Review of the Chrome OS operating system from Google. Impression of Google Chrome OS on Acer C7 Chromebook

It was clear almost after the birth of JavaScript that desktop applications, and the desktop itself, would sooner or later move to the web, so the appearance of Chrome OS is largely predictable. And that it was Google that released the cloud OS is also absolutely natural. But let's try to move away from the endless debate about the future of the desktop, fueled by the conservative part of the IT community, and look at Chrome OS from the point of view of technical implementation.

Road to the clouds

Google announced Chrome OS in the summer of 2009 and already in November demonstrated it to the public and made the source code publicly available under the name Chromium OS. At that time, the operating system was quite simple and consisted of a full-screen Chrome browser running on top of a heavily stripped-down Ubuntu distribution. It implemented all the same mechanisms for isolating browser tabs and plugins, the same multi-process model of browser operation, but overall the operating system was no different.

Over the next five years, Google continuously, but without particularly advertising its work, developed Chrome OS. Along the way, it released so-called Chromebooks and Chromeboxes, which became popular among Unixoids who demolished Chrome OS immediately after purchase. Gradually, Gooogle abandoned Ubuntu in favor of Gentoo (apparently, in order to be able to build packages without dependencies that were “useless” for it and the bonuses of the Hardened version of the distribution) and replaced the single-window mode with the standard multi-window mode for desktops with a standard taskbar at the bottom. Google deliberately abandoned it in the first versions of Chrome OS, since the OS was aimed at netbooks with their small screens, but, apparently, users did not appreciate it.

There are also offline web applications (also available in regular Chrome) and, finally, support for a number of Android applications. The latter event became quite expected after the leadership of the development of both operating systems passed into the hands of Sundar Pichai, who has always been responsible for the development of Chrome, Chrome OS and Google web applications.

Chrome OS develops along with the browser itself, so their versions are the same. At the time of writing, it was version 41, but unlike the browser, Chrome OS does not have ready-made builds for installation except for officially supported Chromebooks and Chromeboxes. However, it is quite possible to find unofficial assemblies based on Chromium OS sources on the Internet. For example, you can always download daily builds for x86, x64 and ARM. It is enough to write one of them onto a flash drive and boot from it. However, you need to be prepared that not all components of the machine will start (in my case, the touchpad fell off). In addition, Chromium OS does not support Flash, DRM and Netflix, but it does have access to the console with root rights.

Basic Concepts

The key idea behind Chrome OS is that it is essentially a thin client OS, where everything except the GUI and browser is online. In fact, without an Internet connection and a Google account, the operating system will not even let the user inside (at least for the first time). Google offers to save files to your Google Drive (the company gives 100 GB to buyers of Chromebooks), settings, extensions and installed applications are synchronized in the standard way for the Chrome browser. For printing, it is suggested to use Google Cloud Print.

In Russian realities, this approach gives nothing and creates a lot of difficulties, and in the rest of the world too. But Chrome OS is Google's foundation for the future, and this operating model has allowed programmers to implement a number of interesting architectural solutions and security approaches. Which is what we'll talk about in the rest of the article.

It all starts with the BIOS

Although Chromium OS can run on computers with a standard BIOS, Chromebooks are based on CoreBoot. And this is not just one of their technical features, but a deliberate optimization. CoreBoot is a completely 32-bit "BIOS" without the ballast of a lot of hardware initialization code that is useless these days. Coupled with Google optimizations, it is able to perform a cold start from pressing the power button to booting the kernel in literally a split second.

Next, CoreBoot finds the GPT boot partition and loads into memory a binary containing the u-boot bootloader (usually used in embedded electronics) and the Linux kernel, after which it gives control to u-boot, and the boot procedure, almost standard for Linux distributions, begins, including Mount the root partition yourself, launch the daemons, the graphics system and, finally, the interface.

The interesting thing about this whole procedure is that the boot loader with the kernel and the root file system have “backups” in separate partitions, and this feature is used to update the OS and rollback in case of failure. During an automatic update, Chrome OS does not touch the current installation at all, but instead writes the new version of the OS to the same “backup partitions” that become “current” after a reboot. If there is a failure when loading a new version of the OS, the reverse will occur and the user will be able to gain access to a known working system (the system itself is able to understand that it has loaded successfully and set the appropriate flag on the current GPT partitions).

