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ChromiumOS

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Chromium OS
Chromium OS (23.0.1262.0) displaying the application drawer with integrated search and the English Wikipedia homepage
DeveloperGoogle
Written inC, C++
OS familyChromium OS (based on Linux kernel)
Working stateCurrent (in case of Chrome OS preinstalled on Chromebooks, Chromeboxes, Chromebits, Chromebase)
Repository
Update methodRolling release
Platformsx86, ARMv7[1]
Kernel typeMonolithic (Linux kernel)[2]
Default
user interface		WIMP-based [web browser] windows
LicenseVarious
Official websitewww.chromium.org/chromium-os

Chromium OS is the open-source development version of Chrome OS, one of Google's operating systems (OS). Chromium OS is based on the Linux kernel and uses Google's Chromium browser as its principal user interface. As a result, Chromium OS primarily supports web applications.[3]

Architecture

Chromium's architecture is three-tiered, consisting of "three major components:

  • The Chromium-based browser and the window manager
  • System-level software and user-land services: the [Linux] kernel, drivers, connection manager, and so on
  • Firmware[4]

Availability

Chromium OS was first made available in compiled form by hobbyists. More organized efforts have emerged over time, including a few manufacturers that have shipped devices with the operating system pre-installed.

Builds and forks

By May 2010, compiled versions of the work-in-progress source code had been downloaded from the Internet more than a million times. The most popular version, entitled "Chromium OS Flow", was created by Liam McLoughlin, a then 17-year-old college student in Manchester, England, posting under the name "Hexxeh". McLoughlin's build boots from a USB memory stick and included features that Google engineers had not yet implemented, such as support for the Java programming language.[5] While Google did not expect that hobbyists would use and evaluate Chromium OS ahead of its official release, Sundar Pichai, Google vice president of product management (now the CEO) said that "what people like Hexxeh are doing is amazing to see." Pichai said the early releases were an unintended consequence of open source development. "If you decide to do open-source projects, you have to be open all the way."[5]

Hexxeh's work continued into the following year. He announced "Chromium OS Lime" in December 2010,[6] and in January 2011, released "Luigi", an application designed to "jailbreak"/"root" the Google Cr-48 "Mario" prototype hardware and install a generic BIOS.[7] The developer made the builds available in virtual machine format on March 13, 2011.[8] With no official build of Chromium OS forthcoming from Google, Hexxeh's "vanilla" nightly builds of Chromium OS were the principal resource for people wanting to try Chromium OS. Hexxeh stopped uploading his builds on April 20, 2013.

More recent versions of Chromium OS are available from Arnoldthebat, who maintains daily and weekly builds[9] along with usage guidelines and help.[10] In July 2012, Chromium Build Kit was released. It automatically compiles a developer build and installs Chromium OS on a USB drive.[11]

  • ChromiumOS Cherry Now known as "Flow" (4 December 2009)
    ChromiumOS Cherry
    Now known as "Flow"
    (4 December 2009)
  • ChromiumOS Zero Now known as "Vanilla " (9 December 2009)
    ChromiumOS Zero
    Now known as "Vanilla "
    (9 December 2009)
  • ChromiumOS Flow (15 February 2010)
    ChromiumOS Flow
    (15 February 2010)
  • ChromiumOS Vanilla Login Screen (15 March 2011)
    ChromiumOS Vanilla Login Screen
    (15 March 2011)

In 2015, New York City-based Neverware produced a Chromium OS fork called CloudReady aimed at the educational market, with the intention of extending the life of older PCs and laptops.[12][13] A subsequent version can dual-boot Neverware and the Windows operating system.[14] In 2016, Nexedi released NayuOS, a fork of Chromium OS precompiled for several Chromebook computers. The operating system provides Chrome OS-like capabilities without storing data on Google servers. It optionally removes the Google login and provides additional developer tools.[15][16]

Hardware

Some devices have shipped with Chromium OS preinstalled. In May 2011, Dell Computer also released a new build for the Dell Inspiron Mini 10v netbook, following up on an earlier build released almost 18 months earlier. The build did not support audio, but was bootable from a USB drive.[17] Other devices include the Kogan Agora Chromium Laptop by the Australian company Kogan[18] and the Xi3 Modular Computer, introduced by the company of the same name.[19][20] In late 2015, a team headed by Dylan Callahan released a beta Chromium OS port to the Raspberry Pi 2 single-board computer.[21]

Trademark dispute

In June 2011, ISYS Technologies, based in Salt Lake City, sued Google in a Utah district court, claiming rights to the name "Chromium" and, by default, Chromebook and Chromebox. The suit sought to stop Google and its hardware and marketing partners from selling Chromebooks.[22] The suit was later dismissed and, as part of an undisclosed settlement between Google and ISYS, ISYS abandoned its trademark efforts.

See also

References

  1. ^ Womack, Brian (July 8, 2009). "Google to Challenge Microsoft With Operating System". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  2. ^ "Kernel Design: Background, Upgrades". Google. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  3. ^ "Kernel Design". The Chromium Projects.
  4. ^ "Software Architecture - The Chromium Projects". www.chromium.org. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Stone, Brad (May 7, 2010). "Test Flights Into the Google Cloud". New York Times.
  6. ^ Hexxeh. "Now with a citrus twist". Hexxeh's Blog. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  7. ^ Hexxeh. "Your princess is in another castle…". Hexxeh's Blog. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  8. ^ Hexxeh. "In my VirtualBox?". Hexxeh's Blog. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  9. ^ "Chromium OS Builds". Chromium.arnoldthebat.co.uk. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  10. ^ http://arnoldthebat.co.uk/
  11. ^ Chromium Build Kit (July 30, 2012). "Chromium Build Kit-- Source Forge". Retrieved July 30, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Popper, Ben (February 16, 2016). "How schools around the country are turning dead Microsoft PCs into speedy Chromebooks". The Verge. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  13. ^ Bishop, Nicholas (November 13, 2015). "ChromiumOS: The Whirlwind Tour". Neverware. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  14. ^ Cunningham, Andrew (February 17, 2016). "Chrome OS distro for regular PCs can now dual-boot with Windows". Ars Technica. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  15. ^ Linder, Brad (January 29, 2016). "NayuOS is a Google-free operating system for Chromebooks". Liliputing. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  16. ^ "NayuOS". www.nayuos.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  17. ^ Linder, Brad (May 15, 2011). "Dell releases Chromium OS build for Inspiron Mini netbooks". Liliputing. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  18. ^ Kogan Australia. "Laptops - Kogan.com". Kogan Australia.
  19. ^ Joanna Stern. "Xi3 Modular Computer is one cool-looking desktop in a cube". Engadget. AOL.
  20. ^ Dana Wollman. "Xi3 modular PC reborn as Chrome OS desktop, promises independence from local storage". Engadget. AOL.
  21. ^ Nestor, Marius (December 9, 2015). "Chromium OS for Raspberry Pi 2 Gets Faster Boot Times, Download Now". Softpedia. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  22. ^ "Chrome Turf War: Did Google abandon the Chromium Trademark?". June 13, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
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