Google's Chrome OS, thanks to the growing popularity of Chromebooks, is being used by more and more people. Many people know that Chrome OS has a Linux foundation. But how Chrome OS developed from Linux, and exactly what is in Chrome OS today, has been something of a mystery -- until now.

Chrome OS is quite pretty, but where did Google's Linux desktop did come from? Here is its story.

The actual origin of Chrome OS, even now, is unclear. Jeff Nelson, a former Google engineer, claimed that he created a "a new operating system" that "was originally code-named 'Google OS' and since 2009 has been released to the public under the product names, Google Chrome OS, Chromebook, and Chromebox." For proof, Nelson points to his patent, granted later, for network-based operating system across devices.

Nelson added that this "bare-bones Linux distribution," created in 2006, "was initially rejected by Google management" because you couldn't "use it on an airplane." Its interface was also the Firefox Web browser instead of the yet-to-be-invented Chrome Web browser.

1) Secure Boot is not a Windows specific. It is a UEFI protocol
2) Because of point 1 Windows 8 cannot impair anything.
3) Steps to install a Linux distro on Pixel are more complicated than turning of secure boot switch in the bios.

Taken from Bill Richardson's post on Google+:

1. Enter developer mode (hold Esc+Refresh, poke the Power button). When you see the recovery screen, press Ctrl-D, then Enter.

Remember that in dev-mode, you'll see the scary boot screen at every boot. Just wait 30 seconds or press Ctrl-D to boot from the SSD. The first boot in dev-mode will take 5 minutes (so someone doesn’t flip it while you’re up getting your coffee).

Summary: Pretty much everyone agrees that Google's Chromebook Pixel is too expensive to just run the Chrome OS Web browser. But what if it could run Android tablet apps as well?

I love the Chromebook Pixel. The more I work with it, the more I love its speed. And its display is better than Apple's Retina. But, wow, $1,299. That's a lot of money. Now, if I really needed its terabyte of free Google Drive storage, I could see it, but I don't need that much personal cloud space.

Google's Chromebook Pixel may turn out to be the first device that runs the combined Android and Chrome OS operating system. (Credit: Paul Wilcox on Google+)

So, with the exception of cloud power users, why would anyone spend that much money on a Chromebook? Then I thought: "Why would anyone spend almost as much money on Microsoft's Windows 8-powered Surface Pro?" Well, I wouldn't buy a Surface Pro on a bet, but Microsoft believes that there's an audience for both a tablet and a desktop experience on one device.

Summary: Linux leader Red Hat has shipped another minor update to its 6 enterprise line to better equip its distribution for massive scale out, big data environments. Along the same lines, the company also announced this week it will contribute its Red Hat Storage Hadoop plug-in to the Apache Hadoop project

Red Hat continues to advance its enterprise Linux distribution for the cloud, big data and scale out environments. 

On Thursday, the Raleigh, NC Linux company announced the release of Enterprise Linux 6.4, said to be the first OS to support a pNFS (Network File System) client along with significant performance, availability and virtualization gains, especially in adding more support for VMware and Microsoft 

Summary: Great news for Linux pros and bad news for hiring managers. A survey says companies are will be desperate for Linux pros in the next six months. Plus, the salaries for Linux staffers are on the rise.

Survey says: Businesses needs Linux IT pros, they need them now, and they're willing to pay real money to get them.

Got mad Linux skills? Then the job market wants you and it wants you bad. (Credit: The Linux Foundaiton and Dice.)

The 2013 Linux Jobs Report survey, which was conducted by the Linux Foundation and Dice, the self-proclaimed #1 technology job board, found that hiring managers from corporations, small and medium businesses (SMBs), government, and staffing agencies want Linux professionals — and they want them now.

Summary: Red Hat spells out its big data plans, which includes more Hadoop integration.

