Chrome OS is a Google-designed operating system based on the Linux kernel and uses the Google Chrome web browser as its primary user interface. As a result, Chrome OS primarily supports web apps.
Google announced the project in July 2009, viewing it as an operating system where applications and user data are in the cloud: Chrome OS primarily runs web applications. The source code and public demonstrations came in November. The first Chrome OS laptop, known as Chromebook, arrived in May 2011. The initial Chromebook shipment from Samsung and Acer took place in July 2011.
Chrome OS has an integrated media player and file manager. It supports Chrome Apps, which resemble native apps, as well as remote access to the desktop. Android apps are becoming available for the operating system in 2014, and by 2016, access to Android apps throughout the Google Play Store is introduced on supported Chrome OS devices. Acceptance was initially skeptical, with some observers arguing that browsers running on any operating system are functionally equivalent. As more and more Chrome OS machines have entered the market, the operating system is now rarely evaluated apart from the hardware that runs it.
Chrome OS is available only pre-installed on hardware from Google's manufacturing partners. An equivalent open source, Chromium OS, can be compiled from the downloaded source code. From the beginning, Google provided design goals for Chrome OS, but has not released a technical description yet.
Video Chrome OS
Supported apps
Initially, Chrome OS was almost a pure web server operating system that relied primarily on servers to host web applications and related data storage. Google is gradually starting to encourage developers to create "packaged apps", and then, Chrome Apps. The latter uses HTML5, CSS, Adobe Shockwave, and JavaScript to provide the user experience closer to the native app.
In September 2014, Google launched the Application Runtime for Chrome (beta), which allows certain Android porting apps to run on Chrome OS. Runtime was launched with four Android apps: Duolingo, Evernote, Sight Words, and Vine.
Maps Chrome OS
Open source
Chrome OS is partly developed under the open source Chromium OS project. Like other open source projects, developers can modify the code from Chromium OS and make their own version, while Chrome OS code is only supported by Google and its partners and only runs on hardware designed for that purpose. Unlike Chromium OS, Chrome OS is automatically updated to the latest version.
History
Google announced Chrome OS on July 7, 2009, describing it as an operating system where apps and user data reside in the cloud. To ensure marketing requirements, companies rely on informal metrics, including monitoring the usage patterns of about 200 Chrome OS machines used by Google employees. Developers also record their own usage patterns. Matthew Papakipos, former technical director for the Chrome OS project, put three machines in his home and found himself in for a short session: to make a single search request or send a short email.
On November 19, 2009, Google released Chrome OS source code as Chromium OS project.
On November 19, 2009, the press conference, Sundar Pichai, as Google's vice president oversaw Chrome, showed an early version of the operating system. He browsed on a desktop that looked very similar to the Chrome browser, and in addition to the regular browser tab, also has an app tab, which takes up less space and can be embedded for easier access. At the conference, the operating system booted in seven seconds, a time Google said it would work to reduce.
Also on November 19, 2009, Chris Kenyon, vice president of OEM services at Canonical Ltd., announced that Canonical is under contract to contribute engineering resources to the project with a view to building existing open source components and tools where possible.
The launch date for retail hardware featuring Chrome OS is delayed from late 2010 to 15 June 2011.
Hardware
Laptops running Chrome OS are known collectively as "Chromebooks". The first is the CR-48, the reference hardware design given by Google to testers and reviewers from December 2010. Retail machines were followed in May 2011. A year later, in May 2012, desktop designs marketed as "Chromeboxes" were released by Samsung. In March 2015, a partnership with AOPEN was announced and the first commercial Chromebox was developed.
As early as 2014, LG Electronics introduced the first device belonging to a new all-in-one form factor called "Chromebase". Chromebase devices are basically Chromebox devices inside the monitor with internal cameras, microphones and speakers.
Chromebit is an HDMI dongle running Chrome OS. When placed in an HDMI slot on a television or computer monitor, the device transforms that display into a personal computer. This device was announced in March 2015 and shipped in November.
