Chrome OS is a new “cloud” operating system being developed by Google for use on relatively low-power laptops and tablets. “Cloud” - precisely in the sense that all work will be carried out by the user on the Internet and his data will mainly be stored there. Some local functionality will also be present, but will play a clearly auxiliary role, say, in case there is no Internet connection. This revives the original idea behind netbooks, which, although running conventional general-purpose operating systems, should have become a kind of Internet set-top boxes (as even the name, which comes from the word network, suggests) - but did not.

By the way, it is useful to think about the reasons for this precisely in the context of Chrome OS - what prevented netbooks from forming a separate class of devices: was it just the lack of a suitable specialized platform or the unwillingness of users to abandon familiar programs and the accumulated experience of working with them in favor of web applications and the web? -storages? I believe that the second factor played, if not a determining, then at least a significant role - here you have issues with the reliability of network resources, and far from universal (convenient and cheap) access to the Internet, and, for now, a huge discrepancy in functionality. Accordingly, I want to end this short introduction with an answer to another question that our readers quite often ask when discussing articles: why do we need this? Indeed, today it is unlikely that you will be able to get much benefit from Chrome OS - by installing it on your existing computer you will not get any new features. Moreover, the full benefits of its specific architecture can only be realized on specially designed devices, so despite being open source, it is designed for use by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), not end users. Accordingly, it’s worth reading this article and trying Chrome OS for yourself, rather, out of healthy curiosity and the desire to keep up with progress - even if Chrome OS was somewhat ahead of its time, this does not mean that the situation will not change tomorrow, especially since we are well aware of Google’s ability “push” their technologies and solutions.

Background

We first heard about Chrome OS just a little over two years ago, and in November 2009, the code for the new operating system was open-sourced as part of the Chromium OS project. At the end of 2010, Google presented a model Cr-48 Chromebook to a narrow circle of developers and beta testers, and this summer the first commercial products from Samsung and Acer appeared. They have indeed already been dubbed “Chromebooks” (Chromebook, i.e. Chrome OS + netbook/notebook) and, undoubtedly, this name will stick.

Rice. 1. Visually, the Samsung Chromebook is no different from ordinary laptops, and its internal structure has only a few features

Many other OEMs have also announced their intention to release products on Chrome OS, including not only the laptop type. For example, xi3 ChromiumPC should rather be called “chrometop” (Chrome OS + nettop). But it is clearly noticeable that none of the OEM is in a particular hurry, and the point is not even the dampness of Chrome OS itself (which is certainly the case), but rather the concept behind it. In addition, the first “Chromebooks” (due to configuration features) are not so cheap - the recommended price for the older model Samsung Chromebook Series 5 (Atom N570, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB SSD, 12.1″ LED display with a resolution of 1280 ×800, Wi-Fi, 3G modem) is $500, for this money today it is quite possible to find a better equipped general-purpose laptop.

Rice. 2. xi3 ChromiumPC is a very compact computer, essentially an Internet set-top box that is supposed to be mounted on the back wall of the monitor

Architecture

Chrome OS's focus on working with web applications determined its specific architecture.

Rice. 3. The absence of the need to run locally any applications other than the browser made it possible to simplify the Chrome OS architecture as much as possible and provide it with several specific features

As you would expect, it is based on the kernel (version 2.6.32 from the Ubuntu project, to which the necessary corrections and improvements were then made) and the Linux system environment. Since Chrome OS is designed to run one single application program in the classical sense - a browser - the latter was made compact and lightweight. X Window is also as stripped down as possible, although OpenGL support is retained (for the sake of WebGL), and the window manager is essentially combined with the browser. All other functionality, starting with OS configuration tools, is implemented by web applications that are created using HTML5 and Adobe Flash (it is likely that support for closed third-party technology is a temporary solution, a tribute to the current state of affairs on the Internet), accordingly, there are no other windows in the system, other than browser tabs and "panels" similar to the one typically used for Google Talk.

There are three main goals pursued by this architecture: simplicity, speed, security. The first has been taken to the absolute extreme: the user does not need to know anything about such things as drivers, utilities, etc. The system partition is closed for write operations, user data is stored in a specially designated area (although, of course, it is mainly supposed to be stored in the cloud). Unlocking is only allowed for developers; it is not supported in commercial products. System updates are performed automatically, as is now the case with Chrome. All that is required from the user is to be able to work with the browser; he will comprehend the necessary details as he gets acquainted with the web applications he needs.

With speed, everything is not so clear: in this context, they are mainly talking about the speed of initialization of a Chromebook - if Google's OEM requirements for device design are met (using EFI instead of BIOS, SSD instead of HDD, etc.), this figure should be no more than 8 seconds. Reviews from happy owners of Chromebooks indicate that this is absolutely possible and, in addition, the initialization speed does not drop over time, since the user, no matter how much he or she wants, cannot “litter” the OS, as often happens, say, with Windows. The performance situation for web applications is less clear. Although commercial Chromebooks are relatively powerful devices (dual-core Atom, 2 GB of memory, SSD), a large number of tabs rich in active content can completely load their computing resources. Google requires the use of a video system that supports hardware graphics acceleration; the “delights” of working without it can easily be experienced in a virtual machine, where Chromium OS, under certain conditions, simply eats up all available resources and falls into a stupor. But even on the right Chromebooks, there are complaints about performance, in particular, about video playback, which, apparently, is due to hardware limitations. In addition, a radical reduction in system services and background processes has a beneficial effect on the operating time of Chromebooks. Of course, it depends on the capacity of the battery installed in a particular model and the nature of use, but, for example, the specification of the above-mentioned Samsung Chromebook Series 5 promises about 8.5 hours of continuous operation (according to a special test from Google itself) and according to the first reviews this is not far from truth.

Finally, security, the importance of which is difficult to overestimate in the Internet era. Chrome OS is designed in such a way that it is virtually impossible for foreign code to enter the system, regardless of its purpose. Additionally, all system components and updates, which, as mentioned above, are installed automatically, are signed with digital certificates. Attacks against the browser and third-party modules plugged into it are contained within individual tab processes, thanks to Chrome's built-in sandboxing mechanism, which has proven effective even in the much less restrictive Windows environment. In the worst case scenario, a reboot should return the system to its original “clean” state, but the developers still allow for the possibility of an intrusion and, in this case, provide a system integrity check during the Chromebook initialization process. For the EFI firmware, the system kernel and important components, hashes are verified and stored in a securely protected location (this can be an EFI encrypted area or a TPM chip, the second option is preferable). If mismatches are detected, the recovery process is initiated.

Because Chromebooks allow multiple users as well as anonymous guest sign-in, all locally stored data is automatically encrypted with keys generated for each Google account. Again, TPM is preferred for encryption and key storage, although software implementation is also possible. Apparently, the first OEMs adhere to this recommendation (which, among other things, leads to an increase in price), but if Chromebooks go into circulation, someone will probably want to reduce the price as much as possible, accordingly, when choosing a model, you should pay attention for this item.

Of course, we must understand that there is no absolute protection. Thus, at the recent Black Hat security conference, a method for hacking Chrome OS (or rather, some Google web applications and services) was already demonstrated, providing attackers with access to contacts, cookies, and accounts. This example clearly shows how the attack vector is changing - Chrome OS itself is not of much interest, but the browser and web applications are used as a backdoor to user information in the cloud. The flip side of the closed software core of Chrome OS is the impossibility of expansion - for example, you cannot add Java support to the system, not to mention Moonlight, as well as codecs, etc. As mentioned above, all user capabilities are limited to Flash and HTML5, web applications and extensions Chrome.

It's worth noting how big a role EFI plays in the architecture and support of Chrome OS, which is referred to as firmware in Google documentation. EFI, as you know, is a development of BIOS and has been used for a long time in Macs running Mac OS X, but almost never in “traditional” PCs, although its support is present in 64-bit Windows. The firmware code plays a fundamental role in speeding up boot time due to early initialization of devices, it may also contain basic drivers for additional equipment, and the security system and disaster recovery functions are significantly tied to it. Thus, although Chrome OS allows work with a regular BIOS, in the general case this does not make sense, so it is not at all by chance that Google is targeting the platform for OEM use, and not for self-installation, say, as a second OS - although no one has the latter option , naturally, does not prohibit it.

