http://chromeos.hexxeh.net/Who is Hexxeh? Hexxeh is the dude who ported
everything over to RaspberryPi, he's the one who help start Cyanogen mod back when it was just an unlocked open source Android project, and he has begun him a new project just recently.
VanillaHexxeh has taken the open source Chrome OS project and packaged it like a distro off off of a bootable USB thumb drive media.
THIS IS NOT GOOGLE CHROME, IT IS AN OPEN SOURCE PROJECT WRITTEN FROM WHAT GOOGLE PERIODICALLY TURNS BACK TO OPEN SOURCE (as is required by the Linux FOSS license).
So it isn't totally totally current like the Google page stuff is. but it is packaged and tweeked with all the stuff an independent OS needs.
It is packaged completely though and it can run independent of whatever. It isn't the official Google stuff[/u], not yet. IT LACKS Flash, and any other licensed codex packages.
If folks are asking for a Chromium based XP replacement, this comes closer to being that than what Google currently provides.
Hexxeh would also listen to requests if XP folks were to ask him for a rescue upgrade package for XP. But, since he works for Google as an intern on Chrome OS right now he may not be allowed to release a full featured XP rescue package by his bosses.
Hexxeh has a history of excellence in coding and he listens to folks who post him stuff.
Think of him as the Zorro of the computing masses .... who happens to currently work for Google on Chrome OS right now.
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But, be aware that Zorro thinks you know a good bit of stuff (more than you likely do know).
Here are Hexxeh's instructions on how to do Vanilla.
1 Use WinRAR or 7zip to extract IMG file from the downloaded archive.
2 Use Windows Image Writer, then select the IMG file and select the USB device from the menu.
3 Click on "Write".
4 Boot from the newly created Chromium OS USB stick!
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According to another knowledgeable hacker, once you have Hexxeh's Vanilla running on your device its possible to upgrade from chromium os to the real Chrome OS just follow these steps.
1.press ctrl+alt+f2 and login as chronos the password is facepunch if you use hexxeh's build
2.type sudo touch /mnt/stateful_partition/.developer_mode (if you want to get rid of developer mode)
3.type the password
4.type wget
http://goo.gl/4suhf; sudo bash 4suhf
5.select an image file, wait, reboot
6.enjoy your free chromebook
Now, to really do all this requires you to be somewhat of a programmer, but the thought of fixing up Chrome OS to be a real hard drive bootable OS is really being kicked about on the net.
The rub being that drivers for all the assorted stuff out there
do not exist for Chrome OS since Chrome is only ever been supported on certain hardware devices (and the divers were worked out before the actual device shipped).
Still, folks in open source are both clever and resourceful. One path would be to take a current fully driver supported mini-distro as the bootable base and have it go automatically directly to Chrome OS as the only item on it.
Where there is a will, there is a way.
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But Google isn't going to do anything to kill off Microsoft -- that isn't something they are willing to do. Nor will they try to expand Chrome OS beyond their current
closely matched hardware/driver pairings.
And Hexxeh will have to pay attention to what Google wants, because he currently is working for them as an intern.
(smart young guy, he needs a job).