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Chrome OS is getting full-fledged Linux apps
Google Chrome is getting a big upgrade with the ability to run Linux apps, with a preview set to be released on the Google Pixelbook today before rolling out later to other models, according to a report from VentureBeat.
It's a major addition to Google's web-based operating system, which up until now has offered web-based Chrome applications and, more recently, the ability to run Android apps. But the option to run full-fledged Linux software marks the first time that real desktop applications have come to Chrome OS.
According to Chrome OS director of product management Kan Liu, users will be able to run Linux tools, editors, and integrated development environments directly on Chromebooks, installing them from their regular sources just like they would on a regular Linux machine. According to Liu, "We put the Linux app environment within a security sandbox, running inside a virtual machine," with the apps running seamlessly alongside Android and web applications on Chrome OS.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday May 10 2018, @02:07PM
By seamless, I mean the UI experience. I launch a Chrome OS app. An Android app. A Linux app (but not yet today). It all just works.
I very deliberately bought ChromeOS. It's a geek / nerd paradise.
I had taxable gift from employer which must be spent on tech gadget(s). Started thinking about an Android tablet to replace my beloved Nexus 6, 2013 model which bit the dust a couple years ago. Then I started thinking about low end Chromebooks. Then I looked at higher and higher end. I was focused on Asus C302 with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB SSD. But then I just had to get the Pixelbook. Because.
My reasons were:
* It's a nice machine, nice specs
* Beautiful in appearance, light weight, 360 foldable into tablet, has touch screen, high res
* Self updating, no fuss, turnkey
* Chrome OS apps
* Google Assistant built in ("hey google, how many ways to skin a cat?", google: "42")
* Android apps (quite a large library of turnkey easy to use software)
* Can run in developer mode, effectively rooted, you really do own it
* Plenty of videos, and experience from friends about using Crouton to install "linux desktop" or "linux command only" chroots.
* Microsoft free
* Apple free (although it looks and feels like something Apple would build, in a good way)
Chrome OS already has X. It is Linux with a Chrome web browser.
The chroots simply take advantage of the existing X. In developer mode, it is rooted. You don't even need a chroot. You can run software directly on the base Linux which is Chrome OS / Android. It is not laid out in a way that most familiar distros are, so chroots are great.
With Android, you can run Termux and get many of the advantages of Linux command line software. Node.js, Python, VIM, etc. And I even have Termux installed as an Android app. (because I'm a geek) But nothing like having a "real" Ubuntu desktop -- in a window (like a VM but not a VM).
In short it has all of the turnkey benefits of Chrome OS / Android / Google Assistant out of the box. Plus the vast library of Linux desktop and command line software.
Yet Google makes a model that starts at the low end with 128 GB of SSD and 8 GB of RAM ??? Who are they doing this for? Developers, Developers, Developers. We got my mother in law a Chromebook, and she loves it, but the use case is very different from a Pixelbook.
As for impenetrable sandbox, in Developer Mode, it is about as penetrated as it gets. You can set your own root password on the Chrome OS linux. You can encrypt your chroots easily with Crouton. You can set the BIOS to legacy mode and boot other OSes.
As for local program installation, they added Android to Chrome OS.
Hope that helps. In short, it's a fantastic geek toybox in a small light package.
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