Rice. 4. EFI firmware plays a vital role in the Chrome OS architecture, providing important features such as fast boot and system recovery

Chrome OS should run on x86 and ARM platforms. The latter most likely means use on tablets, but they already have Android, so why another OS? I think Google's main idea is to enable OEMs to leverage a wide variety of powerful, yet inexpensive x86 hardware, and to enable web applications to run on the widest possible range of devices at desktop quality - i.e. in full-fledged Chrome, with a predictable rendering engine, with a powerful JavaScript engine, with hardware acceleration of HTML5 and WebGL, etc.

We test it ourselves

As I said above, the Chrome OS code is developed as part of the open source Chromium OS project. This is a rather subtle point. Chromium OS can be downloaded and used by anyone, but Chrome OS is only available on real Chromebooks. The fact is that Chrome OS contains a number of closed components, in particular, a PDF reader and audio/video codecs, perhaps some others. In addition, Chrome OS blocks developer-oriented features, such as the terminal. Therefore, in the following sections I will refer specifically to Chromium OS, mentioning Chrome OS only when we are talking about the concept itself or actual Chromebooks.

The standard way to get acquainted with Chromius OS is to download the source code and compile it in a Linux environment. But for most users this is a rather complicated and time-consuming procedure, and also completely unnecessary for the purposes of the first acquaintance. Many enthusiasts distribute already compiled assemblies; for example, on the website you can get the latest “nightly” assembly at any time. Many people refer to this resource and its creator seems to be known, but I still recommend that for experimental purposes you specifically create a new Gmail account, which is required to log in to the system.

Rice. 5. Builds are posted every day, it makes sense to take the latest one

This site offers images of a bootable USB flash drive (and a burning utility) and virtual disks for VMware Workstation/Player and Oracle VirtualBox. In theory, the option with a bootable flash drive is preferable, since you can work with it on real hardware - but only on the condition that it turns out to be compatible with Chromium OS. Unfortunately, the latter is not always done; most often the video system is not recognized (the OS is either not initialized at all, or hardware graphics acceleration is not enabled) and the network adapter, especially the wireless one. My most successful experience was with the Acer Aspire One on the new AMD Brazos platform: Wi-Fi did not work, and although the graphics were picked up, the acceleration gave strange results and effects, so it was not even possible to get adequate test results. In a word, the USB option is worth a try for everyone, but for guaranteed results, use virtual machines.

Oddly enough, for these purposes I recommend using Vmware solutions rather than VirtualBox. For me (perhaps it was due to some peculiarities of my computer), Chromium OS worked unstably in VirtualBox, with various strange effects, but in Vmware Player it was not only more stable, but also visually somewhat “faster”. In addition, Vmware Player is also a free product, and it is even easier to adjust the configuration of a virtual machine.

So, first, register and download it yourself - about 100 MB. Installing the program does not require additional actions, you can safely agree with all the options offered, at the end you will need to reboot.

Rice. 6. The least problematic way to test Chromium OS is Vmware Player

The Chromium OS image (archive of about 250 MB) for Vmware will be distributed with a ready-made virtual machine, but I recommend that you configure it further before use. Unzip the downloaded file, launch Vmware Player and open the file with the .VMX extension (something like ChromeOS-Vanilla-0.14.805.2011_08_21_1656-r8ca0f243-VMWare.vmx). Then right-click on the Chromium OS machine that appears in the left pane and select Virtual Machine Settings. Although the preset parameters are quite sufficient for the functioning of a virtual machine running Chromium OS, depending on the host configuration they can be adjusted - for example, by adding RAM or processor cores.

Rice. 7. Although Chrome OS is designed for the Internet, Flash and HTML5 are quite taxing on processing resources, so adding them to the virtual machine can't hurt

Next, select Hard Disk (IDE) from the list of virtual equipment and note in the right panel the name of the hard disk image file. It will look like ChromeOS-Vanilla-VMWare.vmdk, while the file name from the archive will include the date and other details - it needs to be edited accordingly.

Rice. 8. You need to correct the name of the virtual disk file so that it matches what is specified in the virtual machine settings

Now select Network Adapter and select the NAT connection type in the right pane.

Rice. 9. NAT - the most universal and trouble-free mode of operation of a virtual network

In this case, Vmware Player does not allow you to configure the video system from the graphical interface, there is no such option in Chromium OS, therefore, if you do not take additional actions, the virtual machine will work in an unpredictable resolution - for example, for me it even exceeded the physical resolution of the monitor. To fix this situation, you need to open the virtual machine file (.VMX) in Notepad and add the following three lines at the end:

svga.autodetect="FALSE"
svga.maxWidth="1024"
svga.maxHeight="768"

In this case, the working resolution will be 1024×768; specify other parameters if necessary. Finally, in the main menu of Vmware Player, select File and there - Player Preferences. Since you still cannot install the Vmware Tools component in Chromium OS, you can uncheck the Check for software components as needed option to disable constant reminders.

Rice. 10. Uncheck to avoid Vmware Tools reminders every time you start the virtual machine

Now you can turn on the virtual machine.

First meeting

After a really quick initialization, you'll see a welcome and initial setup screen. Many languages ​​are supported - let's choose Russian.

Rice. 11. Chrome OS supports many languages, although localization is not fully done

Next comes the Login screen, where you can specify your existing Gmail details, create a new account, or perform a guest login, during which it will be impossible to make and save any changes to the system.

Rice. 12. You can work in guest mode, but it is better to create a separate account

The last stage of preliminary setup is choosing a picture for your account. It is not too wide, naturally, you won’t be able to take a photo of yourself in the virtual machine, but in the future you can upload any image.

Rice. 13. The last stage of pre-configuration of Chromium OS

Then, finally, you will be taken to the Chromium OS environment itself. Here you will immediately be asked to master simple gestures for working with the touch panel of Chromebooks, which makes no sense in the case of a virtual machine, in addition, this page will not shine with speed, so you can safely close it right away. As a result, we will see the Chromium OS interface - the Chrome browser (or rather, also Chromium). All further work is carried out with it, so that users who have relevant experience with the desktop version will feel quite comfortable and confident. However, there are some features that everyone should get acquainted with.

Rice. 15. You can use some gestures on Chromebook touchpads, but they are useless in a virtual machine.

Rice. 16. If you have already used an account, all settings will be picked up: browser design, applications, extensions (to the right of the address bar). In the title bar are system indicators, below is a wrench to access settings

The Chromium OS interface differs from regular Chrome in the presence of several icons in the title bar. Initially, the rightmost one is the battery charge indicator (in a virtual machine, of course, it does not work); then - the network connection indicator, visualizing the type of network (wired or wireless), clicking on it opens a menu where you can configure connection and VPN settings; Next comes the keyboard layout indicator, which can be switched either through the menu or using the Alt-Shift and Ctrl-Space combinations (return to the previous one); and finally, the clock. Although the Chromium OS window manager is as simplified as possible, the system can create not only new tabs, but also new browser windows (Ctrl-N), in which case they open on three-quarters of the screen, and another icon appears in the title bar for collapsing and expanding them (switching by Alt-Tab and Ctrl-).

It's easy to see that the minimalist design of Chromium OS encourages the use of keyboard commands, and to help with learning and remembering them, Google has built visual cues into the OS. It is called by Ctrl-Alt-/ (in fact, this is the only combination that you absolutely need to remember), then you can press various control keys and explore the available combinations.

Rice. 17. Visual help for keyboard commands is called by Ctrl-Alt-/. In this case, combinations with the Ctrl key are shown

Some control can also be carried out from the system menu, similar to that in Chrome, but in this case containing more commands and options. Chromium OS is not an operating system that needs configuration, and most likely the user will not need to look here. However, there are settings for time, touchpad, languages, accounts, and network.

Rice. 18. A button with a wrench provides access to a few system settings

Like Chrome, Chromium OS has hidden settings, usually governing features that are still in development and unstable - you can get to them by typing about:flags in the address bar. Experimenting with them is not encouraged, although virtual machines encourage this, and even on real Chromebooks it is easy to roll back to the previous state of the system.

