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<h1 id="chrome-os-could-become-the-future-leader-of-computing">Chrome OS Could Become the Future Leader of Computing</h1>
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<p>2022-01-06</p>
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<p><strong>FOSS Enthusiasts</strong>: This article discusses the use of proprietary software and places it in a <em>positive</em> light. You have been warned. No angry emails please&#8230;</p>
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<hr/>
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<p>Google has created one of the best operating systems designed with the everyday user1 in mind: <a href="https://www.google.com/chromebook/chrome-os/">Chrome OS</a>. It is undeniably simple, reliable, easy to setup, and ships with several years of support before any form of EOL kicks in. New models have built-in support for the Google Play Store and Android applications, which is helpful for application development and debugging.</p>
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<p>In addition, Chrome OS devices allow you to run Linux in a separate container alongside the main OS (on supported devices). You can&#8217;t complain about that!</p>
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<p>Let&#8217;s take a quick look at other positive features worth mentioning:</p>
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<ul>
<li>Verified boot</li>
<li>Sandboxed environment (similar to how Chrome tabs work)</li>
<li>Automatic updates[^2]</li>
<li><em>Incredible</em> battery life (were talking 10+ hours with heavy usage)</li>
</ul>
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<h2 id="my-personal-experience">My Personal Experience</h2>
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<p>A handful of months ago I snagged the Lenovo Chromebook Duet when it was on sale for my wife. Since she does all her work directly through an Android phone, I thought of this as a nice companion device. And indeed it was&#47;is.</p>
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<p>In that time, I played around with the tablet myself to have a better grasp of the ecosystem and it&#8217;s obvious limitations. But a funny thing happened. I found that those &#8220;limitations&#8221; slowly started to disappear the longer I worked with the device.</p>
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<p>I decided to get my own Chrome OS device and snagged the <a href="https://www.lenovo.com/ca/en/laptops/lenovo/student-chromebooks/Lenovo-10e-Chromebook-Tablet/p/82AM000EUS">Lenovo 10e Chromebook Tablet</a> (on sale).</p>
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<ul>
<li>10.1&#8221; display (1920 x 1200) &#47; 400 nits</li>
<li>4GB of RAM</li>
<li>32GB of eMMC storage</li>
<li>Processor: MediaTek MT8183 Processor (2.00 GHz, 4 Cores, 1 MB Cache)</li>
</ul>
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<p>Now, I know that your initial reaction is likely: &#8220;Wow, those specs are pretty barebones!&#8221; and you would be correct. But it&#8217;s all you need for this ecosystem to work. As cringe-inducing as it may sound, everything you plan to do on these devices should happen <em>in the cloud</em>. (Let&#8217;s take a moment to avoid vomiting in our collective mouths)</p>
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<p>Instead of using a few marketing buzz words, let me breakdown how I personally tailor Chrome OS to my needs as a designer &#47; developer:</p>
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<ol>
<li><a href="#daily-tasks">Daily Tasks</a></li>
<li><a href="#programming">Programming</a></li>
<li><a href="#design">Design</a></li>
<li><a href="#gaming">Gaming</a></li>
</ol>
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<h2 id="daily-tasks">Daily Tasks</h2>
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<p>I feel like going into <em>great</em> detail explaining how to do basic, daily computing tasks is a little overkill here. Spreadsheets, word documents, Zoom meetings, and streaming media work as expected. You have the ability to use Google&#8217;s own web apps for these things or reach for other vendors such as Microsoft and Libre Office. Not being &#8220;locked in&#8221; to Google software is nice and I appreciate the Chrome OS team being flexible.</p>
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<h2 id="programming">Programming</h2>
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<p>This one is a mixed bag and your own mileage may vary depending on your specific requirements. Personally, I use Github for almost all my main development work. Because of this, I utilize <a href="https://github.com/features/codespaces">Codespaces</a>. For those unfamiliar with the service, you are running your Github repo in VSCode through the browser. It&#8217;s pretty impressive.</p>
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<p>If you happen to be a user who uses GitLab or BitBucket to store your project files, <a href="https://www.gitpod.io/">Gitpod</a> is a similar product to Codespaces (which I&#8217;ve used on occasion). This works if your prefer.</p>
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<p>Others may not like this programming setup but for me it works great. If running code remotely isn&#8217;t your jam, you could always take a look at running <a href="https://vscodium.com/">VSCodium</a> locally via Linux.</p>
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<h2 id="design">Design</h2>
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<p>There is flexibility yet again in this category. Personally, I tend to use Figma almost exclusively as my main design tool. The best thing about Figma? It runs directly in the browser. A perfect fit for Chromebooks[^3].</p>
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<p>I do open Gimp periodically for photo-specific work. It runs in its own Linux container and chugs along smoothly, even with 4GB of available memory. If all else fails, one could use <a href="https://www.photopea.com/">Photopea</a> to keep everything working through the browser (if Linux isn&#8217;t your cup of tea).</p>
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<p>Those of you in love with MacOS specific apps like Sketch - I can&#8217;t help you. You&#8217;re stuck with Apple&#8217;s ecosystem. (Not that there is anything wrong with Sketch!)</p>
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<h2 id="gaming">Gaming</h2>
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<p>There are other options (that we will get into) but the main gaming champion here is <strong>Stadia</strong>[^4]. As long as your internet speeds are over 10mbps, mind you. I use garbage satellite internet (counting down the days for Starlink to become available here&#8230;) with an average speed of 18-20mbps and Stadia runs like a dream. Even <em>wirelessly</em>. Now pair this with the portability of a Chromebook device and you&#8217;ve got yourself a beefier Nintendo Switch.</p>
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<p>You have solid secondary options like <a href="https://play.geforcenow.com/mall/#/layout/games">GeForce Now</a> and <a href="https://www.xbox.com/en-CA/xbox-game-pass/cloud-gaming">Microsoft&#8217;s xCloud (beta)</a> for an even larger catalogue of games. Not to mention the ability to play a lot of Android games natively on Chromebooks that support Play Store applications.</p>
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<h2 id="eye-rolling-scoffing">Eye Rolling &#38; Scoffing</h2>
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<p>I can hear the screeching across the interwebs: &#8220;<em>Wait - this is Google! They are literally Satan in disguise! No one can use products from that evil mega corporation!</em>&#8221;. And while I agree with the sentiment, I think going down this pure, 100% elitist approach to software <em>doesn&#8217;t work</em> with the everyday casual user. Not to mention the large swath of developers&#47;designers screaming &#8220;Google is bad!&#8221; while working off an <em>Apple</em> device&#8230;</p>
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<p>Hell even I, a vocal advocate for open source software and privacy, can see the great benefits to using Chrome OS as a daily driver. </p>
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<p>Testing out Chrome OS with your non-technical friends and family could help reduce a lot of headaches found in more &#8220;popular&#8221; systems. That doesn&#8217;t mean advanced users have to switch over. Use what works the best for you. For my immediate family members and social circles, I have nothing but positive things to say about Chrome OS.</p>
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<p>I have no crystal ball to see what the future of Chrome OS holds but it looks pretty promising to me.</p>
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<h2 id="refs">Refs</h2>
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<ol>
<li>&#8220;Users&#8221; referring to those mainly using their devices for word documents, spread sheets, media consumption, programming, messaging, minor interactivity (no heavy video or production editing)</li>
<li>These updates go unnoticed, compared to that of MacOS or Windows&#8230;</li>