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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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would it be illegal to download Ubuntu on a Chromebook? (lemmy.world)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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what if I, for example, had a job in Google and I liked Linux so much I install Ubuntu on my Chromebook, would that be illegal/send me to prison?? Or, if I had the job, would I be kicked?? I like Chromebooks because they are so smol and nice. But I don't know if it's legal to install a Linux distro on it. Thank you!!

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

If the Chromebook is your property, you can do whatever you want with it, and it's unlikely that anyone will notice or care. I assume you're in the US, since you appear to be worried about DMCA encryption-related provisions. Don't be. Even if it were 100% guaranteed illegal with all necessary precedents, Google has better things to do with its time than track down individual jailbroken Chromebooks. It isn't like you're going to be selling them in quantity or using them to facilitate ransomeware attacks or something.

However, I'd invest in a used laptop instead, since it's likely to have more internal storage even if it lacks the !!shiny!! factor. Chromebooks are meant to store as little as possible locally, and that isn't how a normal Linux works. I suspect you'd start to get data claustrophobia pretty quickly.