{"id":183,"date":"2018-10-17T05:26:02","date_gmt":"2018-10-17T05:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/index.php\/2018\/10\/17\/chrome-os-stable-channel-gets-linux-apps\/"},"modified":"2018-10-17T05:26:02","modified_gmt":"2018-10-17T05:26:02","slug":"chrome-os-stable-channel-gets-linux-apps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/index.php\/2018\/10\/17\/chrome-os-stable-channel-gets-linux-apps\/","title":{"rendered":"Chrome OS Stable Channel Gets Linux Apps"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to get started with Linux Apps for Chromebooks.<\/em><\/p>\n

\nAfter months of user testing in developer and beta channels, the Crostini
\nproject at Google finally delivered the goods, Linux apps for most users
\nof Chromebooks in the stable channel\u2014definitely worth the wait. While
\nthis still is aimed primarily at developers using Chromebooks, I think
\nthere’s a good chance these Linux apps will be used and enjoyed by the
\ngeneral public using Chromebooks as well. There’s still a bit of a learning
\ncurve to overcome before that possibility is realized, but if you
\nalready are a user of any Linux distro, it will feel very familiar. Here’s
\nan overview of how to install it and what to expect afterward.\n<\/p>\n

\nAfter getting the update to version 69, go to Settings and scroll
\ndown a bit, and you’ll see the option to turn on Linux apps. Figure 1
\nshows this first step. Note that this isn’t available on all Chromebooks; if
\nyou’re using an
\nolder one, you’ll have to wait a while before this function is available. If
\nyou don’t see the option to turn on Linux apps, your Chromebook
\ncurrently lacks that functionality. But, if you have a Chromebook
\nproduced in the past two years, you probably will see the option.\n<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/p>\n

\nFigure 1. Linux Apps Option<\/em><\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/p>\n

\nFigure 2. Installing Linux Apps<\/em><\/p>\n

\nAfter it’s done installing, you see the terminal appear. From here, you
\ncan do as you would with any terminal. I chose to sudo apt-get
\ninstall the
\nGIMP, Open Shot, Handbrake, Firefox and the GNOME Software Center,
\nwhich I used to download and install Audacity. The GNOME Software
\nCenter provides an easy-to-manage GUI method of finding the more
\npopular Linux apps, but if you prefer the terminal method of using apt-get
\ninstall, that works just as well and provides more app choices than the GNOME
\nSoftware Center.\n<\/p>\n

\nOne more thing to note about the GNOME Software
\nCenter is that you likely will not see any apps in it after first installing
\nit. You need to reboot first before the apps appear.\n<\/p>\n

\nIf you want to run
\nFirefox on a Chromebook, there are actually two ways to do it. One way
\nis to download and install Firefox from the Google Play Store as an Android
\napp. Now with Linux apps via Crostini, you also can download and install
\nit from the terminal using apt-get install, but it needs to be the extended
\nsupport release version, Firefox-ESR.\n<\/p>\n

\nFigures 3\u20135 show some of my installed apps up and running.\n<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/p>\n

\nFigure 3. OpenShot<\/em><\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/p>\n

Figure 4. The GIMP<\/em><\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/p>\n

\nFigure 5. GNOME Software Center<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\nFile management for Linux apps is available in the Files folder\u2014on the bottom
\nleft side below Play files, you’ll see Linux files. This folder is where
\nall files created by a Linux app reside. Manually adding sub-folders
\nis necessary, since this is a blank canvas when you start. You can copy and
\npaste the Linux
\nfiles folder to and from Chrome OS folders, but the
\nreverse is more difficult. Moving files from the Linux files folder
\nback to Chrome OS folders involves copying to either your Google Drive
\nor an external drive, then moving it back to the Chromebook’s Chrome
\nOS files folders. This is one function that shows Crostini is still in
\na beta state\u2014hopefully it’ll be corrected in future OS releases.\n<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/p>\n

\nFigure 6. Linux File Folder<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe rest of my experience using Linux apps on my Chromebook has been
\ngreat, with the exception of Audacity; they all have functioned exactly as they do on my Ubuntu Linux
\nlaptop. The Linux apps further expand the Chromebook’s functionality,
\nwhich already had gotten a substantial boost last year with the addition
\nof Android apps.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe Chromebook is rather quickly becoming a full-service
\nlaptop\/tablet experience\u2014one that actually involves three OS experiences
\nunder one hood, each one as easy to access as the other. For me, the one
\nLinux app to add a function I needed but didn’t previously
\nhave is Audacity. Unfortunately, there is currently no audio support in
\nCrostini that allows Audacity to do what it is designed to do\u2014another
\nbeta hiccup that hopefully will be addressed sooner rather than later. Just
\nto clarify, you will hear audio from a video or audio file stored in Linux
\nfiles, such as something transcoded in the Handbrake Linux app, since that
\nis actually being played by a media player in Chrome OS, you just can’t
\ncurrently create audio in Crostini.
\nThe GIMP also adds a missing dimension for
\nChromebooks, providing a full photo-editing suite of tools\u2014who needs Photoshop when you have the GIMP? I believe the
\naddition of Linux apps will enhance the Chromebook’s appeal to the general
\npublic, not just for the developers for whom Crostini was first created.
\nAnd, if you are a developer,
\nyou now have another option on which to create.\n<\/p>\n

\nFor developers considering a Chromebook for work, the best
\noption is one of several high-end Chromebooks\u2014like any of the Google
\nPixelbooks, the Asus Flip c302 or the HP X2. If you need to know what
\nCrostini can and can’t do for developing before purchasing, see
\nthe open-source Chromium
\nproject page<\/a> on containers and Crostini,
\nwhich should answer all the questions you may have on this subject.\n<\/p>\n

\nChromebooks are now a viable option for those who wish to use open-source
\napps with an added layer of security that’s hard to match. Plus, the added
\nexposure to open-source apps is also a good thing for the Open Source
\ncommunity. Here’s to hoping Crostini progresses from beta to stable and
\nbecomes easy to use for everyone.\n<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How to get started with Linux Apps for Chromebooks. After months of user testing in developer and beta channels, the Crostini project at Google finally delivered the goods, Linux apps for most users of Chromebooks in the stable channel\u2014definitely worth the wait. While this still is aimed primarily at developers using Chromebooks, I think there’s … <\/p>\n

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