Google Chrome OS update: netbook compatibility, 64-bit version and 1Gb USB flash drive image

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Despite it being just a woefully incomplete preview release, hackers have been hard at work with Google Chrome OS in the two weeks since it was announced.

The most impressive evidence of their efforts is a growing list of hardware that shows what Chrome OS is currenty compatible with. It’s been put together at the developer site for the open-source operating system and shows 21 devices at present, with columns to show whether or not Wi-Fi, Ethernet, the trackpad and suspend/resume works properly. If you’ve tried Google Chrome OS on something that isn’t shown, you can sign up for an account and edit the list yourself.

Chrome OS is a 32-bit operating system — most netbooks use 32-bit Intel Atom processors and an OS that simply acts as a browser-based portal for online services won’t really benefit from more than 4Gb of RAM or 64-bit processing. Not that this has stopped developer Teo En Ming from compiling a 64-bit version of the operating system for himself though, and you can download an image of his unofficial 64-bit Chrome OS build from his site.

Finally, there are a few versions of Chrome OS floating around that can be booted from a USB flash drive, but you’ll need one with at least 4Gb capacity (or 8Gb for Dell’s version). We’re not quite sure why such a barebones operating system uses so much space, and nor, apparently, is OS hacker ‘Hexxeh’. He’s concocted a streamlined build of Chrome OS that fits onto a 1Gb USB flash drive and while it’s claimed not to miss out any features, it does supposedly offer better Wi-Fi support, thanks to being based on a later version of the source code.

Hexxeh’s site is being hammered at the moment, so here are some direct downloads — we’d suggest trying the BItTorrent link first:

Download Chrome OS Diet USB version

• BitTorrent Download
• HTTP Mirror 1
• HTTP Mirror 2