Google Chrome OS

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Google Chrome OS
Google Chrome logo with wordmark (2015) .svg
developer Google LLC
License (s) Google Chrome OS Terms of Service
First publ. June 15, 2011
Current  version 83.0.4103.119 (June 24, 2020)
ancestry GNU / Linux
↳ Gentoo
↳ Chromium OS
↳ Google Chrome OS
Architecture (s) x86 , ARM
compatibility Chrome OS
www.chromium.org/chromium-os

Google Chrome OS , also known as Google Chrome Operating System or Chrome OS , is an operating system from the US company Google LLC . It was originally designed specifically for the use of web applications . Chrome OS now supports native applications that can also be run offline . By on Native Client -based runtime environment also can Android apps to run on Chrome OS. Chrome OS can also run Linux apps through a virtual machine .

Chrome OS is based on the open source operating system Chromium OS , also developed by Google . It is the commercial version of the system that is preinstalled on their devices by Google's hardware partners. It is also possible to install Chrome OS on an older, outdated Mac computer on which the newer operating systems from Apple can no longer be installed due to missing firmware or similar.

concept

The basic idea of ​​Chrome OS lies in the use of so-called web applications by the user, such as those made available by Google, for example with Gmail and Google Drive , as well as with Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Forms . This web client approach from Chrome OS is in contrast to the classic operating system approach for PCs , laptops, etc. in which the user installs and uses native applications locally. Due to the web application focus, a constant connection to the Internet is a prerequisite; no applications need to be installed and maintained. Offline use is therefore only limited, e.g. B. via the use of the HTML5 standard. This makes Chrome OS particularly suitable for use on netbooks that are equipped with small but fast flash memory instead of large hard drives ; Chrome OS should start up and be ready for use on these devices within a few seconds. The graphical user interface of the operating system is reduced to a minimum and does not provide much more than the Chrome web browser , which is the main interaction interface for the user. According to the manufacturer, the system should be quick, easy and safe to use.

With the use of Chrome OS, the user should edit, save and secure his data on the Internet by default ( cloud computing ), e.g. B. the data that accrue when using the web applications. These web applications include the web browser (which is also the platform for many other applications), communication services ( e-mail , social networks , (IP) telephony, messaging services, etc.), word processing , maps and others.

The provider Google in particular also tried direct with the system market share of the operating system - the market leader to win and its control over the native interfaces for applications (Microsoft Win32 , DirectX to escape, etc.).

The system was developed based on a Linux - kernel and the hotel's own web browser Google Chrome . Chrome OS is being developed as a non-freely available ( closed source / proprietary ) variant based on the in-house operating system Chromium OS , which is completely open source software with freely available source code . Whether Chrome OS can be classified as a Linux distribution with the use of the Linux kernel is assessed differently by journalists, experts and organizations, since Chrome OS is also architecturally very different from most traditional distributions. For example, the Free Software Foundation calls Chrome OS a type of “GNU / Linux” (but no statement about “Distribution”), the Linux Foundation lists Chrome OS as a Linux distribution, but the majority reception and the manufacturer describe Chrome OS as an operating system which is based on the Linux kernel.

history

Google Chrome OS was officially announced on July 7, 2009, and one day later the company presented the first OEM partners who were to offer hardware and software together with Chrome OS ( Acer , Adobe , Asus , Freescale , Hewlett-Packard , Lenovo , Qualcomm , Texas Instruments and Toshiba ). In addition, shortly afterwards, Intel also announced that it would take part in the development. Next also the company works Canonical with some Ubuntu with developers of Chrome OS.

On November 19, 2009 the source code of the beta version was published. In December 2010, Google announced that the first devices with the new operating system should only be available in stores in the first half of 2011.

Reference hardware Cr-48

Cr-48, the experimental forerunner of the Chromebook

On December 7, 2010, Google announced the Netbook Cr-48 at a press conference . This was intended as a reference device and was awarded to testers and developers as part of a pilot program, which was not available in Germany. It shouldn't go on sale. The device has a screen size of 30.7 cm (12 inches), a 3G - modem , Wi-Fi , a webcam , a USB port and a memory card reader . It weighs about 1.7 kg. The battery life should be around eight hours in operation and around eight days in stand-by mode.

The keyboard is a specialty: Although the device - contrary to some other netbook models - has a full-size keyboard, the lock and function keys are missing . The former has been replaced by a "search button" and the latter by buttons for common operations within a browser.

Is the name of the device an allusion to the unstable chromium - isotope with the mass number 48th

Chromebooks

Google had the first two notebooks from Acer and Samsung in June 2011 . shipped with Chrome OS. The devices were imported to Europe as US versions (with QWERTY keyboard ). In May 2012, two more models were presented, the Chromebook Series 5 550 and the Chromebox Series 3 desktop computer, which were also developed in collaboration with Samsung. The latter should be particularly attractive for business users. Both devices, which were only available in the US and UK, had a new Chrome OS version installed with the Aura window manager .

