A new Chrome OS stable version is always fun. This is v74, which brings with it, among other things, audio output support for Linux applications (yay) and USB camera support for the Android Camera app. You can find the full changelog below.New Features
- Send system performance profiling data along with feedback reports
- Linux apps can output audio
- USB camera support for the Android Camera app
- Removal of deprecated supervised users
- [Accessibility] ChromeVox developer log options: There are now a number of developer options available within the ChromeVox Options page which enable developers to turn on logging for speech and other items
- Support for new files and folders under the “My files” local root
- Users can quickly access their most recent apps and Google searches by clicking on the search box
- Annotate documents from the Chrome PDF Viewer
Security Improvements
- The SafeSetID LSM has been added to Chrome OS and the Linux kernel. It allows system services to safely manage the users under which their programs run without requiring powerful system privileges. This improves security in the event there is a vulnerability in the system service that can be exploited.
Obviously, the one I’m most excited about is audio out for Linux apps, but the Android Camera app supporting USB cameras will excite a some, I’d imagine. Adding in the most recent opened apps and searches when the Search key is pressed is a good idea, though we’ll have to see how it is in practice. And I know document annotation in the Chrome PDF Viewer was needed, so good on Google for pushing it to stable users.
My Pixelbook hadn’t received the update at time of writing, but I’m looking forward to digging into the new stuff that Chrome OS 74 has to offer. If you find anything weird or broken when it hits your Chromebook, be sure to let Google know so the developers can address the issue.
