Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 329 posts

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#41

Post by paultopia »

I think this is great. I bought a chromebook flip a couple of years ago, with the intention of putting Linux on it---only to find that the hardware is depressingly bad and the ARM processor makes the Linux experience terrible (had to install Arch, never did manage to make basic things like the JVM work right, eventually gave up on it). Since then, I've been very skeptical of the notion of buying chromebooks as cheap and lightweight mobile working tools.

But I will buy a pixelbook in an instant if I can get a fully functional, no bullshit with having to install custom kernels or new firmware or god only knows what and what will happen to the hardware and what just won't work despite The Internet insisting it does, insisting! Oh Lordy. A Linux environment available on decent hardware, without having to MacGyver it together with bubble gum and safety pins? Where things like power management actually work? What other options are there, really, for that? Purism? Dell XPS13! All of those are actually more expensive than the Pixelbook. (Though the Dell thing does look pretty sweet.) Hell, I may go order one now.

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#42

Post by terminalcommand »

pavanky wrote: post #13
fareesh wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't call $999 cheap

I needed a machine to ssh from and have a browser. $250 acer chromebook with crouton mostly works. This is not my primary machine however. I only use it at home to ssh into my desktop once in a while.

On this price range, are there any advantages of using a Chromebook rather than purchasing an old refurbished business laptop such as x230?

They seem to be going for the same price range.

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#43

Post by darkr »

JepZ wrote: post #15
timvisee wrote: post #4

I wonder why they are using a VM running Debian for Linux applications, as Chrome OS is already Linux (Gentoo) based itself.

Probably because the Gentoo ecosystem (package tree, package managers) is build for source packages and not for binary packages.

Portage can work with binary packages just fine: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Binary_package_guide

ChromeOS/ChromiumOS uses portage for its build system, to produce a signed, read-only image that the OS can boot from. CoreOS uses the same tooling FWIW: http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/build

This is why you can’t just install random packages onto the parent OS. Any additional software needs to run in some overlay filesystem or sandbox.

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#44

Post by colanderman »

cbhl wrote: post #34
timvisee wrote: post #4

I wonder why they are using a VM running Debian for Linux applications, as Chrome OS is already Linux (Gentoo) based itself.

apt-get is still the golden standard for installing apps on Linux because of its dependency resolution system, and being able to "sudo apt-get install " is a core use-case for end-users (i.e. students who are learning how to use Linux / code for the first time). Disclaimer: I work at Google, but not on Chrome OS.

I'm a Debian user, but RedHat has had Yum (Apt-equivalent) for probably a decade now.

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#45

Post by jmagoon »

paultopia wrote: post #41

I think this is great. I bought a chromebook flip a couple of years ago, with the intention of putting Linux on it---only to find that the hardware is depressingly bad and the ARM processor makes the Linux experience terrible (had to install Arch, never did manage to make basic things like the JVM work right, eventually gave up on it). Since then, I've been very skeptical of the notion of buying chromebooks as cheap…

The other good thing about this is that the Pixelbook is a 3:2 screen, so finally there's a laptop with a proper display resolution that can run Linux nicely.

There's a good community of folks over at https://www.reddit.com/r/Crostini/ who have been tinkering with this for quite some time.

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#46

Post by zitterbewegung »

tinix wrote: post #27

Tech journalists, especially, almost always fail to do even a tiny bit of research or due diligence. I mean... Crostini is not "new", it's been on dev channel for months[1]! But this article ending... hilarious icing on the cake. > "Now, it’s probably only a matter of hours before somebody starts running Windows apps in Chrome OS with the help of the Wine emulator." Someone should also tell them about running Crossov…

To be honest if the manufacturer is misleading you that you have to do secondary research then why go to the event at all. I agree they should have done their due dilligence but at this time since no one values the written word nearly everyone is just taking some press release and cut and pasting it.

On the other hand I have seen products being launched at Google I/O and being non existant for months. Tensorflow lite took months to come out. Why would you do this? Real artists ship and I don't get why you would announce something and have an indefinite launch date? By the time tensorflow lite came out Apple had coreml out for months and was somewhat usable.

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#47

Post by wlesieutre »

tinix wrote: post #27

Tech journalists, especially, almost always fail to do even a tiny bit of research or due diligence. I mean... Crostini is not "new", it's been on dev channel for months[1]! But this article ending... hilarious icing on the cake. > "Now, it’s probably only a matter of hours before somebody starts running Windows apps in Chrome OS with the help of the Wine emulator." Someone should also tell them about running Crossov…

While they're at it, they could discuss what WINE is, and more specifically, what it is not ;)

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#48

Post by hawski »

timvisee wrote: post #4

I wonder why they are using a VM running Debian for Linux applications, as Chrome OS is already Linux (Gentoo) based itself.

It is based on Gentoo as software can be based on make and gcc. But the user only sees the resulting binary.

AFAIK Portage, Gentoo's package manage, is used only to build the rootfs image. Because Gentoo is really a meta distribution. This distinction is not an empty slogan. You can use Gentoo as a build system to create separate operating system, just like ChromeOS does.

You can use of course use Gentoo directly and prepare tailor built binary packages to distribute them to users. Then it would be a bit more similar to other distributions. But ChromeOS is not an ordinary distribution. It's update model is not really compatible with typical distribution model. It's one of the greatest strengths of the system. You could shoehorn packages meta data, but it would be pointless, because whole image is updated at once.

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#49

Post by indescions_2018 »

More details in XDA Developers interview with Kan Liu. Also suggesting GPU acceleration support later this year

https://www.xda-developers.com/chrome-os-linux-app-support-g...

My prediction: VS Code / Pixelbook becomes a formidable devenv for many in the coming months ;)

You can always try Neverware on a live usb to get a taste

https://www.neverware.com/freedownload

Re: You can now run Linux apps on Chrome OS

#50

Post by neuland »

totallysnowman wrote: post #32
neuland wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you know if pacman is available on Chrome OS? My understanding is that it's based on Gentoo but it's heavily modified. So adding a different binary-based package manager isn't that crazy of an idea, especially for Google.

Two package managers are a bad idea. They would need to cooperate somehow. Pacman developers probably have heard of Gentoo, but I wouldn't call it "based on Gentoo".

I meant that since pacman is not available, then use a different one entirely (not both). It seems it's a moot point b/c of the sibling comment saying the disk is read-only.
Post reply on HN