Chromium OS

Chromium OS logo
Chromium OS version 23.0.1262.0

Chrome OS is developed on the basis of Chromium OS , in which, in contrast to Chrome OS, the source code is freely available and usable. Chromium OS contains instead of the Google Chrome under BSD license standing Chromium browser . New Chrome OS versions are derived from the current state of Chromium OS development and supplemented by some commercial programs such as Google Chrome, Adobe Flashplayer , Netflix Instant and Google Talk . Chrome OS is thus a commercial variant of Chromium OS installed on devices from Google and its partners.

Interaction with Android

At Google I / O 2016 it was announced that Android apps can run on Chrome OS in the future. The first Chromebooks will be able to download apps from the Play Store from June 2016. Other devices are to follow by December 2016, and Google has published a list of supported devices.

In the upcoming Chrome OS versions, Android apps can be run in three different window sizes and multiple apps can be run in multiple windows at the same time. Operation via touch, keyboard and mouse should work together without any problems. Android notifications should be forwarded directly to the Chrome Notification Center, and files should be able to be exchanged between Android and Chrome OS easily via the file app.

See also

Web links

Commons : Chrome OS  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Google Chrome OS Terms of Service
  2. ↑ https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/search/label/Stable%20updates
  3. ↑ Google: Chrome OS can run Android apps. In: Golem.de . Retrieved March 25, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Chromebooks are ready for your next coding project. Retrieved May 9, 2018 .
  5. ↑ How to turn your old Mac into a Chromebook. May 30, 2016, accessed January 23, 2019 .
  6. ↑ a b Official Google Blog: Introducing the Google Chrome OS . Official announcement on the Google Blog . Retrieved March 25, 2017. (English).
  7. ↑ ChromeOS - Google announces its own netbook operating system . golem.de. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  8. ↑ Google makes Chrome the Faz.net operating system on Dec. 9, 2010.
  9. ↑ Google wants to challenge Microsoft with its own operating system - article at IT-Times.de. July 8, 2009.
  10. ↑ Chrome OS: This is what the Google operating system looks like on computerbild.de
  11. ↑ Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols: The secret origins of Google's Chrome OS. Many people know that Chrome OS is based on Linux. But where did Google's operating system actually come from - and what is it made of today? Here's its story. In: ZDnet. CBS Interactive, April 6, 2013, accessed January 15, 2015 .
  12. ↑ a b Caesar Sengupta: Releasing the Chromium OS open source project. In: Official Google Blog. Google, Inc., November 19, 2009, accessed March 25, 2017 .
  13. ↑ Pascal Herbert: Google releases source code from Google Chrome OS - GWB. In: googlewatchblog.de. November 19, 2009, accessed December 12, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Matt Hartley: ChromeOS vs. Linux: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. datamation.com, September 16, 2014, accessed January 15, 2015 : “ ChromeOS isn't really Linux. When folks ask me if ChromeOS is a Linux distribution, I usually reply that ChromeOS is to Linux what OS X is to BSD. In other words, I consider ChromeOS to be a forked operating system that uses the Linux kernel under the hood. Much of the operating system is made up of Google's own proprietary blend of code and software. So while the ChromeOS is using the Linux kernel under its hood, it's still very different from what we might find with today's modern Linux distributions "
  15. ↑ Jim Mendenhall: Is Chrome OS a Linux Distribution? Starry Hope, January 13, 2015, accessed on June 26, 2015 (English): " The Linux Foundation lists Chrome OS as a Linux Distribution ... Even Free Software Foundation founder Richard Stallman , while he does not approve of Chrome OS's restrictions, recognizes it as "a variant of GNU / Linux." "
  16. ↑ "Chrome OS is a Linux distribution" 8 hits, "Chrome OS is an operating system" 1,740 results at google.de (June 27, 2015)
  17. ↑ Google Chrome OS - FAQ - Article on Google Chrome Blog. July 8, 2009.
  18. ↑ Intel collaborated with Google on Chrome OS ( Memento of July 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (English) - Article at TG Daily. July 9, 2009. (offline)
  19. ^ Google Chrome OS and Canonical . blog.canonical.com. Retrieved December 17, 2010. (English).
  20. ↑ Google publishes the source code of Chrome OS - article at heise online. November 19, 2009.
  21. ↑ An update on Chrome, the Web Store and Chrome OS - Announced on the official Google blog, December 7, 2010.
  22. ↑ Google announces the netbook CR-48 . golem.de. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  23. ↑ Google Cr-48: Inside the Chrome OS 'unstable isotope' . theregister.co.uk. Retrieved December 17, 2010. (English).
  24. ↑ Chromebook: Google's head-on attack on Microsoft . golem.de. dated May 11, 2011.
  25. ↑ Google presents the new Chromebook and Chromebox desktop computer ( memento from June 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), May 30, 2012.
  26. ↑ Chrome OS: New version looks like Windows, disappointed fans ( memento from June 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), from May 30, 2012.
  27. ↑ Chromium OS FAQ. Chromium Projects, Google, accessed March 25, 2017 .
  28. ↑ Dylan F. Tweney: Gadget Lab Hardware News and Reviews Google Chrome OS: Ditch Your Hard Drives, the Future Is the Web. Wired, November 19, 2009, accessed March 25, 2017 .
  29. ↑ List of supported devices
  30. ↑ Jens Minor: Officially: Android apps can soon also be run on Chrome OS - GWB. In: googlewatchblog.de. May 20, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2017 .