How to Turn an old PC or Mac into a 'Chromebook

Do you have an old PC or Mac that's just doesn't have the horsepower anymore to pull its weight? You can give it a new lease of life by transforming it into a 'Chromebook'. You can do this by using Neverware's CloudReady operating system.

CloudReady is a modified version of Google's Chromium operating system, the lightweight, browser-based platform that's been developed by New York City startup Neverware. Neverware maintains a list of about 200 systems that are certified to work with CloudReady, but if your old system has the following hardware specs, then CloudReady might still work:

• Minimum 1GB of RAM
• Wi-Fi or Ethernet access
• Access to the BIOS
• 8GB of local storage

CloudReady also has the following chipset and graphics requirements outlined by Neverware:

• Desktops & Laptops: Introduced on or after May 2007
• Netbooks: Introduced on or after June 2009
• NOTE: Netbooks with Intel GMA 500, 600, 3600, or 3650 graphics will have very poor performance despite meeting other technical requirements.

You will also need a USB flash drive with at least 8GB of storage on it to carry out the installation.

You can also dual-boot CloudReady and Windows, depending on the system you have. To do this you will need a system that supports UEFI, and for Windows (versions 7 to 10) to be running in UEFI mode for this to work.

Technically, a system running CloudReady isn't a Chromebook because that trademark belongs to Google, but in terms of how they work, a system running CloudReady looks and feels like a Chromebook. So, if you have an old Mac or PC that's gathering dust because it feels too sluggish, this may be just the ticket for you.

CloudReady is free for individual use, $50 per seat for schools, and an enterprise version is currently in beta. The installer is available for download here.