Moreover, at each stage of control transfer from one component to another (for example, from CoreBoot to u-boot), the digital signature is verified (in the case of a root file system, block-by-block verification of checksums on the fly), if this does not match, the system will also roll back to the previous version . This works because partitions with the current version of the system are mounted read-only and the user cannot even accidentally change them.

INFO

The Chromebook's EEPROM contains not only two copies of firmware (one of which is a backup), but also non-rewritable recovery firmware, which allows you to boot the system from a USB flash drive or memory card and check and restore the system.

In addition to CoreBoot, the EEPROM of any Chromebook includes SeaBIOS, an open BIOS implementation that allows you to install Windows or Linux on your device without any hassle.

Ubiquitous Linux

Current versions of Chrome OS are based on Gentoo Linux, with the exception that instead of the standard OpenRC initialization system for this distribution, Ubuntu's Upstart is used. Compared to a regular Linux distribution, the system is very stripped down, so there is nothing special to download and it starts literally in a second. There is no regular terminal, but there is a local shell crosh available via.

By executing the shell command in it, we will have access to standard bash with root rights (in Chromium OS, of course) and will be able to explore the system. There are the well-known daemons here: rsyslogd, dbus-daemon (D-Bus is used in Chrome OS to exchange data between the browser and the rest of the system), wpa_supplicant (authentication in Wi-Fi networks), dhcpcd, Xs, ModemManager (working with 3G -modems), udev, ConnMan (manages connections to the network) plus more than a dozen Chrome OS-specific daemons, including those responsible for updating the system (update_engine), working with the TPM module (chapsd), encrypting the home directory (cryptohomed), and debugging (debugd) and other tasks.

A special place here is occupied by the session_manager daemon, which is responsible for initializing the high-level part of the OS. His tasks include:

1. Start the X server.
2. Initialize environment variables for the Chrome browser.
3. Create the necessary directories, files and cgroups rules for Chrome.
4. Launch Chrome.
5. Trigger the Upstart event login-prompt-visible, causing the login window to appear on the screen.

During this process, no components responsible for creating the “desktop” are actually launched (with the exception of the login window). It is rendered by the browser itself, relying on the Aura framework, which includes low-level functions for working with graphics and windows (with hardware acceleration via DRI) and the Ash desktop environment, which renders the taskbar, window decorations, Google Now and other standard interface elements OS. Although they are part of the Chrome browser, they nonetheless operate within multiple independent processes.

INFO

In the event of a system boot failure, which is logged if the browser process cannot be started within 30 seconds, Chromium OS automatically starts the SSH server and restarts polling the kernel for hardware using the udevtrigger command.

Thanks to the integration of Aura and Ash into Chrome itself, you can get the Chrome OS desktop on any OS by running the browser with the --open-ash flag.

Safety

In addition to the methods already discussed to ensure security and data integrity, such as secure boot of the system, an encrypted home directory with cached data (encryption is performed separately for each user), as well as standard methods for the Chrome browser for isolating processes, plugins and Native Client from the system (used here seccomp-bpf mechanism, which allows you to filter access to system calls), Chrome OS uses a number of other security approaches.

The central place among them is occupied by minijail - a small application used to isolate system services (daemons) and other system components. This is a very flexible application that allows you to perform functions such as giving the application “capabilities” or revoking them (capabilities is a special subsystem of the Linux kernel for giving non-SUID binaries some root capabilities), chrooting it, revoking root rights, setting limits on resources (rlimits), place the process in dedicated namespaces (like LXC and Docker) and apply cgroups rules to it.

If you look at the output of ps aux|grep minijail (see screenshot) in a running system, you will notice that minijail is used to launch daemons with certain settings, but the number of such daemons in relation to all those running in the system is not so large . Judging by the developer documents, in the future they plan to significantly expand minijail and apply it to many more system components, including the graphics stack and Chrome. For now, it is what it is.

Other security features include the use of compiler flags to minimize the risk of stack disruption (-fno-delete-null-pointer-checks, -fstack-protector, FORTIFY_SOURCE), the use of the “enhanced” ASLR (Address space layout randomization) mechanism in the Linux kernel (PaX patch), using capabilities instead of SUID binaries where possible, restrictions on loading kernel modules, using a TPM module (in Chromebooks) to store disk encryption keys and user passwords, prohibiting the user from running regular ELF binaries and some others quite standard techniques, many of which overlap with Android and Hardened Gentoo.

conclusions

Of course, Chrome OS is much more complex than I was able to describe in this article. It has many nuances and a huge number of interesting ideas. You can read about all this on the Chromium project website, fortunately the authors are open towards third-party developers and have written very good documentation.

