You Can Now Run Linux Apps On Chrome OS (venturebeat.com)

Google today announced Chrome OS is getting Linux support. "As a result, Chromebooks will soon be able to run Linux apps and execute Linux commands," reports VentureBeat. "A preview of Linux on the Pixelbook will be released first, with support for more devices coming soon." From the report: "Just go to wherever you normally get those apps, whether it's on the websites or through apt-get in the Linux terminal, and seamless get those apps like any other Linux distribution," Chrome OS director of product management Kan Liu told VentureBeat.

Support for Linux apps means developers will finally be able to use a Google device to develop for Google's platforms, rather than having to depend on Windows, Mac, or Linux machines. And because Chrome OS doesn't just run Chrome OS-specific apps anymore, developers will be able to create, test, and run any Android or web app for phones, tablets, and laptops all on their Chromebooks. Without having to switch devices, you can run your favorite IDE -- as long as there is a Debian Linux version (for the curious, Google is specifically using Debian Stretch here -- code in your favorite language and launch projects to Google Cloud with the command line.

Comments

Important to note: not actually a new feature

[Narcocide]

It's only "new" in the sense that they stopped forcibly blocking this functionality. Probably because Windows 10 can run Linux apps finally so now Chrome OS was the only major one left that couldn't.

Re:Important to note: not actually a new feature

[ZorinLynx]

I was about to ask, but you sorta got there first... How is this different than developer mode which gives you full access to the system?

I haven't used Chromebooks in a while; did they take that out?

Re: Important to note: not actually a new feature

[tysonedwards]

Turning on developer mode disables a lot of the security protections. This change keeps the security on and puts apps in a sandbox, just like Android.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Linux Apps?

[TechyImmigrant]

I can run Linux programs on my Linux machine. I've been able to do that for decades.

Linux based machines that hide the underlying functionality are simply stupid.

Re:We’re so close

[green1]

All I really want is developer mode that doesn't have the obnoxious screen allowing any passer-by to wipe your machine by pressing the spacebar.

The only thing "insecure" about developer mode is that stupid boot screen!

While on topic

[jma05]

How good is ARM Linux battery life on a Chromebook, if I replace the Chrome OS completely?
Is it comparable or is it much lower?

Security, reliability. With today's CPUs it's free

[raymorris]

The CPUs do virtualization in hardware these days, so VMs are essentially free. The performance difference is less than 5%, often closer to 1%.

What you get for that is clear separation, in terms of security, stability, etc. No one application can cause problems for the system.

Re:But Why?

[jetkust]

I would. This makes Chrome laptops more appealing to me. When you want to run Linux on laptops you always have to be careful to select the right laptop which is compatible enough to make it worth buying. Having a laptop that is out of the box compatible is different, or at least where the company that makes it is designing it to do what you want to do. Everything I do on a Linux laptop is either in a browser, or in a terminal. I'm fine with Chrome doing the browser work. And if I have a fully functional terminal, ChromOS may be virtually indistinguishable to me at least with how I use Linux on a daily basis. Also I'm cool with the VM, as long as it's seamless and efficient. Plus you're not really running Linux in a VM, you are running the Linux programs in a VM. ChromeOS is still native. But you're doing what it was designed to do, as opposed to always seeming like you're using workarounds. I also like that it would make development for Android more seamless than if on a Linux machine. I won't be ditching Linux for ChromeOS any time soon, but it does increase my interest level.

ChromeOS

[fluffernutter]

This news actually made me interested to try ChomeOS for Android development and possibly see how I can better use the Google ecosystem. For some curious reason it's not easy to download it for people to see if it would work for them. There is some free bastardization of it that requires you to fill out a form and you can try it free, but why would they not just release it like a Linux distribution? If I like it, I might buy a Chromebook, but as it sits I'm not interested.

Re:Security, reliability. With today's CPUs it's f

[AmiMoJo]

Well, it was 1% before Meltdown. Now if you have an Intel CPU it's quite a lot worse than that.

Fortunately most Chromebooks are ARM based.

Re:But Why?

[squiggleslash]

I think you're overthinking this. We're basically looking at a massive increase in the number of laptops that have a supported open GNU/Linux system. On top of that:

- Chromebooks are more secure. The proposal from Google involves sandboxing GNU/Linux applications so they're effectively as secure as the existing Webapp/NaCl/Android applications that Chromebooks currently support.
- There's an extraordinary range of Chromebook laptops, from $150 next-gen netbooks (with 720P screens) to high end rivals to the MacBook Slim (or whatever the fuck they're branded as these days.)

Even better, Chromebooks don't have a capslock key.

From the point of view of the GP, this has opened up a whole range of laptops to him or her that weren't available before. But moreover, it's quite possible that the way this is implemented means those laptops will be more useful to him or her than either that cheap HP thing, or that mid-range Dell thing, or that expensive System76 Slabtop.

I'll be curious to know how well this works. My sole disappointment is I felt that between platforms like Electron and similar but not quite the same platforms like ChromeOS we were going to see more applications written in cross platform, easy to sandbox, ways, and "Debian under ChromeOS" seems like it might slow that movement down. But time will tell.

Website?

[Thelasko]

Does anyone download Linux apps from websites? The first thing I tell noobs is to stop doing that and use the repository. Downloading Linux software from websites is asking for all kinds of problems.