ChromeOS is a Linux-based operating system designed by Google
Few days ago The launch of the new version of Chrome OS 119 was announced, which features improvements to keyboard shortcuts, as well as the Material You makeover update, also highlights beta support for Steam, bug fixes, and more.
For those unfamiliar with Chrome OS, you should know that the system is based on the Linux kernel, ebuild/portage build tools, open components, and the Chrome web browser.
Main new features of Chrome OS 119
In this new version of Chrome OS 119 that is presented, a of the most notable news is the arrival of beta support for Steam, with which the users of Chromebooks that Google has deemed capable of running Steam, you will be able to find andn the app drawer direct access to the Steam installer. Once installed, users will be able to download and install games from the Valve store. This includes games designed to run natively on Linux, as well as Windows games, thanks to Proton software that Valve designed to allow Windows games to run on Linux devices (like the Steam Deck).
It is mentioned that the availability of the installer is only for computers that meet the following requirements: Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 processor or better, at least 8 GB of RAM and at least 128 GB of storage
Another new feature that accompanies this new version of Chrome OS 119 is the screenshot audio settings, Well now the ChromeOS screen recordings Allow you to choose to record system audio, microphone audio, or both. System-wide microphone and camera settings have also been added to completely disable the microphone and camera for all apps.
In addition to this, we can also find the improvements to keyboard shortcuts, Well, now with the Alt key it is possible to simulate Home, End, Page Up and Page Down, in addition to simulating a right click by pressing "Alt+Left Button".
On the other hand, in Chrome OS 119 The new review of «Material You» is presented in which changes have been made to the settings in the tab bar, bookmarks bar and menus. The search for new tabs button is now in the top left corner, plus the entire tab strip is narrower with less defined dividers between tabs. Menus like the main 3-dot, add-ons, and side panel also look tighter, and changes have also been made to bookmarks folders, the main settings page, and other iconography throughout the UI.
Of the other changes that stand out from this new version:
- The administrator now allows you to set sets of applications, windows, and utilities that activate automatically when you turn on the device or when the user explicitly accesses them.
- Chromebook Plus users have the ability to sync files from Google Drive to a local drive, allowing them to work offline.
- Security fixes:
CVE-2023-21216 Use-after-free in the PowerVR GPU driver caused by access to an already freed memory area
CVE-2023-5996: Use after free in WebAudio.
Fix for CVE-2023-35685 on affected platforms
Fixes for CVE-2023-4244 and CVE-2023-5197 in the Linux kernel Android runtime container security fixes: CVE-2023-40113, CVE-2023-40109, CVE-2023-40114, CVE-2023- 40110, CVE-2023-40112 and CVE-2023-40118
If you want to know more about it about this new version of the system, you can check the details by going to to the following link.
Download Chrome OS 119
The new build now available for most Chromebooks current, as well as external developers have trained versions for common computers with x86, x86_64 and ARM processors.
Last but not least, if you are a Raspberry user, you should know that you can also install Chrome OS on your device, only that the version you can find is not the most current, and there is still the problem with video acceleration due to hardware.