Chrome OS supports dual-monitor settings, on devices with video-out ports.
Feature updates
In April 2012, Google made the first update for the Chrome OS user interface since the operating system was launched, introducing a hardware manager with hardware acceleration called "Aura" along with the conventional taskbar. The addition marks the departure from the original concept of the operating system from one browser to the tab and gives Chrome OS the look and feel of a more conventional desktop operating system. "On the one hand, it almost feels as if Google is acknowledging defeat here", writes Frederic Lardinois at TechCrunch. He argues that Google has been trading the original version of simplicity for greater functionality. "That's not necessarily a bad thing, and it may just help Chrome OS get more mainstream acceptance because new users will surely find it to be a more intimate experience."
Connection to Android
Google offers two open source operating systems, Android and Chrome OS, has attracted some criticism and market confusion, as both are client-based and overlap in functionality. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO at the time, accused Google of being unable to make a decision. Steven Levy writes that "incompatibility between the two systems is apparent" in Google I/O 2011. The show features daily press conferences in which individual team leaders, Android Andy Rubin and Chrome's Sundar Pichai, "are not convincing trying to explain why the system is not competitive. "Google co-founder Sergey Brin answered the question by saying that having two promising operating systems is" a problem most companies will face ". Brin suggests that two operating systems "are likely to converge over time." Speculation over convergence increased in March 2013 when Chrome OS chief Pichai replaced Rubin as senior vice president in charge of Android, putting Pichai in charge of both.
The relationship between Android and Chrome OS becomes more substantial in Google I/O 2014, where developers are demonstrating native Android software running on Chrome OS via Native Client-based runtime. In October 2015, The Wall Street Journal reported that Chrome OS would be folded into Android so that one OS would be generated by 2017. The resulting OS would be Android, but would be extended to run on laptops. Google responded that while the company has "worked in ways to bring together the best of both operating systems, there are no plans to stop Chrome OS."
Apps
Integrated media player, file manager
Google integrates media players into Chrome OS and Chrome browser, allowing users to play MP3s, view JPEGs, and handle other multimedia files while offline. It supports DRM video.
Chrome OS also includes an integrated file manager, similar to those found on other operating systems, with the ability to display directories and files it contains from Google Drive and local storage, and to view and manage file content using various Web apps, including Google Docs and Grid. Since January 2015, Chrome OS can also integrate additional storage resources into the file manager, depending on the extensions installed using the File System Provider API.
Chrome app
Google has encouraged developers to build not just conventional Web apps for Chrome OS, but Chrome Apps (formerly known as Packaged apps). From a user perspective, Chrome Apps are similar to conventional native apps: Apps can be launched outside the Chrome browser, offline by default, can manage multiple windows, and interact with other apps. The technologies used include HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS.
Android app
In Google I/O 2014, proof of evidence showing Android apps, including Flipboard, running on Chrome OS has been presented. In September 2014, Google introduced a beta version of the Application Runtime for Chrome (ARC), which allows selected Android apps to be used on Chrome OS, using a Native Client-based environment that provides the platforms needed to run Android software. The Android app does not require any modifications to run on Chrome OS, but can be modified to better support the mouse and keyboard environment. When introduced, Chrome OS support is only available for selected Android apps.
In 2016, Google introduced the ability to run Android apps on supported Chrome OS devices, with access to the entire Google Play Store. Original Client-based solutions were previously removed for a container containing Android frameworks and dependencies (originally Android-based 6.0), allowing Android apps to have direct access to the Chrome OS platform, and allowing the OS to interact with Android contracts like sharing. Technical director Zelidrag Hornung explained that ARC has been removed due to its limitations, including its incompatibility with the Android Native Development Toolkit (NDK), and that it can not escape its own Google compatibility test series.
Linux app
Project Crostini, an initiative that allows command-line and graphical applications designed for major Linux distributions to run in containers on Chrome OS released in the form of a GIT commitment by Google on January 23, 2018.