Rice. 19. You can access experimental options through a special page

For those who like to really delve into the details, another trick will come in handy: a special address chrome://chrome-urls - with its help you can get a list of all similar URLs for pages with secret knowledge. They won't be of much help, of course, but they can provide some interesting information, such as memory allocation or Flash plugin version.

Rice. 20. You can get a list of all system pages with settings and additional information at once

Chromium OS, intended mainly for developers, has a command shell called crosh (called Ctrl-Alt-T). It provides network utilities (ping, route, ssh), as well as a shell – essentially a standard terminal. *nix experts can take advantage of this opportunity to, for example, try to add some modules, codecs, plugins for Chrome to the system, although, as far as I know, no one has yet succeeded in connecting Java. The command shell is not available on Chrome OS

Usage

Most of the tools listed above are completely unnecessary, most likely they simply won’t be on real Chromebooks. As I already said, the general idea of ​​Chrome OS is for the user to work exclusively with the browser. This is why Google supports a store of web applications and Chrome extensions, where you can already find almost everything you need for everyday activities. Google itself offers many really useful services, the same Google Docs and Google Dictionary (the pop-up translation of which works, surprisingly, no worse than that of local dictionaries), and third-party developers are not lagging behind. For example, one of the latest new products is the Kindle Online Reader from Amazon, which can download books locally and work without an Internet connection. As a result, the Chromebook can be used as an e-reader.

Rice. 21. The usability of Chrome OS depends entirely on the quality of the web applications you use. Fortunately, there are more and more of them, a wide variety of

Offline work is a fairly important point. Although many people can no longer imagine life without the Internet, it happens that it is not available (on an airplane) or, for example, too expensive (in roaming). Of course, I wouldn’t want the Chromebook to simply turn into ballast in this case. Google naturally understands this and is working to provide some minimum of offline functionality. You can log in without an Internet connection for previously used accounts. In Chromium OS itself, there are currently only two local applications (except for Chrome, which should be considered as part of the OS): a file manager and a media player - both are quite primitive. The first one knows only a few formats, mostly multimedia; even some .doc will have to be uploaded to Google Docs yourself. The second one cannot even play mp3, but this only applies to Chromium OS: as I said above, Chrome OS has some codecs built into it. One way or another, the situation will gradually improve - thanks to HTML5, which allows you to simply and efficiently provide offline execution of web applications from a special cache.

Rice. 22. Built-in Chromium OS applications are primitive, but without them it would be completely sad

Another important aspect of Chrome OS is support for additional hardware. Chromebooks are initially equipped with everything necessary: ​​Wi-Fi adapters, 3G modems, SD card readers, web cameras, etc. But the list of compatible models is apparently quite scant. Enthusiasts try to make their own builds of Chromium OS with additional drivers, libraries, etc., but this violates the purity of the original idea. USB ports also allow you to connect only select categories of devices. Initially, these included keyboards and mice, now the Google website reports support for USB drives, although I could not get it to work in the current build. Work is underway to support Android smartphones.

On the other hand, the inability to connect printers is even presented as an advantage: “forget about cables and drivers!” But miracles, of course, do not happen, and the printer still must be connected somewhere - with a cable and driver, and printing in Chrome OS is carried out through the Google Cloud Print system. For it to work, you must have either a special printer that connects directly to the Internet and the corresponding Google service (for now this is only the HP ePrint line), or any other printer connected to a computer running Chrome. In the latter case, you need to go to the advanced settings section of the browser, connect locally available printers and, if a different Gmail account is used in Chromium OS, give the appropriate permissions.

Rice. 23. First, on a regular computer, you need to connect available printers to Google Cloud Print

Rice. 24. Then - give the necessary permissions

In Chrome OS itself, all printers available for the current account will be automatically displayed in the Google Cloud Print window, which is also called up from the advanced settings. By launching the page printing function, you can select the one you need from the list and even configure its parameters, down to the hardware resolution. Preview has been introduced in recent versions of Chrome, but does not work on Chromium OS due to the lack of built-in PDF viewers. Recently, the Print to Google Docs function has also appeared, which involves converting to PDF.

Rice. 25. When printing via the cloud, you can even adjust basic printer settings. This feature is available in any Chrome browser, but in Chrome OS it is the only one

Conclusion

A small retreat

This post is just impressions of use, thoughts on how you can use this machine. A post about delivery, where I ordered it, how I placed the order, etc. (in photos) will come later. Now I would like to express my thoughts in a somewhat dry form.

What happened before...

Before talking about the acquisition, it is necessary to mention the tasks I perform:

• working with email (five mailboxes on average);
• work with documents of all imaginable formats (.doc, .rtf, .txt, .docx, .odt, .xsl, etc.);
• modeling business processes, drawing up and maintaining projects;
• working with the regulatory framework, searching for regulatory documents;
• negotiations via various messengers (icq, jabber, gtalk, skype, irc, etc.);
• working with tools for analyzing website traffic (Yandex.metrics, google.analytics, etc.);
• graphics editing;
• working with company websites, website engines;
• software testing.

Also “for myself” I work with php, css, html, tcl, python, erlang. Now I’ve started learning Io (offtopic: it’s a great language, I don’t understand why it’s so poorly distributed), I’m waiting for official GUI support in Rebol3 (it was cut out of the official build, but there are simply no unofficial ones compiled for *nix).
This results in a fairly extensive list of tasks that need to be grouped in one convenient workplace. Initially, I tried to cram all this into Windows 7, but it became inconvenient to use; if something needed to be compiled from source code, Hell began. Therefore, I switched to Linux as a working system (previously I was picking for myself). I tried Arch, Gentoo, Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, CentOS. As a result, I settled on OpenSuse as a more stable and less ancient distribution in terms of program versions (IMHO!).
Over time, the need arose to transfer large files to people geographically located several thousand kilometers away. Started using git, dropbox, box, etc.
Due to the fact that our compatriots often layout documents crookedly (you should have seen some of the reports - it’s terrible), but I needed a correct display, I started using Microsoft Skydrive and their cloud office. And Evernote, which I got very used to while studying at university.
Bottom line: a large number of programs, many cloud services, a lot of software, a large number of constantly transferred files.
Let me clarify right away - I work on my own machine, because I need access to work documents 24 hours a day.

Acer C7 & Google Chrome OS

When the laptop arrived, the first thing I did was scold myself for not immediately ordering an adapter from an American plug to a domestic one for 1 buck. I was lucky that the Packarge Bell multimedia laptop had a similar charger (they were now bought by Acer). Therefore, the problem can be considered temporarily solved (I completely solved it when I bought this adapter at the nearest household appliances store).
The operating system booted quickly, asked for a login and password for Google mail, as well as a key for the WiFi network and a language. The first startup took a couple of minutes, after which I immediately got to the desktop, which had no shortcuts or the usual start button. Only a panel at the bottom of the screen (transparent) with buttons - Google Chrome, Gmail, YouTube, Google and an application menu (of which Google Office, a file manager and a couple of other applications are installed).
The rest had to be installed from the application store...

Clouds

The first thing we had to get used to and understand was that most of the applications in the system are “cloud-based”. The first thing I decided on was office applications. Google Office and Microsift SkyDrive have completely resolved this issue.


Evernote is like a web client, no need to explain.
Messenger - IM+. Previously I was on IMO, but I liked IM+ more.
For email - Gmail Offline (I have Gmail mailboxes, not Google mailboxes - they make transfers to them).
To carry out simple calculations (on your knees) - Numerics Calculator (programmable, cloud-based).

For SSH - Secure Shell.
Sometimes I need to write something quickly that won't end up in a notebook or calendar. A note that will be needed for a couple of hours. For these purposes, I liked Writer - a simple notepad-type text editor that binds to a Google account and saves everything written to files.

Editing graphics? What was written in flash - Pixlr Editor - was enough for me. It's not Photoshop or even Gimp. But for purposes like cropping the background and inserting it into a website, it will do just fine.
Viewing graphics from the inside, video and audio, in principle, too.