Although in fact the Chrome OS operating system from Google is open, like Android, it cannot be installed on any computer just like that. The American corporation does not prohibit doing this - it simply did not include in the proprietary OS support for special software necessary for its full launch on any electronic devices, if, of course, they meet the minimum system requirements. The company Neverware, which released a program called Cloudready USB Maker, decided to solve this misunderstanding.

Using Neverware's Cloudready utility, you can install Google's Chrome OS on any Windows computer. This will require about half an hour of free time and a free 8 GB USB 3.0 flash drive, which will have to be formatted, that is, all data will be deleted from it. The most interesting thing is that the entire OS will be launched directly from the flash drive without using the computer’s built-in memory.

The Chrome OS operating system is based on Linux, and therefore it is much less demanding on computer resources than Windows 10. To install it, you need to download the Cloudready USB Maker utility program from the official website, then insert a USB flash drive into the computer port and format it. Then you need to run the program downloaded from the Neverware website and agree to record data.

When everything is done, and this takes about 10 minutes, the program will report that the Chrome OS operating system was successfully written to the USB flash drive. After this, you can safely restart the computer, and when it starts, go to a special menu for selecting a boot device. You can find out the specific button to go to it in the instructions for the motherboard, or by searching through the buttons from F1 to F12. One of them is guaranteed to work.

Once in the boot device selection menu, you need to find a flash drive in the list and boot from it. As a result, the computer will launch the Chrome OS operating system. The user will only have to complete the initial setup and then enjoy all the functionality. However, every time you start the OS again, you will have to configure it again, because the peculiarity of the software is that it is not able to remember previously entered data.

This method of installing an operating system on a computer or tablet is suitable, for example, for familiarizing yourself with the functionality of Chrome OS. Neverware says they are working to resolve the storage limitations, but this may take several months and there is no guarantee that this will be done in the near future.

Earlier it became known that Google operating system.

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The idea of ​​creating a new operating system, Chrome OS, created specifically for mobile computers based on an already created web browser, looks at least strange. Although, if you look from the other side, it becomes obvious that owners of netbooks spend most of their time reading sites, and cloud services that have become popular can already replace many desktop programs, such as Microsoft Office and even Adobe Photoshop.

A good help in such an endeavor can be the huge number of ones created for the Google browser, which can be found in the Chrome online application store. Putting all these components together, it turns out that the Chrome operating system has at least a good chance of getting into your laptop as a full-fledged operating system.

Racing against time

There is information that Google specialists began developing Chrome OS back in 2009. In those years, a huge number of experts were critical of the concept of a cloud operating system created on the basis of only . The constant need to be connected to the Internet significantly limited the scope of application of such an operating system. It must be said that the Chrome browser itself did not particularly shine and only “built up its muscles” to fight such competitors as Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.

In 2010, a year after work on the OS began, a prototype laptop codenamed Cr-48, which ran Chrome OS, was shown to the general public. This device was the first in the still small line of Chromebooks.

Today, the range of laptops with Chrome OS installed has become much wider and boasts manufacturers such as Acer and Samsung. They create Chromebooks based on the Intel Atom processor and even on the more powerful Intel Celeron chips.

To try out the new Chrome OS operating system (you can download it here: chromeos.hexxeh.net) now, you don’t have to buy a brand new Chromebook, especially since prices are still at fairly high levels. You can simply run the company's operating system on your old computer. Although, with obsolete hardware, problems may arise during startup.

Methods for installing an operating system on USB and virtualization via VirtualBox can be read here: www.3dnews.ru

Rational approach

Currently, Google's operating system is under ongoing development and its correct operation on all devices is not guaranteed by the manufacturer. The only exceptions are a few computer models created specifically for this OS. That is why we do not recommend that you install this “raw” operating system on your work computer. If you want to test the OS, then write it to an external drive or memory card, or use it and run it from there.

You will know that Google Chrome OS has started loading from the Chromium logo that appears on the screen.

