{"id":644001,"date":"2013-02-26T13:13:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-26T18:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=614485"},"modified":"2013-02-26T13:13:00","modified_gmt":"2013-02-26T18:13:00","slug":"3-alternatives-to-chrome-os-on-googles-chromebook-pixel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/644001","title":{"rendered":"3 alternatives to Chrome OS on Google\u2019s Chromebook Pixel"},"content":{"rendered":"

The more I use Google’s new Chromebook Pixel<\/a>, the more I consider buying one; I have to return the loaner laptop next week. To many, that sounds insane: “Pay $1,299 for a browser?” is the common comment theme I’m seeing. And it’s a fair point if you do more than just work on the web. Even me, a Chromebook owner since last June<\/a>, occasionally strays outside the Internet for some activity. Can that actually be done on a Chromebook Pixel? Actually, yes it can, because because you can use other operating systems on this hardware.<\/p>\n

After\u00a0researching\u00a0over the weekend and asking some Googlers themselves, I found out that unlike prior Chromebooks, there is a BIOS option that is writable: meaning the Pixel’s startup software isn’t locked down as much as prior Chrome OS devices. Google included a copy of SeaBIOS with the Pixel, currently allowing for the installation of Linux distributions<\/a>. Here’s an instruction page on how to do this<\/a>\u00a0and the following explanation from Bill Richardson, who works at Google:<\/p>\n

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“Chrome OS firmware normally consists of three distinct BIOS images. First, there is the read-only BIOS, which is (duh) read-only. It can\u2019t be modified without disassembly. Then there are two read-write BIOS images, called RW A and RW B. The read-only BIOS is what runs when the machine is first powered on. It checks the two read-write BIOSes (A, then B), looking for one that is correctly signed by Google. If it finds one, it jumps to that image, which then looks for a valid kernel, and so forth. If there is no valid RW firmware (or some other fault has occurred), the execution stays in the RO BIOS and enters Recovery mode.<\/p>\n

With the Pixel, we\u2019d added an extra (unverified) BIOS slot. It only works in developer mode, and you have to explicitly enable it, but we\u2019ve put a copy of Seabios in the Pixel firmware.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"linux-mint\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The second option for running an alternative platform on the Pixel is a tool created by David Schneider<\/a>, another Googler. Called crouton — standing for\u00a0ChRomium Os UbunTu chrOot enviroNment<\/em> — the downloadable tool supports running Ubuntu in a virtual instance within Chrome OS.<\/p>\n

This means you can run the standard Chrome OS environment and a fully usable Ubuntu build at the same time. To toggle between the two environments, you simply press Ctrl-Alt-Refresh (F3) for Ubuntu or press Ctrl-Alt-Back (F1) for Chrome OS according to Richardson, who shared this picture of the end result.<\/p>\n

\"Ubuntu<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, if you want to run Mac OS X or Microsoft Windows, you’re out of luck on a Chromebook Pixel, but as a Googler reminded me in this thread<\/a>, you can always use Chrome Remote Desktop to connect to another system. Bensen Leung, a Linux Kernel engineer on the Chrome OS team, told me he uses that method — in addition to the above Linux approaches — to connect to desktops on other platforms.<\/p>\n

Are these ideal solutions for a laptop that costs $1,299 or more? Probably not for most folks, but they do provide options outside of just using a web browser.<\/p>\n

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