Modeling? I liked the draw.io service the most.
Next came a hobby that I do in rare hours of rest ^_^.
The choice of IDE is still in process. Main candidates:

• Cloud9 is a powerful IDE, supports one closed project and three open projects, and can synchronize with GitHub and DropBox. Supports the syntax of many languages, has a terminal emulator (with the ability to call major scripting languages).
• Koding is a fresh product, still in the open beta stage via invites. I registered, a month later I received an invite (if anyone needs it, write in a personal message, there are 2 available). Still in semi-working condition. It’s attractive because it allows you to immediately install frameworks like Ruby on Rails and a faster terminal emulator (from which I mostly need tclsh). The experience of working in it is more pleasant, more responsive in operation, more convenient in the interface (a hybrid of IDE and social media).
• FriendCode is an IDE for teamwork, that says it all. I don’t yet know how convenient it is, I haven’t had time to try it out. Later I’ll tell you what exactly I chose and why, then I’ll add to the description of this environment.

Compiling code? It is carried out mainly at home on a “working” (intended for development), separate laptop with OpenSuse. Accordingly, project files are downloaded through the interface of the same IDE.
Well, as a last resort, there is an excellent service that can compile 40 programming languages.
Music? Everything here is also very interesting.


Firstly, there is an excellent service called Grooveshark, which allows you to listen to music in the cloud and create your own playlists. At the same time, what is missing can always be downloaded from the local machine and the music will always be available.


The second is the absolutely crazy Achshar Player, which is even worse than tkabber. An offline music player written in HTML5+JS with playlists, libraries and more. At the same time, when you open a folder, it immediately copies the contents of this folder to the hard drive (i.e., you opened the folder from the hard drive, all the contents were copied to your media library, you got tired of it - deleted it from the player and from the media library at once).

Extensions

Since Google Chrome OS is primarily an OS browser, add-ons to the browser are especially important for ease of use. So I have a simple clock (so I don’t even need to look at the tree stump), a save button in Google Drive and a plugin for Gmail that allows you to read and write without going to the service page. I haven't used the rest yet.

Native Client

The most delicious and interesting. Google has provided technology that allows you to make “offline” applications that run in a browser window. Some of the ones I have delivered are Google Docs, GFort, Gmail Offline and a remake of the great StarControl 2 - The Ur-Quan Masters. Everything works like a charm, without an Internet connection.

So far there are very few applications written in this way, but I think everything is ahead. Technology, as far as I know, is not a year old yet.

Collaboration

This is where things get interesting. Firstly, Google gave 100 GB on their Google Drive to everyone who bought a Chromebook." In total, we have 420 GB of space (if you count the hard drive of the machine itself). Plus all the cloud services. As a result, we have 320 spaces on a local machine, yes more than 130 GB in the clouds. It all needs to be linked somehow. Copying to Google Drive is done simply using the built-in file manager File. But what to do when you need to transfer something from Box or DropBox, say, to GitHub? - openera, which can link all the above-mentioned clouds into a single interface through a Google account and help you specify the rules for “sending” files (for example, use only Box for pictures. Do I need to transfer the file to a colleague? Do I share it in Google Drive or throw it on GitHub (depending). what kind of file).

Impressions from the OS

Simply gorgeous. It loads quickly, works quickly, and has never frozen. It is updated more or less regularly, but not constantly like Windows. The first OS I'm on just working, A I don't play OS settings before work. At first I was upset by the lack of a terminal, but now I understand that I actually don’t need it for the tasks I’m performing.

Ergonomics Acer C7

Photo - later, in another article. Now it’s just my impressions - I haven’t had a more convenient machine (and I’ve worked for HP, Acer, Fujitsu SIMens, Dell, Sony, Asus). I hardly touch the stationary Packarge Bell with Win7 and the working HP Pavilion dm3 with OpenSuse. 60% of this is due to the OS, but 40% is due to ergonomics. Comfortable keyboard, large touchpad that understands gestures, nothing superfluous.

What's left overboard

A lot, actually. For example, Google Chrome OS is a full-fledged Linux. Yes, initially it does not contain make, gcc, mc, etc. But there is almost the entire GNU environment, including tar and a full-fledged bash. True, to do this you need to switch to developer mode (which is what my friend did on the third day of use), after which the crosh terminal (called in the browser tab) can be entered with the “shell” command, which really turns on full-fledged bash in the browser tab. This means we can improve the system ad infinitum. It turns out that we have a system that is equally suitable for both the user and the geek: from a housewife to an economic analyst and a programmer. I found the perfect Unix for me. I wish the same for you. Thanks to everyone who read this heap of thoughts!

Can I work on a Chromebook without an Internet connection? What restrictions await users accustomed to Mac and PC? We will help owners of exotic laptops quickly understand the unusual OS and show its capabilities using the example of popular software.

On the Internet you can now read a huge number of critical reviews of laptops with the operating system from Google. Many people believe that a Chromebook is a computer for housewives and grandmothers who only use a browser and applications for communication. Is it so?

Initially, it is worth noting that the Chromebook as a class of devices cannot currently be considered as a full-fledged replacement for a desktop PC or a traditional laptop. Moreover, if you are an advanced user who needs specific professional software, then a computer with Chrome OS will most likely not suit you either. However, this does not mean that the Chromebook is not good for anything. In fact, for a large number of home and business users, these devices can become a convenient tool for work and entertainment. What will we see when we open the cover of the device for the first time? How to start working?

First start

When you turn on your Chrome OS computer for the first time, you'll be prompted to choose your language and keyboard layout, and prompt you to immediately connect to a Wi-Fi network. Connecting to the Internet at such an early stage is not at all accidental, since in the next step you will see an authorization window in which you will need to enter the username and password for your Gmail email. Due to the fact that Chrome OS uses a Google account as an account, immediately after logging in, you will have access to email, calendar and other Google services. If you work away from home, remember to lock the system when you leave the computer, or use two-step authentication in those Google services that you want to protect from prying eyes (https://www.google.com/settings/personalinfo). If you need to share your computer with other people, choose Guest mode, which doesn't use your personal Google Account.

The operating system is updated without user intervention, so you don't need to think about what version of the OS you have - all stable versions of updates will be downloaded and installed automatically. Experimental OS development updates can only be installed in a special Developer Mode (see the Advanced Users tab).
If, after logging in to your account for the first time, you do not switch the input language, go to the system settings by entering chrome:// settings in the browser address bar, select , open the section Language and input settings and make sure that the languages ​​you need are present in the left column of the window, and in the right side opposite each language mode (when highlighted in the left column) at least one layout model is activated.

Also note that Chrome OS has a handy feature that simulates a mouse click by tapping the touchpad firmly (without actually pressing it). To enable this option, open the Chrome browser, enter in the address bar chrome://settings and press Enter . In the settings window that opens, in the Device section, click Touchpad and Mouse Settings , activate the item Enable tap-to-click feature .

Reset and recovery. To create an emergency flash drive for system recovery, just insert any drive or memory card with a capacity of at least 4 GB, open the Chrome browser, enter in the address bar chrome://imageburner and follow the instructions on the screen.

The system also has a built-in ability to reset all settings to default values, deleting all personal files in local storage. To carry out the operation, just click on the clock in the lower right corner of the Desktop, enter the section Settings , click on Show advanced settings and scroll down the page and press the button Powerwash .

How to solve the problem with WI-FI on Chrome OS?

Users of some models report abnormally low speed or unstable Wi-Fi connections. If you are also facing this issue, try the steps below to fix the situation.

Work with documents

Many users are perplexed as to how they can work normally with documents if the Chromebook does not have the Microsoft Office suite, which is still widely used in the post-Soviet space even when most of its capabilities are not in demand. In fact, working with text, tables, and presentations in Chrome OS couldn't be easier, and you can do it without an Internet connection. By default, Chrome OS uses QuickOffice to open office documents. To fully create various documents from scratch, it is convenient to use the Google Docs service, which works without problems offline in a browser window in the same way as if it were a full-fledged office suite.

