ChromiumOS

ChromiumOS (formerly styled as Chromium OS) is a free and open-source operating system designed for running web applications and browsing the World Wide Web. It is the open-source version of ChromeOS, a Linux-based operating system made by Google.

Not to be confused with ChromeOS.

ChromiumOS
Chromium OS (85.0.4163.0) displaying the New Tab Page
DeveloperGoogle
OS familyLinux
Working stateCurrent
Source modelOpen source
Repository
Update methodRolling release
Platformsx86, x64, ARM, ARM64[1]
Kernel typeMonolithic (Linux kernel)[2]
UserlandOzone (Display manager), X11, GNU
Default
user interface		Chromium, Aura Shell (Ash)
LicenseVarious open source licenses (mainly BSD-style licenses and GPL)[3]
Official websitewww.chromium.org/chromium-os

Like ChromeOS, ChromiumOS is based on the Linux kernel, but its principal user interface is the Chromium web browser rather than the Google Chrome browser. ChromiumOS also includes the Portage package manager, which was originally developed for Gentoo Linux.[4] Because ChromiumOS and ChromeOS use a Browser engine for the user interface, they are oriented toward web applications rather than Application software or mobile apps.[5]

Google first published the ChromiumOS source code in late 2009.[6]

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[7]

Availability

ChromiumOS 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 "ChromiumOS Flow", was created by Liam McLoughlin, a then 17-year-old college student in Liverpool, 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.[8] While Google did not expect that hobbyists would use and evaluate ChromiumOS ahead of its official release, Sundar Pichai, Google's 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."[8]

Hexxeh's work continued into the following year. He announced "ChromiumOS Lime" in December 2010,[9] and in January 2011, released "Luigi", an application designed to "jailbreak"/"root" the Google Cr-48 "Mario" prototype hardware and install a generic BIOS.[10] The developer made the builds available in virtual machine format on March 13, 2011.[11] With no official build of ChromiumOS forthcoming from Google, Hexxeh's "vanilla" nightly builds of ChromiumOS were the principal resource for people wanting to try ChromiumOS. Hexxeh stopped uploading his builds on April 20, 2013.

More recent versions of ChromiumOS are available from Arnoldthebat, who maintains daily and weekly builds[12] along with usage guidelines and help.[13][14] In July 2012, Chromium Build Kit was released. It automatically compiles a developer build and installs ChromiumOS on a USB drive.[15]

In 2015, New York City-based Neverware produced a ChromiumOS fork called CloudReady aimed at the educational market, with the intention of extending the life of older PCs and laptops.[16][17] A subsequent version can dual-boot Neverware and the Windows operating system (until v64).[18] In 2018, Neverware acquired Flint OS, a UK-based and China-based company.[19] In 2020, Neverware was acquired by Google, and a similar "ChromeOS Flex" was released into beta in February 2022.[20][21]

Flint OS became FydeOS.[22] FydeOS, is based on Chromium OS,[23] to run on Intel-based computers,[24] and the Raspberry Pi 4 family.[25]

Hardware

Some devices have shipped with ChromiumOS preinstalled. In May 2011, Dell 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. Other devices include the Kogan Agora Chromium Laptop by the Australian company Kogan[26] and the Xi3 Modular Computer, introduced by the company of the same name.[27][28] In late 2015, a team headed by Dylan Callahan released a beta ChromiumOS port to the Raspberry Pi 2 single-board computer.[29] In 2016, Flint Innovations released a ChromiumOS port for the latest Raspberry Pi 3/B model named Flint OS for RPi. Subsequently, this project has been fully open-sourced at GitHub, with all the files and detailed instructions to re-create the build.[30]

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.[31] 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". Archived from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  3. "Licenses - the Chromium Projects". Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  4. Vaughan-Nichols, Steven J. "The secret origins of Google's Chrome OS". ZDNet. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  5. "Kernel Design". The Chromium Projects. Archived from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  6. Bligh, Martin (December 11, 2009). "What's the Difference Between Chromium OS and Google Chrome OS?". Chromium Blog. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  7. "Software Architecture - The Chromium Projects". www.chromium.org. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  8. Stone, Brad (May 7, 2010). "Test Flights Into the Google Cloud". New York Times. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  9. Hexxeh. "Now with a citrus twist". Hexxeh's Blog. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  10. Hexxeh. "Your princess is in another castle…". Hexxeh's Blog. Archived from the original on December 3, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  11. Hexxeh. "In my VirtualBox?". Hexxeh's Blog. Archived from the original on December 13, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  12. "Chromium OS Builds". Chromium.arnoldthebat.co.uk. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  13. "Home". arnoldthebat.co.uk. Archived from the original on January 17, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  14. "ArnoldTheBats World of Whimsy". ArnoldTheBats. Archived from the original on September 8, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  15. Chromium Build Kit (July 30, 2012). "Chromium Build Kit-- Source Forge". Archived from the original on March 3, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  16. Popper, Ben (February 16, 2016). "How schools around the country are turning dead Microsoft PCs into speedy Chromebooks". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  17. Bishop, Nicholas (November 13, 2015). "ChromiumOS: The Whirlwind Tour". Neverware. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  18. Cunningham, Andrew (February 17, 2016). "Chrome OS distro for regular PCs can now dual-boot with Windows". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  19. "CloudReady Maker Neverware Acquires Flint OS". Chrome Unboxed. March 6, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  20. Cunningham, Andrew (February 16, 2022). "Chrome OS Flex is an ideal off-ramp for millions of PCs that can't run Windows 11". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  21. Proven, Liam (February 16, 2022). "Google announces Chrome OS Flex for ordinary PCs, Macs". The Register. Archived from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  22. Long, Moe (January 30, 2019). "Flint OS vs Chromium OS vs CloudReady: Which Chrome OS is best?". electromaker.io. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  23. "Chromium OS vs FydeOS detailed comparison as of 2023". Slant. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  24. "FydeOS 13.1 review: How to Install FydeOS or Dual boot with Windows". Quickfever. January 8, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  25. "FydeOS, a Tweaked Chromium OS for Chrome OS Fans, Hits the Raspberry Pi 400, Raspberry Pi 4 Range". Hackster.io. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  26. Kogan Australia. "Laptops - Kogan.com". Kogan Australia. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  27. Joanna Stern. "Xi3 Modular Computer is one cool-looking desktop in a cube". Engadget. AOL. Archived from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  28. Dana Wollman. "Xi3 modular PC reborn as Chrome OS desktop, promises independence from local storage". Engadget. AOL. Archived from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  29. Nestor, Marius (December 9, 2015). "Chromium OS for Raspberry Pi 2 Gets Faster Boot Times, Download Now". Softpedia. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  30. overlay-rpi: Chromium OS portage overlay for Raspberry Pi, Flint Innovations, September 21, 2017, archived from the original on March 9, 2018, retrieved September 22, 2017
  31. "Chrome Turf War: Did Google abandon the Chromium Trademark?". June 13, 2011. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
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