Chrome OS will enable Linux applications to run on virtual machines

Chromebook users will soon be able to run Linux distributions and applications on Google Chrome OS hardware in an easier way.

According to foreign media Chrome Unboxed, Chromium Gerrit has a newly merged submission that describes “a new device strategy for allowing Linux virtual machines on Chrome OS.”

Image: CNET

Related entries suggest support on Chrome OS version 66, which will be released around April 24, which means Google may announce it at the annual IO Developers’ Conference, which starts on May 8.

Developers can now use a tool called Crouton to install and run Linux on Chrome OS, but there is a security risk due to the need to switch Chrome OS to developer mode. There is also a Crouton extension called Xiwi that allows you to use the operating system in Chrome OS’s browser window, but you also need to enable developer mode.

A recent submission shows that Chrome developers are developing a project called Crostini that addresses developer mode issues by allowing Linux VMs to run in containers.

Source: ZDNet