This inscription on the screen should not be surprising, because the Chromium web browser is taken as the basis for our version of Chrome OS, it was also created by Google and its only difference from the original Chrome is only in the openness of the source code. On our device, the operating system started quite quickly - from selecting the boot device to displaying the authorization window, less than 15 seconds passed.

However, on different computers, the loading time may vary, it all depends on the power of the processor and the speed of reading data from the internal storage.

If you launched the Chrome OS operating system for the first time, then first select the localized version of the system (the Russian version is present in the list) and install the one you need (in addition to the language system you have installed, English must be added, which is the default), after which you can connect to one from wireless Wi-Fi networks.

Chrome OS will then introduce you to the full range of supported gestures. Unfortunately, our laptop’s touch field, unlike the original Chromebooks created specifically for this purpose, was unable to recognize them. This will complete the initial setup process for Google Chrome OS, and you will not need to repeat it again the next time you boot the operating system. In the future, to log into the OS you will only have to enter the password for your Gmail service account.

Setting up Chrome OS

To open the quick settings menu of the operating system, click on the special system tray.

In the menu that appears, you can change the brightness of the screen backlight and sound volume, although you can also use the computer’s function keys instead of the menu. A little higher are three buttons: turn off the computer, change the session and lock the screen. We are more interested in the “Settings” item, where you can access the most advanced settings of the operating system.

An extended settings menu opens in the form of a regular tab in the Google Chrome web browser.

Here it is worth paying attention to individual parameters that are responsible for the visual component of the entire operating system and the browser separately.

As it turns out, it is not possible to set your own image as your desktop background. You will have to choose from several available options provided by Google.

You may also need settings that change the speed of movement of the mouse cursor. Personally, we needed them, because at first the cursor, before connecting the mouse, moved across the screen too slowly, and after connecting a wired mouse, on the contrary, it began to move too quickly.

To display additional Chrome OS settings, click on the “Show advanced settings” button. In additional settings, you can change the computer localization, time zone, font size and scale of displayed pages.

If you want to disable the display of the Google Drive cloud service in the file manager, then check the checkbox next to this option.

Standard Google Chrome OS apps

The popular Google Chrome browser, as well as its freely distributed copy Chromium, is known to the vast majority of computer users. It works without any complaints, if you really rule out the problem with the Adobe Flash plugin. When going to the page http://get.adobe.com/ru/flashplayer, the user is told that the Adobe Flash plugin is installed and does not require updating.

However, nothing can be viewed on the pages of sites with active content. The only saving grace is that on the popular video hosting site YouTube, videos are played using HTML5 technology and can be viewed without using the Adobe Flash plugin.

Now let's stop and take a closer look at the Chrome OS file manager. It is launched by clicking on the icon located on the desktop of the operating system. Like the settings menu, it opens as a separate tab in the web browser. The left side of the tab displays the available drives, and the right side shows the entire contents of the selected drive.

In the directory tree, the Chrome OS system is represented as a folder for downloading files, a Google Drive cloud service for storing files, and a system disk partition.

Also in the file manager you can see all partitions of the hard drive, even those on which the Windows operating system is installed. All operations with files and folders, such as copying, moving, renaming and deleting, are performed using the corresponding buttons in the context menu.

All photos in the Chrome OS operating system can not only be viewed, but also edited in the editor.

With audio and video files things are not as good as with . The operating system, of course, has a built-in media player, but during our testing it refused to play any files.

The Chrome OS desktop can be accessed by pressing the usual “PrintScm” button located on the keyboard. All pictures taken are automatically saved to the folder in which downloaded files from the Internet are saved.

Installing additional applications

There are no traditional programs like in operating systems or Ubuntu Linux in Chrome OS. They have been replaced by a huge variety of mini-applications and browser plugins. Some of these applications are able to work even without an active Internet connection.

To launch the Chrome Web Store application store in the operating system, you need to click on the icon on the desktop. Once on the main page of the Chrome Web Store, the user will immediately see various categories of programs, and on the right the most popular applications.

Our first candidate for installation was the Chrome Remote Desktop plugin, which is used to control multiple computers over the Internet. This plugin can be easily found in the application search bar. To add it to your operating system, click the blue “Install” button, then click the “Add” button and wait until the installation is complete. After successful installation, the application icon will appear on the Chrome OS desktop.

