Lightweight FydeOS 21.0 targets Chromebook fans

With a decade of history behind it, today's FydeOS was born as a fork of the open-source ChromiumOS. Back then, it only targeted Raspberry Pi hardware and was named Flint OS. FydeOS 21.0 "Sunlit Epiphany" arrived yesterday and includes the latest performance and security updates owed to the ChromiumOS base, which has been pushed from r132 to r138. Obviously, there's much more to it than just an update of the base platform.

According to the official blog post about this release (see the link after the video at the end of the article), FydeOS 21.0 comes with quite a few highlights:

• The Launcher got refined search capabilities.
• Emojis and other rich content can be added via the new Quick Insert feature, accessible via the Windows/Command + F combo.
• OCR for screenshots, allowing users to copy and search text directly from screen captures (requires a Google account).
• Isolated web apps in kiosk mode, for those cases when FydeOS is being used in public-facing and enterprise environments.
• Mouse keys, bounce keys, and slow keys features for improved accessibility.
• In addition to the above, there are several bug fixes, alongside various tweaks and minor under-the-hood optimizations.

Those interested in trying out FydeOS should know that four versions are available: for PC, for VMware, for SBCs, and a custom "for You" edition. The downloads can be accessed from this page. FydeOS is basically free for use by home users, with a few paid features such as premium support or advanced control policies.