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In fact, it can be downright confusing - especially when you have to head into the terminal, its powerful command-line interface, which is the only way to install Linux apps on a Chromebook. Even Chrome OS and Android have Linux-based technology at their cores.įor all of its utility, though, Linux isn't always the most intuitive operating system. When you hear people talk about Ubuntu, Mint, or Raspbian - the software associated with the ultra-affordable Raspberry Pi computers - you're hearing the names of specific flavors, or " distributions," of Linux. Despite its geeky reputation, Linux is actually used for a variety of everyday purposes, even in the enterprise. Linux, for the uninitiated, is a free and open-source operating system (well, technically a series of operating systems) adored by developers, privacy advocates, and plenty of other technically inclined hominids. And if that isn't enough, many models have recently gained the ability to run Linux apps as well. Contemporary Chromebooks still run all the standard web-based stuff, of course, but they're also capable of connecting to Google's entire Play Store and running almost any Android app imaginable. The software that started out as a strictly web-centric entity - with everything revolving around the Chrome browser and apps that could operate inside it - is now one of modern computing's most versatile operating systems. Google's Chrome OS platform sure isn't what it used to be.
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