To remove this application, right-click on the application icon and select “Remove from Chromium” from the context menu. Other add-ons are installed and uninstalled in the same way.

Additional applications:

– Google Mail Offline. A convenient application for offline access to your Gmail mailbox.- IMO Instant Messenger. Quite a powerful instant messaging client with built-in support for various services such as ICQ. Skypc, Google Talk. Jabber and others. - Cut The Rope. A fun game that will definitely appeal to users of all ages.

A few years ago, Google introduced the Chrome OS operating system, which was essentially the Chrome browser. Many perceived this as a failed experiment, since it was in no way suitable for a full-fledged OS. Without access to the Internet, Chrome OS was practically useless; the usual software was missing. Users had access only to Google services and numerous extensions familiar from the Chrome browser.

However, this also had its advantages: the system did not require powerful hardware, and the cost of the laptop did not exceed $300. It's cheaper than most Windows devices, not to mention a MacBook.

No longer just a browser

Almost seven years have passed since then and a lot has changed. The system has become more functional, self-sufficient, and has acquired support for offline programs. Yes, it still can do more when connected to the Internet, but now this can be said about any operating system. Offline, you can listen to music, watch movies, and work with documents. Such features will satisfy the requirements of most users.

Google's calculation was correct: people spend most of their time in the browser. Or more precisely - in . Its share is about 50%, making it the most popular in the world. “If so,” Google decided, “keep an accessible device that has your favorite browser with all kinds of extensions.” And that's it, nothing more unnecessary. The interface is simple and concise, even a child can master it.

By the way, about children: Chromebooks are most often purchased for education and the corporate segment. Thanks to this, in the first quarter of 2016 in the United States, laptops with Chrome OS outsold Apple laptops. Almost 2 million versus 1.76 million is a serious achievement for a browser OS.

But Google struck the main blow recently, in May 2016. What many have been waiting for has happened: in the near future, Chrome OS will receive native support for Android applications. Chromebook owners are incredibly lucky, because in the near future almost the entire Google Play range will be available to them! The issue of the number of applications and dependence on the Internet is immediately resolved. It is important that the applications are not emulated, but are native, that is, they have access to Wi-Fi, RAM, processor and other necessary components.

In fact, now we have another Android device, but with more advanced capabilities. Yes, but for the vast majority of users, the functionality of a Chromebook will be sufficient.

Pros of Chromebooks

1. Price

I'll start with the most important thing - the cost of Chromebooks. In the US, an inexpensive Windows laptop will cost $400–700. MacBook prices start at $899. At the same time, the price of most Chromebooks does not exceed $300. An excellent option for schoolchildren, students and simply people who need a laptop only to surf the Internet and work with documents.

2. Simplicity

Chromebooks are easy to use. They are fast, easy to set up, and absolutely everyone can master them: from children to the elderly. This is why Chromebooks are so popular in schools and the corporate sector.

3. Large selection

The range of Chromebooks is quite extensive. There are laptops with screen diagonals from 11 to 15 inches. The hardware is also very diverse: from mobile processors, which are usually installed in smartphones, to Intel processors.

4. Ecosystem

If you own an Android smartphone, a Chromebook will be a worthy addition to your ecosystem. Thanks to Google services, all data is synchronized. In the same way, you can work with third-party software thanks to native support for Android applications.

Cons of Chrome OS

1. Network addiction

Whatever one may say, the work of Chromebooks is tied to the Internet. Without the Internet, their opportunities tend to zero. Despite the fact that the Internet is now everywhere, for many it can become a serious problem.

2. Lack of “adult” software

Chromebooks are not suitable for serious work. It will not be possible to install Photoshop, AutoCAD and other software that works on Windows and OS X. Such devices are more suitable for those who spend most of their time in the browser, as well as for those who actively use Google services.

What's next?

Of course, Google has made huge strides in seven years, but experts say this is just the beginning. Once the system starts supporting Android applications, its popularity will increase significantly.

From a fun experiment, it will turn into an enhanced version of Android for budget laptops. And in this case, the competitor will not be Apple, which is focused on the premium segment, but Microsoft. After all, it mainly makes money from selling software for the corporate segment and licenses for selling laptops. The sharp increase in the popularity of devices on Chrome OS can significantly spoil the life of Microsoft.

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 features.

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 are not very many options in Chrome OS, and they are mixed 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.