Do you love cheap, affordable hardware but find ChromeOS a little bit restrictive? While it’s already possible to install Linux on a Chromebook via tools like ChrUbuntu and Crouton, these aren’t exactly perfect, and the process isn’t exactly straight forward.
Google’s ChromeOS team is adding a feature to the latest version of ChromeOS which will make it just a bit easier for power users to tinker with the system and set it up for installing an entirely new operating system. For example, you may well be able to download a USB version of Debian or Ubuntu and install it on your Chromebook in the not too distant future.
This, like any other hack or modification, won’t be something for everyone, but it makes the option more available and a bit easier for those prepared to take the risk.
Google’s François Beaufort took to Google+ to outline the changes earlier, which include:
- Remove rootfs verification so you can modify OS files
- Enable SSH access to the device using the standard test keys so you can use tools such as cros flash
- Enable booting from USB so you can install an OS image from a USB drive
- Set both the dev and the system root login password to a custom value so you can manually SSH into the device
For more information, check out François’ Google+ post, or head over to the Chromium OS pages for more info.
I like this idea very much. I like the battery life of the chrome book. I like ubuntu. The another thing I hope the is bigger ssd. I don’t mind pay extra $50 or even $100
agreed, but i would prefer Mint over abuntu