A Chromebook is a laptop of a different breed. Instead of Windows 10 or mac. OS, Chromebooks run Google ’s Chrome OS. These machines are designed to be used primarily while connected to the Internet, with most applications and documents living in the cloud.
Chromebooks run on the Google operating system Chrome OS, which means that Windows and mac. OS programs don’t work on these devices. What operating systems do Chromebooks run on? Chrome OS is the speedy, simple and secure operating system that powers every Chromebook.
Chrome OS is the speedy, simple and secure operating system that powers every Chromebook.
You might be asking “What is Chrome OS and should you use it?”
I discovered that means anything you can do in Chrome for Windows or Mac, you can do in Chrome OS. This may sound like a glorified browser, and it used to be, but things have changed in recent years. Chromebooks can now run Android apps, and some even support Linux applications.
Unlike Chromium OS, Chrome OS is proprietary software. Google announced the project, based on Ubuntu, in July 2009, conceiving it as an operating system in which both applications and user data reside in the cloud: hence Chrome OS primarily runs web applications. Source code and a public demo came that November.
What can you run on a Chromebook?
Here’s the real kicker: remote desktop access. If you download Chrome Remote Desktop to a home PC, then leave it running, you can run any program you like straight from your Chromebook. That includes Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, the full Microsoft Office suite, and even high-end apps like Blender or Apache Spark.
While Chrome OS itself is based on Linux, getting at the underlying system has been difficult due to Chrome OS’s focus on security. If a user can go root on a Chromebook, so can an attacker. Previously, the only way to use a full Linux system on Chrome OS was to put it into Developer Mode and install Crouton.
Should you buy a Chromebook?
If you’re in the market for a new laptop, you may be considering a Chromebook. You might have noticed that Chromebooks don’t run Windows or mac. OS, but they have their own operating system known as Chrome OS. Is it something you would want or would you prefer a more conventional operating system for your laptop?