Chromium OS is the open source version of Google’s Chrome Operating System. Like Chrome OS, Chromium is basically an operating system built around a web browser.
While there are only a handful of Chrome OS devices available for purchase right now, Google makes the source code for Chromium available — and that means it’s possible to compile it to run on a range of devices. That includes the Raspberry Pi $35 computer.
Prolific Chromium OS tweaker Hexxeh plans to release builds of Chromium OS Vanilla for the Raspberry Pi soon. You’ll be able to load the image on an SD card, plug it into the little computer and boot into Chrome OS with little effort.
But until those builds are ready, the folks at CNXSoft have put together instructions for building Chrome OS for the Raspberry Pi yourself.
Since the computer has an older ARM-based processor you’ll need to compile the operating system to run on a device with an ARMv6 chip. You’ll also need a reasonably fast computer with a Linux-based operating system and a the ability to follow some pretty specific instructions for working with Linux commands.
Or you can just wait until Hexxeh’s builds are available. He already offers Chromium OS builds for computers with x86 chips and tools for installing the operating system on a USB flash drive using Windows, OS X, or Linux.