Despite the fact that third-party services support opening documents of all popular formats (including DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX), you need to keep in mind that when opening Microsoft files with complex formulas and diagrams, you may encounter incorrect interpretation of the formatting documents, and sometimes even get a “moved” document. True, similar problems arise with really complex text files, tables with many formulas, and some types of PowerPoint diagrams. Most files open correctly in cloud services. Of course, all newly created documents on a Chromebook can be saved not only to the cloud, but also to a local drive in familiar Microsoft Office formats.

If you are faced with a complex Microsoft Office document in which formatting errors are unacceptable, or you just want to play it safe by checking that the files are displayed correctly, then you should use Microsoft cloud services: Word Online, Excel Online, PowerPoint Online. Microsoft's "cloud" office, unlike Google Docs and QuickOffice, does not work offline, so it can hardly be recommended as a main tool, but in emergency cases it can be a great help.

Another point that affects the interests of users is the inability to directly connect the printer to the Chromebook to print documents. However, any file can be printed through the Google Cloud Print cloud service (http://www.google.ru/cloudprint/learn) if you have a modern printer that supports this technology. If the MFP is not compatible with cloud printing, then you can use another PC with a printer connected to it and use the Google Cloud Print service to redirect print jobs to it.

Installing programs on Chrome OS

In Chrome OS, the list of programs is hidden in the Chrome browser settings in the section Extensions. It is there that you can see the full list of installed applications, disable or delete unnecessary ones. To install new programs, just go to the application launch menu, click on the shortcut Shop and on the page that opens, select and install the products you like by simply clicking a button For free .

If you downloaded the program for Chrome OS not from the official store and want to install it, click on the clock in the lower right corner of the Desktop, click the button Settings , go to the tab Extensions , tick the option Developer Mode , press Download unpacked extension , and then select the folder with the program files and click Open b. If the downloaded program has been archived, then before the procedure it is necessary to extract the files from the archive in advance.

Chromebook offline

Laptops with Google OS are, of course, focused on working on the Internet, but can be useful without access to the Internet. Specifically, without an internet connection on your Chromebook you can:

• Work with documents in Google Docs and QuickOffice in the browser
• Work with Gmail mail (requires installing the Gmail Offline application)
• Work with Google Drive files (marked for offline access)
• Work with local storage
• View photos, videos, listen to music
• Use software from the Chrome Store that supports offline mode

File storage

To work with files, Chrome OS comes pre-installed with the Files file browser. It is difficult to compare the program with Windows Explorer, since it is extremely minimal and has only basic capabilities, and its design is more reminiscent of the Finder in OS X or file managers in Linux systems. Of course, based on the fact that Chromebooks are focused on working with “cloud” services, a shortcut to the Google Drive virtual storage is displayed in the left column at the beginning (by the way, Chromebook owners can get additional space for storing files in this service for free). Next on the list is the folder Downloads , which can be considered analogous My documents in Windows, since in Chrome OS it is the default main working folder. In the upper right part of the Files window you can find a gear icon, behind which are hidden options for switching the type of file display (available modes: list, thumbnails), and a free space counter is also located there.

In Files you can copy, move, create and rename folders and files, view thumbnails of images (RAW files are partially supported, currently there is support for Canon CK2 files), visually see the main file types, focusing on icons, etc. The context menu also has a built-in function for archiving and unpacking archives (ZIP, RAR, TAR, TGZ, TBZ2 formats are supported). For example, if you double-click on a ZIP archive, the unzipped folder will be mounted and displayed in the left column in Files, from where, after checking the contents, you can safely copy the files to your personal folder. You have to be careful when working with important data in Files, since Chrome OS has no equivalent to the Windows Recycle Bin, so file deletion operations cannot be undone.

When connecting external hard drives and flash drives, shortcuts to access new devices appear in the left column of the Files browser (you can also “safely remove” them there by clicking on the triangle to the right of the media name).

If Chrome OS has multiple apps that can open the same file type, it will usually show up in the action button list in the bottom right corner of Files. However, some third-party applications do not integrate into the file manager interface, so they will have to be opened through the main launcher.

Working on the Internet

You can only feel truly confident in Chrome OS if you have a fast Internet connection, since in this case you can use more applications and services, which make up much of the functionality of the device (many programs in the Chrome store are not actually , but are only shortcut links to online services). Even when changing your desktop wallpaper, you will be faced with the need to connect to the Internet, since the collection of pictures is downloaded from the Internet.

To surf the web, of course, you need to use the Google Chrome browser (you won’t be able to install another one). In general, in Chrome OS the Internet browser occupies a central place, since it is the basis of the entire system (despite the fact that the OS is built on the Linux kernel). Unlike the versions of the Chrome browser on PC and Mac, here we see that even the section Settings is not only the settings of the web browser, but the entire computer. In addition, in the section Extensions , available at chrome://extensions , there is not only a list of additional browser modules, but also a complete list of all installed programs, which in turn can be browser extensions, independent applications, and even just links to “cloud” services.

So, on Chrome OS, you can take full advantage of the Chrome browser with its many extensions, as well as access a wide variety of applications written exclusively for Chrome OS.

Since the system uses Google user accounts as accounts, all bookmarks and the list of extensions will be synchronized partially or completely with other devices with the Chrome browser (depending on their settings and OS type). To check what data is being synced, open Chrome web viewer and in the address bar type chrome://settings and press Enter , In chapter Users click the button Additional synchronization settings and mark the items that interest you.

Torrent on Chrome OS

The operation of BitTorrent clients in Chrome OS has always had some rough edges. If in the first models of Chromebooks torrent clients refused to function at all, which forced users to change the system configuration through developer mode or use various tricks to connect external servers, then in new versions of the operating system from Google there is no need to suffer with the command line, but a convenient client is up to still not.

At the moment, the Chrome store has many browser add-ons that are designed to work with torrent trackers, but most of them either do not function at all or are unstable.

There are only two not very ergonomic, but successfully working programs - JSTorrent (paid) and Bitford (free).

The JSTorrent client processes modern magnet links and functions quite stably. Bitford can be used to open simple torrent links, although it does not work with some trackers.

Photos and graphics

Considering that there are no full-fledged Photoshop or Lightroom-level packages for Chrome OS, there is no need to talk about professional work with photos or graphics here. However, a Chromebook can be useful even for professionals, for example, on the road: for transferring files from a DSLR camera to external hard drives or for previewing footage. For amateur photographers who shoot in JPEG, the standard capabilities of Chrome OS may be quite enough. In addition, it is known that there are plans to support RAW from different camera manufacturers in later versions of the operating system. Standard features for working with images in the Files file manager include adjusting brightness and contrast, as well as an auto-correction option.

You can get more tools by installing the Pixlr Touch Up app from the Chrome Store. This product is a self-contained photo editor for Chrome OS that opens in a separate window (not the browser) and supports offline operation. The program allows you to crop images, adjust brightness and contrast, apply retro effects, textures and text to photographs, as well as retouch portraits.

You can also use the online version of Photoshop on a Chromebook, but using it even with a fast Internet connection is extremely inconvenient. Plus, Chrome OS's complementary apps offer a variety of simple tools for creating creative effects. For example, the doubled program allows you to very accurately simulate the effect of multiple exposure (in film photography: shooting twice on the same frame of film) by combining several photo files.