Red Hat, the world’s leading business Linux company, has announced its big data direction and enterprise programs. In addition, Red Hat has said that it will contribute its Red Hat Storage Hadoop plug-in to the Apache Hadoop open community to help transform Red Hat Storage into a fully-supported, Hadoop-compatible file system.

Red Hat wants to be your big data partner.

The Raleigh, NC-based company won't be doing it by itself. The company stated that it will be "building a robust network of ecosystem and enterprise integration partners to deliver comprehensive big data solutions to enterprise customers." So, for example, Red Hat is working with the open cloud community, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), to support big data customers.

In London, Canonical, Ubuntu Linux’s parent company, revealed its tablet interface. This, according to the company, is its "next step towards one unified family of experiences for personal computing on phones, tablets, PCs and TVs."

Ubuntu is on its way to tablets.

"Multi-tasking productivity meets elegance and rigorous security in our tablet experience," said Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu and Canonical in a press call. “Our family of interfaces now scales across all screens, so your phone can provide tablet, PC and TV experiences when you dock it. That's unique to Ubuntu and it's the future of personal computing."

More precisely, as Shuttleworth told me yesterday, this universal Ubuntu Linux for all platforms is a goal that  Canonical and its partners are working toward -- and not one they've already reached. That said, from a user's viewpoint, the Ubuntu Unity interface on the soon to be released developer beta will look the same on all its platforms.

Summary: In addition to upgrading its Sputnik Ubuntu Linux laptop for developers, Dell is also making it available in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Any worries that Dell would be throwing over Linux for Windows because Microsoft was helping Dell go private were premature. The Austin, TX-based computer company has just announced that it's upgrading its Sputnik Ubuntu Linux laptop for developers. In addition, the next-generation Sputnik 2 will also be available in Europe, the Middle-East, and Africa (EMEA).

Dell continues to support desktop Linux with the release of a new Ubuntu laptop for developers: The Sputnik 2.

According to Barton George, Web vertical director at Dell and the man behind the Sputnik, the XPS 13 developer edition -- aka the Sputnik 2 -- now comes with a Full HD (FHD) display (1920 x 1080). This $1,549 laptop also now comes with a 3rd generation Intel i7 processor, 8GBs of RAM, Intel HD graphics 4000 and a 256GB Solid-State Drive (SSD). For connectors, it includes 802.11n Wi-Fi, 2 USB 3.0 ports, a mini DisplayMate port, and a headset jack.

Summary: Not everyone thinks Canonical can create a unified Ubuntu for PCs, smartphones, tablets and TVs. But Mark Shuttleworth has an answer for them.

Most Linux fans like Canonical's plans for a unified Ubuntu for PCs, smartphones, TVs, and tablets. Some, however, such as Aaron Seigo, a leading KDE developer, have doubts about this claim.

Critics say Canonical can't deliver a universal Ubuntu, Canonical says they can.

Seigo, while thinking that the "Ubuntu Phone [is] a great thing to see,  worries that Canonical can't deliver the universal Ubuntu goods. On Google+, Seigo wrote, "Canonical's claim is a hollow one.... Unity [Ubuntu's default interface] currently does not use QML at all; Ubuntu Phone is pure QML. So, no, it is not the same code, it is not the sort of seamless cross-device technology bridge that they are purporting."

Summary: Dump Microsoft Office, with its new licensing restrictions, and get LibreOffice instead.

If you take a close look at Microsoft's new Office licensing, it's crystal clear: Microsoft no longer wants you to own your office software. They want you to rent it. So, why not get LibreOffice for free instead?

LibreOffice for free, or MS-Office for a perpetual annual fee or a higher one-time price and locked to a single PC. It's your choice.

You don't have to believe me, the open-source, Linux guy. I quote Ed Bott, ZDNet's Microsoft maven, "You can no longer buy Office, Microsoft’s flagship product, on removable media. You can’t even download offline installer files for the three retail editions of Office: Home and Student, Home and Business, and Professional."