Sundar Pichai – leader of one of the largest companies in the world. The CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet made their way to the company during his illustrious 17-year tenure. His accomplishments are many and he is partly responsible for many of the Google services that millions use daily. For the countless who use Chrome and / or Chrome OS daily, here’s a little history lesson for you. In 2010, Sundar took the stage as the product management lead for Chrome and announced what’s new with the new browser that would become a global powerhouse. During the conversation, Mr. Pichai announced the launch of the Chrome OS trial. Chrome OS started developing about a year ago, but now Google really wanted to get Chrome OS devices in the hands of developers to test and improve. Therefore, the Cr-48 was born. Watch the video below if you want to quickly look back on that day.
Over the past ten years, Chrome OS has come a long way. We will not go deep into the evolution of the platform. If you want to learn more, you’re currently on a website that is literally dedicated to Chrome OS. Chrome OS has been criticized for years for any number of shortcomings and shortcomings, but we’m excited to share regularly that most of the arguments are no longer valid. You can now easily print from any Chromebook and all current devices now have access to the Google Play Store and millions of Android applications. Users can install and manage Linux applications, and enterprise customers even have access to local Windows virtual machines thanks to a partnership with Parallels. Like it or hate it, you can not deny that Chrome OS comes into its own and that it has gone beyond the experience of the only “browser” it used to be.
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That said, one area where Chrome OS users are still looking for answers is the ongoing support of devices that have come to the end of their lives. Granted, Google has made great strides in this area as new Chromebook models that are on the market are required to receive updates to Chrome OS for no less than eight years from the initial release of the hardware. This is great, but what about devices that are on the shelves that still have hardware but are no longer up to date? This was the exact question asked during a question and answer session during yesterday’s media session to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Chrome OS.
Although Google did not respond directly, ChromeOS product management director Alexander Kuscher said Chrome OS developers are “working under cover” to make sure the browser on Chrome OS is always up to date. It’s about all the details we’ve been given, but it was enough to convince us that the “LaCrOS” project he was referring to. LaCrOS is an attempt to separate the Chrome browser from the Chrome operating system so that, when a device reaches End of Life, the browser can still receive important updates and provide a safe and secure browsing experience for users who not a perfectly good laptop.
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This did not surprise us so much, but Google has not yet shared any official information about LaCrOS or the division between Chrome and Chrome OS. However, when I flipped through Twitter last night, I came across a tweet from Sundar Pichai that reinforces our belief that this is exactly what is happening. In the tweet, Google’s CEO shared a photo of the iconic Cr-48 and mentioned his time working on the device. He added that “it may be time to update to the latest version of Chrome”.
For those unfamiliar with the inner workings of Chrome OS, this tweet may seem like an insignificant nod to the tenth anniversary of the operating system. Given the information shared during the virtual meeting and the extensive work being done on LaCrOS, we think there’s a lot more to this little tweet than you can see. If you ask me, Sundar just messed up the beans that we’ll finally see a standalone version of Chrome on the Chrome operating system. The fact that he shared it and the recent news that Chrome will soon be working on a new update program, believes that Chrome and Chrome OS will soon be two different units in one ecosystem, and that’s good news for Chromebook users everywhere. Mr. Pichai, if you want to confirm this, we would like to have you in a future episode of The Chrome Cast. Send us a line.