Useful hotkeys in CHROME OS

• "Ctrl+Shift+L" - computer blocking
• "Ctrl+Shift+Q" - end the session
• "Shift+Alt" — switch input language
• "Alt+Search" — activation of Caps Lock
• F4 (fourth key with display icon to the right of Esc) - full screen mode
• F5 (fifth key with the display icon to the right of Esc) - switching between working windows (analogous to the Expose function in OS X)
• "Shift+F5" - take a screenshot of the entire screen
• "Ctrl+Shift+F5" — take a screenshot of the selected area
• "Shift+Esc" - open process manager
• "Alt+1-8" - launch a specific application pinned to the shelf (0 - Chrome shortcut, 1 - the first application to the right of the Chrome icon, etc.)
• "Ctrl+Enter" - rename the file to Files
• "Ctrl+E" - new folder in Files
• “Ctrl+Alt+?” — call a hint for all keyboard shortcuts

Chrome OS for advanced users

If you don't want to deal with the limitations of Chrome OS, you can install a Linux system, such as Ubuntu, as a second OS. There are even special builds of Linux optimized for Chromebooks: ChrUbuntu (installs as an independent second OS and requires a reboot to start) and Crouton (can run in parallel with Chrome OS without rebooting, switching between the two OSes using hotkeys). To be able to modify the bootloader and experiment with installing different OSes, you need to put your Chromebook in Developer Mode. In older laptop models, the mode switch was located under the battery, so you had to remove the back cover to activate it. In modern Chromebooks, entering Developer Mode is very simple: press the keyboard shortcut “Esc+Update+Enable” . If you then see a message on the screen stating that the system is missing or damaged, click "Ctrl+D" , and then Enter in a window asking you to disable the scan. After the reboot, a warning will appear on the screen stating that OS scanning is disabled. Ignore this message and do not press any keys, wait for the beeps and the computer to automatically restart again. After the second reboot, the device will enter Developer Mode. Next steps
and OS installation methods may vary for specific laptop models. You can find detailed instructions on the Chrome OS Wiki. Another approach to expanding the capabilities of a Chromebook is to use it as a terminal for remote access to a desktop PC or another laptop with a more capable OS. To do this, you can use the application built into the system by default. Chrome Remote Desktop or choose an alternative from the many similar solutions from other developers available in the Chrome Store.

Multimedia

Music. In Chrome OS, you can use the Google Music cloud service, which allows you to bring together your entire collection from iTunes, Windows Media and other services so that the once compiled music library is synchronized with all your iOS and Android devices and is also accessible via browser.

If you don’t use music services, but download music from other sources yourself, then listening to it on a Chromebook won’t be a big problem either. In the Files browser on Chrome OS, double-clicking any audio file automatically launches the built-in player. You can listen to music without an Internet connection. It’s very convenient that opening one song from an album folder automatically creates a new playlist with all the tracks in the same folder.

Keep in mind that the built-in player only has basic functions: play, rewind, repeat, shuffle. Unfortunately, in Chrome OS at the moment you will not be able to connect DSP audio processing to the player or open files with labels for breaking down large mixes into songs in CUE format, as well as playlists in M3U format, in a standard player. Despite all the limitations, if you are at least a little audiophile at heart, then you will probably be pleased that built-in, more or less decent third-party music players are gradually beginning to appear in the Chrome store, which, of course, still lag behind iTunes in terms of capabilities on Mac, AIMP on PC and even PowerAMP on Android. However, they successfully play music, and some even know how to load album covers.

Video. The built-in video player is available when opening files in the Files program. It can play most videos in popular formats AVI, MP4, MOV, MKV, 3GP and others.

To play Flash videos, you can use FLV Player, available as a free download from the Chrome Store. To watch a movie with subtitles from external files in SRT format, you will need to download and install a third-party player; however, you can launch the player through the application menu and open the desired file directly inside the program. Connecting files with subtitles is done in the menu to the right of the player's time counter. In the same menu, you need to switch the encoding mode from “UTF-8” to “Windows 1251” if there is a problem with Russian fonts not displaying correctly. This player also supports downloading subtitles in different languages ​​within its interface, adjusting font size and other simple functions. Of course, there is no need to compare the capabilities of the player with the same KM Player on Windows or even VLC on OS X (it is clear that the set of options is very poor). However, you won't be left without movies on your Chromebook. In addition, it is possible that it was thanks to such software restrictions that developers managed to achieve longer battery life for devices with Chrome OS, which in some cases is more important than the number of options.

Of course, we should mention that at the time of writing, there were problems with the playback of some video files using the ASZ or DTS codecs: such videos were played without sound. It is also necessary to take into account that most Chromebook models do not use the most powerful hardware, so you should not count on flawless playback of heavy 1080p high-definition videos.

While typing these lines on a laptop, I can spill tea on it, throw it off the table, or simply throw it out the window. But if we ignore purely material losses, my information will not be lost. She simply isn't here. It is located in the cloud and is not tied to any device. Today, all modern operating systems are somehow connected to data clouds, in which users can easily save their files. But Chrome OS has this built into its very foundation, and not acquired through long evolution. This is why Google OS raises so many questions, because we are accustomed to one model of using computers, and then suddenly a completely different one appears. And also how it appears. If you look at the market, over the past year the number of Chromebooks has been increasing, Acer and HP have shown new models, Samsung is preparing an update, and LG and ASUS are ready to support their competitors. Previously, we asked ourselves whether there will be a Chrome OS or not, and if there is, then why is it needed? Today we can already say exactly what will happen, but why it is needed, I will try to answer below in this usage experience, in which I used the Chromebook Pixel, Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 for almost three weeks.

Not just Google

After the first turn on, Chrome OS asks you to enter your username and password for your Google account, which ends the initial setup stage. If you previously used a Chromebook, the system will pull up all the applications you installed; if not, then only the browser settings. Big brother is watching. But this can be said about any modern operating system, each of them tries to save user information. You can only accuse Chrome OS of being Google-centric, but that’s the company’s business model: if it makes an operating system, its services should be there.

There are plenty of apps, or more accurately Google sites, in Chrome OS right out of the box. A person who actively uses the company’s products will be pleased to find icons for Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar and other services in the program menu. But all of them can be safely removed, opting for other, even competing solutions.

And although they, in some cases, will not be so well designed to work with Chrome OS, there is an alternative. Even the built-in search system, the holy of holies of Google, can be changed to something else. The only thing Google can't concede in its OS is the browser. Chrome is essentially the core of the Chrome OS interface, so it can't be replaced by Firefox or Opera. As a result, when you first launch Chrome OS it is pure Google, but the user is free to decide which services suit him best.

Chrome in every line of code

The Chrome OS interface largely consists of Chrome browser windows, but unlike the first versions, today it looks almost like a full-fledged OS.

It has its own “Start” button, which contains installed applications, as well as a search bar.

For the latter, there is a separate key on the keyboard, and it searches not only on the Internet, but also files and programs on the computer itself, as well as in the application store.

There is also a kind of “Taskbar” on which you can pin icons of frequently used applications. They all run in Chrome, but the user can choose opening options, for example, in a separate tab or in a separate window. In the latter case, the open site most closely resembles a real program.

Windows of open applications can be managed; for this, there is a special set of functions that allows you to expand the window to the full screen, place it on the right or left, and also minimize it to the “Taskbar”.

To view all open windows, you must press the designated key on the keyboard.

The only program that does not run in the browser in Chrome OS is the file manager, which has only two folders: “Downloads” and “Google Drive”.

Actually, all files downloaded from the Internet are saved in “Downloads”, after which they can be dragged into “Google Drive”. You cannot create new top-level folders, only add them to existing ones. In addition, in the file manager you can open a variety of files, such as photos, music and videos, I will talk about this in more detail below.

It is worth noting that downloaded documents in Chrome OS are not opened in Google Docs, but locally, on the computer itself in the beta version of the Quickoffice application, which also allows you to edit them and save them to Google Drive.

It is quite possible that Quickoffice may soon become the standard office suite in Chrome OS, at least it copes better with Microsoft Office formatting.

More than just a browser

People who claim that Chrome OS is just a browser are actually lying. After its launch, the OS really looked more like an exotic version of Chrome, but today it is almost a self-sufficient system, with offline programs and other capabilities.

Despite its image as a cloud OS that must always be connected to the Internet, Chrome OS is gradually transforming into something more than just a browser. With the Internet, there are certainly more possibilities with any operating system than without it. And with Chrome OS offline today you can do almost the same thing as with a regular computer. You can watch movies, listen to music, edit photos and documents, and read email. You can't really play games. But in general, the number of offline programs for Chrome is increasing all the time; the Google store even has a separate section for them. Therefore, there is progress and it is obvious. Chrome OS is no longer just a browser.

Settings

There aren't very many options in Chrome OS, and they are mixed in with the system settings itself, in addition, they are all quite basic. The user can configure the wireless connection, touchpad, touchpad and mouse, set the date and time, input languages, and Google Cloud Print.

Separately, it is worth noting the “Accessibility” options, which allow you to increase the size of the cursor, use high contrast, voice prompts, zoom in different areas of the screen, drag with a touch, and also automatically click the cursor when it stops.

