At the recent Google I/O developer conference, Google announced that it will be possible to use the Linux operating system in Chromebooks released this year. Such an opportunity, of course, was before, but now the procedure has become much simpler and available out of the box.
Last year, Google began offering the ability to run Linux on select Chrome OS laptops, and since then, more and more Chromebooks have begun to officially support Linux. However, now such support will appear on all new computers with an operating system from Google, and regardless of whether they are built on the platform of Intel, AMD, or even on any ARM processor.
Previously, running Linux on a Chromebook required using the open source Crouton software. It allows you to run Debian, Ubuntu and Kali Linux, but the installation process required some technical knowledge and was not available to all Chrome OS users.
Now, running Linux on a Chrome OS device is much easier. You just need to start the Termina virtual machine, which will start working with the Debian 9.0 Stretch container. That's it, you are now running Debian on Chrome OS. Ubuntu and Fedora systems can also be run on Chrome OS, but they still require a bit more effort to get up and running.
Unlike installing Windows on a computer with Apple macOS through Boot Camp, using Linux does not require multi-booting and choosing an operating system when turning on the computer. Instead, you can use both operating systems at the same time. This, for example, allows files to be viewed in the Chrome OS file manager and opened with Linux applications such as LibreOffice without having to reboot the system and select Linux. What's more, the latest version of Chrome OS has the ability to use the file manager to move files between Chrome OS, Google Drive, Linux, and Android.
While the average user is unlikely to need such "dancing with a tambourine", software developers can greatly benefit from it. The ability to run Linux allows you to develop software for three operating systems at once (Chrome OS, Linux and Android) on one platform. In addition, Chrome OS 77 added support for a secure USB connection for Android smartphones, so developers can now write, debug, and release Android app packages (APKs) using any Chromebook.
Note that when Chrome OS first appeared, many criticized it for the fact that, in fact, it was just a web browser with little additional features. However, Google has continued to add functionality to its desktop OS, and now, with support for Linux and Android, developers can actually move away from Mac or Windows computers. Gradually, Chrome OS became a full-fledged operating system.
Source: 3dnews.ru