Chromebooks are characterise by their power to run Chrome and very minuscule else — which makes sense , given the name — but these laptops are actually more versatile than you clear . One or two exceptions aside , you’re able to run just about every other modern web browser app on your Chromebook if you demand a modification from Chrome , and there are a duet of ways to go about it .
The first way is the most Byzantine , but it ’s also the best in term of user experience : to get aLinux sandbox hightail it on your Chromebook . Chrome OS is establish on the Linux marrow , and loading up the alternative operating organization on Google ’s laptops is more straight now than it ’s ever been .
Google has an officialsupport documenton how to lay out this up , though keep in mind that the characteristic is still pronounce as being in beta , so you should require the occasional hemipterous insect . cluck the clock in the lower correct recession of the Chrome OS interface , then click the sprocket icon to get to the options Lucy in the sky with diamonds . Choose Linux ( Beta ) and Turn on .
Get several browsers set up on your Chromebook.Photo: Gizmodo
After a few minutes of setup , you ’ll see a vacuous final window , which can be a little scary if you ’ve never used Linux before . It ’s a undecomposed idea to run a couplet of commands powerful off , which will ensure that the Linux software you ’re prevail is up to day of the month ( impinge on Enter after each line ) .
sudo apt update
sudo liable rise
Linux setup should only take a minute or two.Screenshot: Chrome OS
Then you ’re ready to install some software . This being the command communication channel , you need to know the name of the software packages you want , but they ’re not hard to regain — checkthis listfor browsers , for example . Firefox is perhaps the one most people will be concerned in , and that can be installed with the bank line :
sudo apt - get install firefox - esr
Other internet browser that do n’t come as part of Debian Linux are a little intemperate to put in . The sound route is to download the right installation file to your Chromebook ( making sure to identify it in the Linux apps folder ) , then practice the commands below . For example , for Vivaldi you would download the 64 - routine Debian Linux packagefrom here , then typecast these lines into the bidding line ( collide with go into each time ):
The terminal window.Screenshot: Chrome OS
sudo dpkg -i vivaldi-stable.deb
sudo disposed -f install
Replace “ vivaldi-stable.deb ” with the correct filename ( it ’ll typically have the edition number included ) . Programs that you establish in this means will appear in the Chrome O app draftsman , either on their own or under the Linux apps heading . Just select the relevant icon to set up a internet browser , and Chrome OS handles all the necessary switching to and from the Linux environment .
Firefox running on Chrome OS.Screenshot: Chrome OS
These instructions should wreak in Chromebooks exhaust in the last couplet of long time and several older models , too . If you get stuck at some spot , or you require to explore what other Linux apps you’re able to go on your Chromebook , there ’s plenty of help available on the web . Theofficial subredditfor getting Linux black market on Chrome OS is a good starting point .
Browsers you establish using this method acting will run as they would on Linux , in full screen background fashion and with all the associated features enable . They ’ll snarl to the sides of the screen if require , just like Chrome windows , and maximize and derogate their window as normal , so you may use several browsers together if you require to .
There is another way of running alternative browsers on Chrome OS , which is n’t quite as satisfying but a lot easier to do : Simply debase up the Play Store portal on your Chromebook to take advantage of Android app support in Chrome OS , and install whatever secondary browsers you like .
The Android web web browser market is a crowded one , and you ’ve start out plenty of options to pick from : Firefox , Brave , Vivaldi , Opera , thePuffin Web web browser , etc . ( though not all Android browsers will show up in the Play Store due to a deficiency of financial support — Microsoft Edge is one instance ) .
The independent downside here is that you ’re tend the peregrine versions of these apps . Unless you specifically request the desktop situation from the web browser app carte du jour , websites will appear as they do on your earpiece . For many of the pages you come across on the web that wo n’t be a major job , but it ’s not the full web web browser experience .
Still , it ’s more square to install web browser this way , if you ’re access a site that does n’t work peculiarly well in Chrome , or if you want to sync watchword , bookmark , and other data over from a web browser on a different gimmick .
If you ’ve really had enough with Chrome and are eager to change to a dissimilar web browser on your other computers and phones , these two options mean you could take your Chromebook with you and still take vantage of its lightweight mathematical process and sinewy certificate features . As you would expect , there ’s no way to get rid of Chrome completely — it still runs beneath everything else .
AndroidChromeBooksGoogle
Daily Newsletter
Get the best technical school , scientific discipline , and civilization news in your inbox day by day .
News from the future , delivered to your nowadays .
You May Also Like