Overall, these are all important settings. What else can be noted is that it is possible to change the desktop wallpaper.

Localization

Despite the fact that Chromebooks are not officially supplied to Ukraine, the system already has Ukrainian and Russian localizations.

Documentation

To work with documents, Chrome OS comes pre-installed with Google Docs applications, which allow you to create text documents, tables and presentations.

Separately, in the application store you can download programs for creating drawings and shapes in Google Docs.

For undemanding users this will be more than enough. Problems can only arise when opening complex Office documents, as well as when such documents need to be created. On Chrome OS this is still, in principle, an unsolvable problem, so users with high demands on the office suite, unfortunately, have nothing to do on Chrome OS. But for the rest, Google Docs should be enough, which can be supplemented with the Microsoft Office Web Apps package, or by installing the Zoho office suite.

To check whether these applications are right for you or not, you can open Google Docs, Office Web Apps and Zoho Docs in your browser right now. It is worth noting that a pleasant difference between the Google and Zoho office suites is the ability to work offline in Chrome OS. Thus, documents can be opened and edited without an Internet connection.

Photo

There are already quite a lot of applications for working with photos on Chrome OS, but they are also more suitable for an undemanding user and cannot replace either Photoshop or Lightroom. What can you do with photos on Chrome OS? Firstly, the system has a built-in Google+ Photos application, which allows you to import, catalog and store images in the Google cloud.

At the same time, the user can also edit the photo and apply different filters to it. If the Google+ app on your Android phone is set to automatically upload photos to Google+, all of them will also appear on Chrome OS. Other apps that can be used to edit photos on Google's operating system include Autodesk's Pixlr Touch Up.

It has a fairly simple set of features, but it allows you to work with images without an Internet connection. For more serious editing, Pixlr Editor is better suited.

This is an online service, but it is most similar to Photoshop, although it does not have its capabilities. However, Pixlr Editor is great for not very complex tasks.

Music

You can listen to music on Chrome OS without an Internet connection; the system can easily play mp3 files.

However, the built-in player is very basic and doesn't fit well with a large media library. As an alternative, you can use the Google Music service; it can accommodate 25 thousand tracks for free, which in most cases will be enough.

But unfortunately, you cannot upload music to Google Music servers from Chrome OS; the company has not yet released the corresponding application, which has long been available for Windows and Mac. As a result, it turns out that you can only transfer your media library to the cloud from a third-party computer, which somewhat undermines the independence of Chrome OS. However, the developers soon promise to release a Google Music manager for Chrome OS, which will solve the problem.

Alternative ways to listen to music in the Google operating system can be online services, of which there are now a large number.

These could be projects like Yandex.Music, which allow you to listen to entire albums and create playlists, or online radio stations like Earbits, in which the ability to switch tracks is limited.

Video

Another myth that haunts Chrome OS is the information that the system is not designed for watching videos, except perhaps from YouTube. In fact, this is not the case; at the moment, Google's operating system can play popular video formats, including .avi and .mkv. In the latter case, however, not all sound containers are supported.

However, watching movies on a Chromebook is quite possible, and there is no need to be online all the time. By the way, there are no problems with YouTube either, the only pity is that this service does not have an offline mode.

Games

There shouldn't seem to be games on Chrome OS either, but they do exist.

There are both online and offline versions. Unfortunately, the browser cannot handle complex graphics yet, so games for the Google operating system are most often casual.

It wouldn't be possible without Angry Bird either.

However, there are also more complex projects, such as Bastion.

Considering that all games run in the browser, this is a great achievement. So far, Google is not even close to considering the possibility of making Chrome OS a competitive gaming platform. The browser is not suitable for this yet.

The biggest problem with Chrome OS is the lack of popular programs for it. As a result, you have to look for either existing third-party applications or look for substitutes. This is exactly the situation with Skype on Chrome OS. Microsoft has not officially made and is unlikely to make a program for the Google operating system.

The IM+ program, which has support for the Skype protocol, can help out in this situation, but it does not support voice and video calls only for the transmission of text messages. In the latter case, the Skype mobile application for Android, or a complete switch to the Hangouts service from Google, can help out.

Chrome OS and Android

It would be an extreme manifestation of “Captain Obvious” to write that Chrome OS is ideal for use with Android, but you can’t erase the words from the song.

Systems that are built on the same services complement each other perfectly. The transition from a computer to a smartphone/tablet is very easy; all programs within the Google ecosystem are similar both in appearance and in terms of functionality. The company is trying to accustom users to the fact that there are no desktop programs or mobile applications, there is Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Music, Chrome, and so on.

This is a very correct approach. While reading an article in the Chrome OS browser, you can easily switch to a smartphone with Chrome installed and finish reading it.

In the same way, you can edit documents, listen to music, plan your day, look for an address on a map and much more. Of course, in order to fully immerse yourself in the Google ecosystem, you don’t have to use Chrome OS, but you definitely need an Android smartphone for this. It is thanks to the mobile operating system that the company can popularize Chrome OS.

Chrome OS on every computer

Interestingly, today Google is on the offensive on all fronts, and Chrome OS appears not only on Chromebooks, but also on computers with Chrome installed. Essentially, the company is creating a single ecosystem around its browser, which is supported by the growing popularity of the Android mobile operating system. As a result, to get yourself almost an analogue of Chrome OS, you just need to install Chrome on your computer.

Recently, Google added a launcher to its browser as Chrome OS, which allows you to open web applications in windows of Windows and OS X operating systems, allowing them to take the form of separate programs. This approach is fully justified; Google is creating the operating system gradually, without huge investments, and by the time it is fully ready, if the popularity of Chrome continues to grow, a large number of users will already be ready for it.

Eventually

Today, Chrome OS may well become the main operating system for undemanding users who spend most of their time at the computer in the browser. Another question is, why buy a Chromebook if you can get the same and much more from a Windows laptop? The answer lies in the cost; Google sells Chromebooks in the US starting at $200, and for the same money you simply cannot buy a laptop with the same characteristics. And for not very advanced users or those who are just mastering the computer, Chrome OS will be a very good option. The system is safe and easy to use, it does not have a large number of settings and there is nothing that could be broken to such an extent that it would require the intervention of a specialist. At the same time, I was frankly amazed by the speed of its development; in three weeks the system was updated five times and each update brought some minor improvements. At the same time, unless Google changes the concept, it is unlikely that Chrome OS will be able to seriously compete with Windows. The inertia of this market is very high and even the low price of Chromebooks will not be able to promote Chrome OS. Users will prefer to pay extra, but be able to install complex programs that they do not even always need. However, Google is betting that the focus will gradually shift towards smartphones and tablets, and computers will fade into the background, competing for users' attention with TVs. If so, Chrome OS does have a chance, especially since it offers the same Google services experience as Android.

Even at the dawn of the computer era, a global balance of power in the market for desktop operating systems was established that has survived to this day. We live in a bipolar world where Microsoft and Apple rule the roost. Two American corporations have divided their spheres of influence and it seems that the current balance of power suits everyone. Microsoft has Windows, which still remains the number one operating system, so that “haters” don’t shout year after year about the imminent “Windowscaper”. For the Redmond company, every Windows device sold is not only a profit for the sold license for its OS, but also a chance to impose additional services on the user. Office 365, OneDrive, Xbox Music and other company services are what allow Microsoft to look confidently into the future, no matter how clumsy the announcements of new versions of Windows and Windows Phone are.

For Apple the situation is different. The share of Macs relative to the global computer market has always hovered around the statistical error, but the company from Cupertino has its own loyal audience that is willing to pay for the simplicity and convenience of computers with OS X. This allows Apple to boast about the high margins of its products and earn more money, than any of the competitors.

Yes, of course, you shouldn’t forget about Linux distributions, but finding computers running this OS on the open market is a non-trivial task. Alas, “Linux” (in the broad sense of the word) was a narrow-profile system for IT specialists and scientists, and remains so. No community efforts have helped in any way dislodge the positions of Microsoft or Apple.

