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I noticed that you can't do anything other than browse the web and download a few web apps to use offline on the Chromebook, some people online teach you how to install Windows & Linux on it but there is a very high chance that you'll brick it.

So why does Google make it so restricted?

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    That's mostly the whole point of a Chromebook, isn't it?
    – u1686_grawity
    Jun 20, 2016 at 8:55

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There are a lot of possible reasons:

  • It's more secure
  • The less freedom you have to change anything, the more you have to use google services
  • Not allowing you to modify it keeps their brand "clean" and recognizable
  • It makes it harder for you to evade any potential tracking/profiling and thereby allowing them to make money with your data
  • They stay in control of the operating system, enabling them to force updates etc.

Google "walled garden" if you want to know more about all this. It's basically been Apple's approach for years.

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  • FWIW "walled garden" is likely a lot less accurate of an explanation than "that's not needed by the chosen market". ChromeOS is marketed a lot to buyers who need to manage them for other users and for them, being able to lock them down is a good thing. For the "I just want to brows the web" people, it's not a problem and simplifies that use case. For other people, buying something else is the solution. -- If you need to pull a plow, buy a Lamborghini tractor not a Lamborghini sports car.
    – BCS
    Feb 19 at 19:37

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