Remote application access and virtual desktop access
In June 2010, Google software designer Gary Ka? Mar? ÃÆ'k writes that Chrome OS will access remote applications through technology unofficially called "Chromoting" , which will resemble Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection. This name has been changed to "Chrome Remote Desktop" , and like "running the app via Remote Desktop Services or by first connecting to the host machine using RDP or VNC". The initial roll-out of Chrome OS laptops (Chromebooks) shows interest in enabling users to access virtual desktops.
Design
At the start of the project, Google publicly provided many details of Chrome OS design goals and directives, although the company has not yet followed up with a technical description of the complete operating system.
User interface
Design targets for the Chrome OS user interface include using minimal screen space by combining standard apps and web pages into a single tab strip rather than separating the two. Designers assume that reduced window management schemes will only operate in full-screen mode. Secondary tasks will be handled with a "panel": a floating window that attaches to the bottom of the screen for tasks like chats and music player. A separate screen is also being considered to view two parts of content side by side. Chrome OS will follow Chrome browser practices to take advantage of offline HTML5 mode, background processing, and notifications. Designers propose using embedded searches and tabs as a way to find and access apps quickly.
New window manager and graphics engine
On April 10, 2012, the new version of Chrome OS offers a choice between a native and overlapping full-screen window interface, a sizeable window, as found in Microsoft Windows and Apple's macos. This feature is implemented through the Ash window manager, which runs on top of the hardware acceleration machine Aura. Improvements in April 2012 also include the ability to display smaller and overlapping browser windows, each with its own invisibility tab, a browser tab that can be "torn" and dragged to a new position or merged with other tabs, and a list of enabled shortcuts with the mouse at the bottom of the screen. One icon on the taskbar shows a list of installed apps and bookmarks. Writing on CNET, Stephen Shankland argues that with overlapping windows, "Google is booming into the past" because the iOS and Microsoft Metro interfaces are mostly or entirely full-screen. Even so, "Chrome OS is quite different so it's better to keep any familiarity intact".
Architecture
In the initial design document for the Chromium OS open source project, Google describes three-tier architecture: firmware, browser and window manager, as well as system-level software and userland services.
- Firmware contributes to fast boot times by not checking hardware, such as floppy disk drives, which are no longer common on computers, especially netbooks. Firmware also contributes to security by verifying every step in the boot process and incorporating system recovery.
- The system-level software includes a patched Linux kernel to improve boot performance. The Userland software has been trimmed into important things, with management by Upstart, which can launch services in parallel, bring back stuck jobs, and delay services for the benefit of faster booting.
- The window manager handles user interaction with multiple client windows like other X window managers.
Hardware support
Chrome OS was originally intended for secondary devices such as netbooks, not as mainstream PC users, and will run on hardware that incorporates x86 or ARM-based processors. While Chrome OS will support hard disk drives, Google has requested that its hardware partners use a solid-state hard disk "for performance and reliability reasons" as well as lower capacity requirements inherent in the operating system that accesses the app and the majority of user data on the server long distance. In November 2009 Matthew Papakipos, technical director for Chrome OS claimed that the Chrome OS consumes one sixty drive space as much as Windows 7.
Google Cloud Print is a Google service that helps any app on any device to print on a supported printer. Although the cloud provides virtually all devices connected with access to information, the task of "developing and maintaining print subsystems for any combination of hardware and operating systems - from desktop to netbooks to mobile devices - is not possible." Cloud services require installation of software called proxies, as part of Chrome OS. Proxies register printers with services, manage print jobs, provide printer driver functionality, and provide status alerts for each job.
In 2016, Google includes "Genuine CUPS Support" in Chrome OS as an experimental feature that can ultimately become an official feature. With CUPS support enabled, it becomes possible to use most USB printers even if they do not support Google Cloud Print.
