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Does ChromeOS allow you to not use Chrome?

erikpukinskis 9y ago
That's not a fair comparison. That's like asking if Windows allows you to not use Windows. Chrome let's you use arbitrary apps not selected by Google; web apps. These apps are first class citizens in the UI with all of the same OS access as Google's apps.
mattnewton 9y ago
It does let you use Bing and office 365.
- mirsadm 9y ago
  That wasn't the question. Can you run Firefox on Chrome OS?
  - tdb7893 9y ago
    Isn't the play store coming to Chrome OS? I think that would mean that you would be able to run Firefox
  - icebraining 9y ago
    Yes, actually :) http://www.techrepublic.com/article/4-alternatives-to-the-chrome-browser-on-chrome-os/ http://www.techrepublic.com/article/4-alternatives-to-the-ch...
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - ksk 9y ago
    As an android app - yes if Google decides to bless it. Until Google arbitrarily changes their mind, as they often do.
kevin2r 9y ago
And with the play store coming it allows you to install other browsers like firefox.
hoschicz 9y ago
Not Chrome, because it is so tightly integrated with the system. But you can change to Bing or use Word Online instead of Google Docs. You can't install apps from outside Google Play (for Chromebooks that can run Android apps) or Chrome Web Store. But you can unlock it (developer mode) and get basically a Gentoo with a custom display server and desktop environment. The admins can lock your options down and apply a lot of surveillance too.
arthurfm 9y ago
You can install any Android browser on Chrome OS devices that are capable of running Android apps e.g. Firefox.
AdmiralAsshat 9y ago
I don't think this is apples to apples, because ChromeOS tries as best it can to make the browser the entire OS, with any remaining Linux components abstracted away. So I wouldn't necessarily consider it anti-competitive that a Chromebook can only run Chrome, anymore than I would it consider anti-competitive that a Nintendo Switch can only run Nintendo Switch games. But to strictly answer your question, the Chromebook does allow you to turn on developer mode, where you could then install a Debian/Ubuntu chroot via crouton, on which you could then install Firefox. So in a word, yes.
tdicola 9y ago
That's like asking does Chrome browser allow you to run Safari or Edge.
- nailer 9y ago
  ChromeOS is Debian under the hood.
  - kps 9y ago
    No, more Gentoo-ish. See https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os
    - nailer 9y ago
      You're right, I stand corrected.
  - tdicola 9y ago
    It's Gentoo, but that doesn't really matter--it's built to only expose a browser, not to be a general purpose computer.
bitmapbrother 9y ago
Does ChromeOS allow you to change the search engine? Yes. Does Windows 10 S allow you to change the search engine? No.

That's not a fair comparison. That's like asking if Windows allows you to not use Windows. Chrome let's you use arbitrary apps not selected by Google; web apps. These apps are first class citizens in the UI with all of the same OS access as Google's apps.

mattnewton 9y ago

It does let you use Bing and office 365.

mirsadm 9y ago
That wasn't the question. Can you run Firefox on Chrome OS?
- tdb7893 9y ago
  Isn't the play store coming to Chrome OS? I think that would mean that you would be able to run Firefox
- icebraining 9y ago
  Yes, actually :) http://www.techrepublic.com/article/4-alternatives-to-the-chrome-browser-on-chrome-os/ http://www.techrepublic.com/article/4-alternatives-to-the-ch...
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- ksk 9y ago
  As an android app - yes if Google decides to bless it. Until Google arbitrarily changes their mind, as they often do.

kevin2r 9y ago

And with the play store coming it allows you to install other browsers like firefox.

hoschicz 9y ago

Not Chrome, because it is so tightly integrated with the system. But you can change to Bing or use Word Online instead of Google Docs. You can't install apps from outside Google Play (for Chromebooks that can run Android apps) or Chrome Web Store. But you can unlock it (developer mode) and get basically a Gentoo with a custom display server and desktop environment. The admins can lock your options down and apply a lot of surveillance too.

arthurfm 9y ago

You can install any Android browser on Chrome OS devices that are capable of running Android apps e.g. Firefox.

AdmiralAsshat 9y ago

I don't think this is apples to apples, because ChromeOS tries as best it can to make the browser the entire OS, with any remaining Linux components abstracted away. So I wouldn't necessarily consider it anti-competitive that a Chromebook can only run Chrome, anymore than I would it consider anti-competitive that a Nintendo Switch can only run Nintendo Switch games. But to strictly answer your question, the Chromebook does allow you to turn on developer mode, where you could then install a Debian/Ubuntu chroot via crouton, on which you could then install Firefox. So in a word, yes.

tdicola 9y ago

That's like asking does Chrome browser allow you to run Safari or Edge.

nailer 9y ago
ChromeOS is Debian under the hood.
- kps 9y ago
  No, more Gentoo-ish. See https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os
  - nailer 9y ago
    You're right, I stand corrected.
- tdicola 9y ago
  It's Gentoo, but that doesn't really matter--it's built to only expose a browser, not to be a general purpose computer.

bitmapbrother 9y ago

Does ChromeOS allow you to change the search engine? Yes. Does Windows 10 S allow you to change the search engine? No.