Therefore, the market has long been waiting for the emergence of a third force that could bring fresh ideas and offer consumers at least some alternative to Windows and OS X. This force was the operating system from Google, called Chrome OS. It is based on the Linux kernel and, already familiar to many, the Chrome browser, which over the 6 years of its existence has become the most popular browser in the world, leaving behind Opera, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and other old-timers of the Internet. Statistics from our site say that every third person who is currently reading this article does so through the Google Chrome browser - you will agree that these are impressive numbers.

Building an operating system around a browser and cloud services that requires a constant Internet connection to function properly is a crazy idea that does not bode well. This is what analysts thought at the time of the announcement of Google Chrome OS in 2009. But today, when an ordinary smartphone can receive data at speeds exceeding 100 Mbps on fourth-generation mobile networks, Chrome OS is no longer perceived as something outlandish. The Internet has become more accessible, computer components are cheaper, and the capabilities of the Chrome browser have become noticeably wider than regular Internet browsing. All this allowed Chrome OS to make a significant leap and become a full-fledged player in the market.

System concept

When laying the foundation for Chrome OS, Google relied on Web applications and cloud computing. Therefore, computers running this operating system do not have impressive characteristics. Why use a large SSD if all data can be stored in the cloud? Why a powerful processor and a discrete video card if the game can be launched on a remote server and only the image can be transferred to the player? This is the ideology of Chrome OS, which allows you to significantly reduce the price of a computer that acts more as a terminal to the cloud and company services, rather than an independent unit. But you shouldn’t think that Chromebooks are incapable of anything without the Internet - this is far from the case.

Getting to know the system

While any Android device can be used without entering your Google account, a similar number will not work with Chrome OS. The system will not let you go beyond the start screen if you log in to an existing account or do not create a new one. In addition to banal things, like automatic synchronization of all your bookmarks, extensions and applications in the Google Chrome browser, this step also brings pleasant bonuses. Each Chromebook comes with 100Gb of Google Drive cloud storage for 2 years, a monthly subscription to the Google Play Music music service, and several other nice goodies that are tied to your account.

The system supports the work of several users on one device. It is possible to fully administer accounts, differentiate access rights, etc. If necessary, you can enable “guest” mode. In it, only the Google Chrome browser is available to the user, and all data is deleted after the session ends.

Let's take a closer look at the Chrome OS workspace.

Most of the screen is taken up by the desktop, which is the most useless desktop of all operating systems. You cannot move the necessary files here; you cannot create a folder or shortcut to applications on it. It is only needed to display beautiful wallpapers. By the way, you can choose them yourself or trust the taste of Google by turning on the “Surprise Me” function. In this mode, the wallpaper changes automatically every day, loading pictures from special thematic sites from the Google catalog.

The second element of the home screen is the taskbar. It can be located on the left, bottom or right.

In the lower left (or upper) corner there is a menu of all installed applications. It is designed in a miniature style and resembles a miniature Launchpad from OS X. All applications and extensions for the Google Chrome browser are included here, which can work independently, and if necessary, they can be grouped into folders. We'll talk about the applications themselves below.

In the same menu there is a quick search window that allows you to find the desired application, bookmark in the browser, or quickly send a search request via Google.com. There is a voice search option, and for Chromebooks in the USA it is already being tested to automatically launch it using the already familiar “Ok, Google”.

Next on the taskbar are pinned and running applications. You can choose this list yourself. This is useful because... After that, each pinned program can be launched using a quick keyboard shortcut. If the application is running, it is highlighted with a white stripe at the bottom.

In the lower right corner there is system information, a notification center and quick access to settings.

Running system applications appear on this side. For example, music player widget, Hangouts chats, etc.

Applications

As the name Chrome OS suggests, its center is the Google Chrome browser. I won’t dwell on its basic capabilities, but the applications for it are worth talking about separately. So, what can you install from the Chrome Store and how does it integrate with Chrome OS:

– Web applications. If you use the Feedly or Gmail web interfaces, then this is it. In Chrome OS, they are integrated as quick shortcuts that open the corresponding tab in a new browser window. For such applications there is also an “open in a separate window” setting. This mode disables all normal Chrome elements and leaves only a clean interface.

– Offline applications. These are full-fledged applications, of which there are not many for Chrome OS yet. For example, there is an offline client for Gmail, Google Keep notes, Pocket post-reading service, etc.

Visually, working with Web applications is no different from working with offline applications. A few screenshots as an example.

Google Calendar web application:

Offline Pocket app:

Working with data

Chrome OS comes with a built-in file manager that is right out of the box with Google Drive. The Downloads tab displays all locally saved data. System screenshots, all downloads from the browser, etc. are saved to the root directory by default. If necessary, you can create folders for any of your needs.

Chrome OS can work with external drives, which, if connected, will be displayed in the side menu. The dispatcher has a built-in archiver that supports working with most popular formats.

When connecting devices operating in PTP mode, the Google+ Photos application is launched, which serves as an analogue of “Image Capture” from Mac OS, with the only exception that photos are uploaded directly to the cloud (an Internet connection is required). Clarification for the paranoid - photos are uploaded to a private album, accessible only to you.

It's funny that Chrome OS does not support the MTP protocol, which makes it impossible to transfer media files to Android devices when connected via micro-USB. However, MTP support should appear in the next system updates.

System updates

Chrome OS has the clearest and most transparent update model of any desktop OS. There are three builds of the system: Stable, Beta, Unstable.

Stable - for ordinary users who are not looking for unnecessary adventures. This version of the system will be installed on any Chromebook purchased in a store.

Unstable is a system build that includes all of Google's new developments for Chrome OS. But you need to be prepared for the fact that you will have to pay for the love of novelty with unstable computer behavior.

Switching between three builds of Chrome OS occurs in one click in the corresponding menu. It is, of course, hidden deep in the system settings, but this was done on purpose. All three variants of Chrome OS are updated regularly, but this happens in the background. No constant reboots, long downloading updates, etc. You just turn on your computer, and it’s already updated. It's comfortable.

Chrome OS without network

Most people are sure that without an Internet connection, Chrome OS won't even start. This is a common myth that I would like to destroy. The system has a built-in photo editor, music player, video player, support for working with offline documents, mail, calendar and much more. Chromebooks can easily handle basic computer tasks even without a network.

Naturally, if we are talking about working with media files, then the capabilities of most Chromebooks are limited by the size of the built-in SSD drive. When you only have 30Gb, you don’t want to fill it with music and movies. Chrome OS supports most modern codecs, so you can open almost any file if necessary. But all this does not negate the fact that the system vitally needs a universal media harvester like VLC. For example, a standard video player does not support working with subtitles, which will be critical for many.

Without an Internet connection, you can safely continue to work with documents in Google Drive, view and respond to email in Gmail, create new events in your calendar, etc. As soon as Chrome OS gains access to the network, everything will immediately sync in the background without your intervention. If these features are not enough for you, then in the Chrome Store there is a special section with applications that support work in Offline mode. There you can find clients for Pocket, Wunderlist, Evernote, Google Keep, games and much more.

Keyboard

An important part of Chrome OS is such an invisible thing at first glance as the keyboard. Google's approach is reminiscent of what Apple did in OS X, namely a huge number of key combinations that make working with the system much easier. Plus, every Chromebook has an additional row of keys designed specifically for Google Chrome. This allows you to surf the Internet at a qualitatively different level. Listing all the “shortcuts” would take up a lot of space, you can see them, but special thanks to Google for the ability to take a screenshot of an area rather than the entire screen. Windows still can't do this.

Conclusion

Despite all the problems and general skepticism that surrounded Chrome OS since its inception, Google managed to become a full-fledged player in the market of “adult” operating systems. And even though the share of Chromebooks is still small, it shows steady growth from quarter to quarter, in contrast to Macs and Windows computers. Against the backdrop of stagnation in the personal computer market and the transition to the “post-PC era,” Chrome OS is a real breath of fresh air for OEMs. Cheap and reliable. These are the words I would use to describe most computers running this operating system. Yes, they still lack functionality, but they can already perform most common tasks that will satisfy the needs of most users, and they do it well.

P.S: If you have questions about Chrome OS that are not covered in the text, I will be happy to answer them in the comments.