Recently the Google developers who are in charge of the Chrome OS project, announced the launch of the new version of the Chrome OS 99 operating system, version in which the main innovations that are presented are a function to transfer files between nearby devices, as well as the ability to record videos as GIFs, among other things.
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 99 web browser.
Main new features of Chrome OS 99
The release of the new version of Chrome OS 99 was announced a few days ago, but yesterday, March 9, the Google developers made a publication in relation to the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the launch of Chromebooks, which has added a handful of new new features.
Chromebooks launched 10 years ago with a vision to rethink computing by designing a secure, easy-to-use laptop that gets faster and smarter over time. As more and more people started using Chrome OS devices, we evolved and expanded the platform to meet your diverse needs.
Today, Chrome OS devices do everything from helping people get things done to entertaining them while they relax. But we want to do more to bring a powerfully simple computing experience to the millions of people who use Chromebooks. We're celebrating 10 years of Chromebooks with lots of new features to make our vision a reality.
Of the improvements received, we can highlight, for example, the expansion of WiFi Sync, as well as improvements made to Phone Hubs, plus future plans to use Near Share to instantly and securely share files between your Chromebook and other Chrome OS devices.
Regarding the novelties that were received with the launch of the new version of Chrome OS 99, the "Share nearby" function, which allows you to transfer files Quickly and safely to nearby devices running the Chrome browser, supports background scanning of devices. Background scanning allows detecting devices that are ready to transfer data and notifying the user of its appearance, allowing you to start transferring without switching to device search mode.
Another change that stands out in this new version of Chrome OS 99 is that added the ability to return to full screen mode to open apps after unlocking the device. Previously, when returning from sleep mode, full-screen applications returned to windowed mode, which interfered with normal work with virtualized desktops.
Besides that, the file manager now comes in the form of a SWA app (system web app) instead of a Chrome app, while the functionality has remained unchanged.
It is also highlighted that vulnerabilities have been fixed: problems with authentication in the VPN client, access to memory already freed in the window manager, Near Share, ChromeVox and the printing interface.
Of the other changes that stand out of this new version:
- Optimized touch screen controls and improved handling of multi-touch gestures.
- Overview mode provides the ability to move windows with the mouse to a new virtual desktop that is created automatically.
- Added the ability to record videos in the form of animated GIFs in the camera app. The size of such videos cannot exceed 5 seconds.
Finally 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
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.