Chromebooks, they’re Linux right?

We admit that we’ve become quite the fans of Google Chromebooks, [see Roundup, p24

but we also perfectly understand if you don’t feel the same way. We’re also a little confused as to why we love them so much, but largely it’s that they just work, are generally lowcost and run Linux. It does also help that you can use Crouton to add real GNU/Linux via a chroot in the form of Ubuntu, but is it as good as a native installation?

So Chromebooks run Linux at their heart and Google honours the open source licences, so it maintains the Chromium OS project. This means if you feel the need you’re able to ‘make’ your own Chromebook with your custom hardware [see Tutorials, p70, Chromebooks have come a long way and are on target to capture 7% of the laptop market in 2016. They’re ideal if you want to do browser-based activities, writing, reading, but they’re capable of playing films, video and music. So ultimately versatile enough. The Crouton system [see Tutorials, p82,

maintained by Google engineers creates a chroot install of Ubuntu. It works well but don’t expect video acceleration on non-Intel models. A recent Crouton extension even allows Ubuntu to run windowed alongside Chrome OS. So if you want access to all your GNU/Linux tools they are there and a Chromebook compared to a low-cost generic laptop tend to win in build quality and design.