified with a blend of smartphone-like and Windows-like elements that greenish users will be comfortable with
• GNOME's application browser and search box are both located on the desktop background
• Pre-installed with a broad selection of applications covering for example Cooking, Sanitation, Health, Myths & Legends and an offline Encyclopedia, plus an assortment of media-creation apps, and some kid-friendly games. That works for me when I'm mid-Pacific with no $5k/month budget for Starlink

The Endless laptop

The hardware is an Asus slab. Specs are modest and modestly described - they are, after all, not aiming at the techie or knowledgeable-user markets.

And therein could be a problem.

So where exactly is the Endless market?

The older generations are set in their laptop ways (as I know them) and the younger generations are smartphone crazy. Kids are using laptops and tablets in school and being educated in their use.

I'm in Indonesia at the moment and everyone here is fully smartphone savvy. Cellphone internet is dirt cheap at $4 for 35 GB and there is access almost everywhere in thus huge nation of over 17,000 islands and 275 million people, despite a lot of poverty.

My other half got frustrated with her Acer notebook (Windows 10...) and so we ordered up a Lenovo Chromebook. Yes, that has it's own annoyances I know. Maybe an Endless laptop would have been a better solution?

But not for me. I need GIMP, KDenLive and a host of other geeky apps in my writing and publishing life.

One more thing: The Endless Key App

It's nothing to do with crypto or security. It's a school on a stick. Kind of.

Safe and curated content

We want all learners to have access to safe, curiosity-based learning experiences, regardless of their connectivity status. Using our Endless Key app, learners can explore dozens of educational resources that are carefully curated to provide extended learning, academic enrichment, and interest-based options like coding, arts & crafts, cooking, and career exploration. Our content is selected based on the developmental and educational needs of diverse learners across all grades and disciplines.

Endless Key is designed for Windows and Chromebook users.

Create your own Endless Key.

The Endless Key is now alternatively available as a freely downloadable file that you can flash onto your own 128GB+ USB storage device. 

 This option is aimed at advanced users, IT administrators or technicians or who wish to create an Endless Key USB device to use on Windows computers. ​

Direction?

At this point I began to wonder if they were losing their prime focus. If they are, then maybe a focus on educational content is a better way to go than trying to sell laptops on easy terms. I suspect that the market will be much bigger.

But yes, I like the concept of the Endless OS. Maybe I'll give it a shot on one of my laptops - when I'm back on dry land!

Endless Key too. The zip file is only 75GB…!

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Please note: This is not a recommendation or endorsement of Endless products. I have not tested them. If you want to find out more, there is more technical press comment at TheRegister.

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