Please keep in mind that Flash is retiring as of December 31, 2020. Adobe and all major web browsers will no longer support Flash websites after this date. Below are some FAQs:
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• What is Flash?
  Flash is a multimedia platform developed in the 90s that became popular for animation, web apps, mobile games, etc. Many educational websites have used Flash to deliver a rich multimedia experience.
  
  
• What happens after December 31st, 2020?
  Websites that currently rely on Flash will no longer function on major web browsers such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox, IE, Safari, etc.
  
  
• What do I need to do?
  Nothing. It is the responsibility of the website developer to keep their sites up to date and functioning on web browsers. Developers have known about the upcoming end of Flash since July 2017, which is ample time to redesign their site on a modern platform.
  
  
• How can I still access old Flash sites?
  There is no supported method for accessing old Flash websites after December 31st. Using unsupported software platforms is extremely risky and will not be supported on the CPS network or devices.

More information regarding the end of support for Flash can be found at Adobe.

The long-announced end of support for Google Cloud Print is approaching. As of Jan 1st, 2021, printing via Google Cloud print will be fully deprecated, and GCP printers will no longer function. Users will also notice that the Save to Google Drive option from Chrome print preview will no longer be available.
The use of GCP has never been supported in CPS, but some users may have installed home printers on their devices using this platform. Users that currently leverage GCP will need to install as a standard network printer on their device.
More info on GCP deprecation can be found here.

Chrome OS 85 is being released to the district starting 10/22.

After some development delays due to COVID-19 and the cancellation of Chrome v82 by Google, Chrome OS v83 is finally rolling out to district devices starting on 7/24. Updates will become available in a staggered manner over the following week. Some notable changes between these versions includes new navigation touch-screen gestures and a redesigned Files app.

There have been some reports of Google Meet Grid View acting a little crazy for some users over the past few days. The culprit is one of two extensions in the Chrome webstore with the exact same name. They were being developed using very similar code, but have since diverged a bit.

This would be a great time to mention that Google Meet now has grid view functionality built right in ⁠— no extensions required. You should give it a try and see if you like it. One drawback is that it is limited to a 4x4 grid, or 16 faces on the screen at a time. The reason that Google limited this is for system performance. Rendering 30 video streams in real time is an enormous load on your device CPU, and often leads to stability issues. If you still need a bigger grid then you should make sure you are using the correct Google Meet Grid View extension.

Due to a high volume of accidental Chrome OS device enrollments into cps.edu during remote learning, new device enrollments are being suspended for school-based staff and student users. Moving forward, all CPS users will still be able to wipe and re-enroll Chromebooks that are already under CPS management; no change there. But, users will no longer be able to claim licenses for new, unmanaged devices. This will not affect any contract Chromebook purchases via procurement as they are enrolled by our vendors. However, if your school secures donated Chromebooks, you will need to open a ticket to have new device enrollment permissions opened temporarily. Once you're finished enrolling the new devices, the ability to enroll will be closed back down again. ​Thanks for helping us keep device licensing in our management console in good working order!

Chrome OS is being released to the district on 4/23. The version release was delayed while compatibility issues with the F5 Access VPN were being addressed. The new version of F5 Access (1.0.6) has been released to the Chrome Webstore. No intervention is required by staff users to obtain the newer version of F5 Access; update will occur automatically.

In order to provide better management capability and improve security on Chrome OS devices across the district, ITS is migrating all devices currently utilizing legacy guest mode to the newer managed guest mode by April 1st, 2020. Managed guest mode provides several management benefits over legacy guest mode, including the ability to apply web content filtering when the device is off premises.

While the managed guest mode user experience is nearly identical to that of legacy guest mode, there is a notable difference in how the user logs in.

Old legacy guest login method:
​1. Click Browse as Guest in lower-left corner of the login screen.​​

New managed guest login method:
​1. Click login arrow → under CPS Guest in the user menu of the login screen.