Google Chrome OS Public Beta Download

Google’s Chrome OS made its first venture into the wild last week and the tech world is buzzing over the potential of a web-based operating system.

Chromium is now open sourced giving everyone the chance to try it for themselves. The only problem is that most people might be a bit put off by installing this new breed onto a bootable computer. There is however a way around this that will allow you to test the OS without causing any problems.

Gallery: Google Chrome OS: A Step-By-Step Guide

Here is a step-by-step tutorial that will walk you through a virtual install of Google Chrome OS that will take you around 10 to 15 minutes and best of all it’s free. It won’t boot Chromium natively, but it will allow you to play with its new features and settings via the free software VirtualBox .

Gallery: Google Chrome OS: A Step-By-Step Guide

First of all you will have to download the Chrome OS image. Once that is done download VirtualBox for Mac, PC or Linux and run it. Once you have begun the install take a look at the picture gallery for a step-by-step guide to install the virtual Chrome OS.

Because Google Chrome OS is not installed natively you will notice that you will not get the full experience, such as quick load times, but it is enough to let you see what is in store for the future of Google’s first efforts into the operating system market.