Google
launches Chrome OS Flex, a new free operating system based on Chrome OS. It is said that Chrome OS is a desktop operating system owned by Google, which is based on the open-source Chromium OS system. Anyone can download the Chromium OS source code and compile it into an operating system and use it, while Chrome OS is pre-installed on laptops by Google and OEMs.The newly launched Chrome OS Flex does not require users to compile and authorize and can be installed and used directly after downloading. The system is consistent with
Chrome OS in terms of content changes, so the differences between the two operating systems are relatively small.
Google’s positioning of the Chrome OS Flex system is for PCs and Macs with lower or older configurations, and this hardware may struggle in terms of performance to continue to install and use the new versions of Windows 11 and macOS. But installing Chrome OS Flex, which is a lightweight cloud-first operating system, can bring that hardware back to life. Lightweight means that Chrome OS Flex itself has very low hardware requirements.
Cloud refers to the fact that most of the content of Chrome OS Flex relies on the network to transmit online, for example, when you need to access a spreadsheet, you can click on Google Sheets. This is a web application rather than client software, so you can access most of Google’s services just through the Chrome browser. At the same time, if websites support PWA applications, they can also be installed through the Chrome browser.
As for the applications supported by Chrome OS Flex itself, there are not many applications, so Google claims that this operating system is safer, starts faster, does not cause the system to become stuck over time, supports automatic background updates, and supports Cloud management.
In addition, Google emphasizes that the Chrome OS Flex system is more secure. After all, executable files such as exe cannot be run. Chrome OS itself has its own sandbox system, so the security is indeed better.
If ordinary home users or enterprises want to download and deploy Chrome OS Flex, it is also super simple. All you need is a USB flash drive, write the image file, and modify the BIOS startup items to start the Chrome OS Flex installation process. For enterprises, IT administrators can conduct centralized management through the cloud after deployment, which is quite convenient on the whole, but the premise is that employees can adapt to the style of Chrome OS Flex.