Link handling
Chrome OS is designed with the intention of storing documents and user files on the remote server. Both ChromeÃ,® OS and the Chrome browser can cause difficulties for end users when handling certain types of files offline; for example, when opening an image or document residing on a local storage device, it may be unclear whether and certain Web applications should be automatically opened for viewing, or handling should be done by traditional apps that act as a preview utility. Matthew Papakipos, technical director of Chrome OS, noted in 2010 that Windows developers faced the same underlying problem: "Quicktime fights with Windows Media Player, which fights with Chrome."
Security
In March 2010, Google's software security engineer Will Drewry discussed the security of Chrome OS. Drewry describes Chrome OS as a "hard" operating system featuring automatic updates and sandbox features that will reduce exposure to malware. He said that the Chrome OS netbook will be shipped with Trusted Platform Module (TPM), and includes a "trusted boot path" and a physical switch under the battery that drives developer mode. It decreases some special security functions but increases developer flexibility. Drewry also stressed that the open source nature of the operating system would contribute greatly to its security by allowing constant developer feedback.
At a press conference in December 2010, Google claimed that Chrome OS would be the most secure consumer operating system because in part with verified boot capabilities, where the initial boot code, stored in read-only memory, checks the system compromise.
Access shell
Chrome OS includes Chrome Shell, or "crosh", which documines minimal functions like ping and SSH at the start of the show. In older versions of Chrome OS originally on Acer C710, no bash-like shell capability is available. On the next Chromebook like Acer C720, bash is available from crosh, where the entire Linux file system can be found and explored.
In developer mode, a full-featured bash shell (which should be used for development purposes) can be opened via VT-2, and can also be accessed using the crosh shell command. To access full rights in the shell (eg sudo), the root password is requested. For some time the default is "chronos" in Chrome OS and "facepunch" in Chrome OS Vanilla and then default is blank, and instructions about updating it are displayed on every login.
Release channels and updates
Chrome OS uses the same release system as Google Chrome: there are three different channels: Stable Preview, Beta, and Developer (called "Dev" channels). Stable channels are updated with features and improvements that have been thoroughly tested on Beta channels, and Beta channels are updated about once a month with a stable and complete feature of the Developer channel. New ideas are tested on the Developer channel, which is sometimes very unstable. The fourth canary is confirmed by Google Developer Francois Beaufort and the Kenny Strawn hacker, by entering the Chrome OS shell in developer mode, typing the shell command to access the bash shell, and finally entering the update_engine_client -channel canary -channel -update . You can return to verified boot mode after entering the canary channel, but the updater channel disappears and the only way to return to another channel is to use a "powerwash" factory reset.
Chrome OS in Windows
In Windows 8 exceptions allow the default desktop web browser to offer variants that can run inside a full-screen "Metro" shell and access features like Share charm, without having to be written with Windows Runtime. Chrome's "previous Windows 8 mode" is a standardized version of the tablet interface optimized for tablets. In October 2013, modes are changed on the Developer channel to offer variants of the Chrome OS desktop.
Reception
In its debut, Chrome OS is seen as a Microsoft competitor, either directly to Microsoft Windows and indirectly a word processing app and spreadsheet - the latter via Chrome OS dependency on cloud computing. But the technical director of Chrome OS Matthew Papakipos argues that the two operating systems will not completely overlap in functionality because Chrome OS is aimed at netbooks, which lack the computing power to run resource-intensive programs like Adobe Photoshop.
Some observers have stated that other operating systems have filled a niche that Chrome OS is targeting, with the added advantage of supporting native applications other than browsers. Tony Bradley from PC World wrote in November 2009:
After 2009, the Chrome browser rose to the number one browser used worldwide.
By 2016, Chromebooks have become the most popular computer in the US K-12 education market.
See also
- Comparison of operating system
- The operating system linens
- CoreOS
- Instant WebKiosk
- List of operating systems
- Webconverger
- zram - Linux kernel feature
References
External links
- Official website
- Official blog
- Launch blog
- Chromium OS project page
- Chrome OS wiki
- What is Google Chrome OS? on YouTube
- Official announcement
- Google Chrome OS Live Webcast; November 19, 2009
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments