Attention all ChromiumOS for GPD Pocket Users. There is a new update that is currently rolling out. This update has been in the works for a few months and brings countless new features to GPD Pocket Owners. This new build not only adds several new features but i put a lot of work into ensuring the GPD Pocket 1 features are on par with the GPD Pocket 2. The previous build of ChromiumOS for GPD sadly did not perform the best for GPD Pocket 1 users, my GPD Pocket 1 needed a replacement battery which did not allow me to test. I have been running this build on my personal devices for a few days and am very happy with the stability and performance of this new build.
Development
Will 2021 Be The Year of The Android Desktop?
In the Linux community, there is a longstanding trope aptly referred to as “The Year of The Linux Desktop” in which everyone predicts the year that the Linux desktop usage rates are the majority instead of the minority for typical home users. It is no secret that Microsoft has been hemorrhaging Windows users to MacOS, iPads, Android Tablets and even ChromeOS at a high rate, mostly due to the fact that the typical home users computer needs have vastly changed over the past few years to be more “browser-centric”. Many companies have tried to push Linux desktops as a alternative to Windows however they often failed, ChromeOS was the first consumer Linux distribution to see widespread home usage and widespread education usage. I would argue that 2020 may have been the year of the Linux Desktop, especially with many schools issuing Chromebooks to students for remote learning due to COVID however I feel that Android might be next.
Introducing the ChromeOS Crostini Machine Learning Setup Script
Over the past month, I have been researching Machine Learning and the insane amount of future possibilities that will result in the breakthroughs being made today. Projects like Keras and Tensorflow are pushing the boundaries on what computers are capable of and enabling just about anyone without a multi-million dollar server cluster to get into machine learning. I have built a simple setup script that will automate the process of setting up all of the tools needed to get started with Miniconda, TensorFlow, Keras, Pytorch, OpenCV and more in a ChromeOS Crostini Container. Here is how to get started:
A Guide On Building Your Own ChromiumOS Distribution (with OTA Updates and Crostini)
There are a few pre-made distributions to allow you to run a version of ChromiumOS on existing hardware such as CloudReady and FideOS however there are several benefits to building your own distribution from scratch. ChromiumOS is the open source of the popular ChromeOS operating system. By following this guide, you will get a version of ChromiumOS that should boot on most hardware (with a 64 bit Intel or AMD Processor). This version will also give you access to Linux Apps via Crostini and even enable the same OTA upgrade service that users on ChromeOS enjoy.
Installing Microsoft PowerShell on Chrome OS with Project Crostini
Microsoft’s PowerShell is without question a very powerful management tool/automation tool, especially for those who use Windows. Many developers have also started to embrace PowerShell and it has even seen native releases for MacOS and Linux. Thanks to the magic of Chrome OS and Crostini, it can also be installed on a Chromebook, here is how:
Additional Changes to ChromeOS 68.0.3440.4 – Android Files in ChromeOS File Manager and Crostini to Select ARM64 Devices
I wrote an article yesterday highlighting some of the changes to ChromeOS 68.0.3440.4 however it turns out that I completely missed two major features. This build of ChromeOS finally brings one of the most requested features to ChromeOS – The ability to easily access your Android Filesystem from within the ChromeOS File Manager and more.
ChromeOS 68.0.3440.4 Brings Hostname Resolution to Project Crostini
ChromeOS 68.0.3440.4 was released a few hours ago and it seems like a small update, likely heavy on under the hood bug fixes but very light on changes as far as I can tell after playing with it for a few hours. Here are all of the changes I could find:
ChromeOS 68.0.3437.0 Brings Shared Clipboards and The Ability To Access Linux Filesystems To The ChromeOS File Manager
ChromeOS 68.0.3437.0 was released for Pixelbook owners on the “dev” channel on Wednesday and it brings several changes and bug fixes. I have spent the past few days playing around with this release and here is what has changed:
Getting The Atom Text Editor To Work On ChromeOS
The Atom Text editor has been growing in popularity since it launched a few years ago. Fortunately it is incredibly easy to get the Atom Text Editor to install on ChromeOS via Project Crostini. Here are the steps:
Is your ChromeOS Linux Terminal Broken??? Why not replace it with Gnome Terminal?
If you were like me who found their Terminal application completely broken after upgrading to ChromeOS 68.0.3431.0, you are likely irritated and mashing the update button for a fix to be delivered a few times a day. I got to thinking this afternoon of a workaround, why not replace it with something a bit more reliable – like Gnome Terminal? It turns out that it works flawlessly and is pretty easy to setup. Here are the steps;