The next version of Chrome OS, dubbed Canary, has reached the stable build stage and includes the ability to run Android apps side-by-side in split screen mode.

Chrome OS: Chromebook users looking for an alternative to Google's set of editing tools can now turn to Microsoft Office, which is finally available on Chromebooks. The suite of office apps - Word, Powerpoint, Excel and Outlook - has been available on macOS, iOS and Android devices, but Chromebooks have been left out of the picture until recently. Depending on your device, however, it could cost you a few bucks for what most would consider essential features.

With Microsoft's cloud and hardware business units continuing to grow, Google is fighting back with the launch of Chrome Enterprise. This is a new version of Chrome OS that adds a bunch of management and security features that bolster the comany's efforts to push further into the business market.

Google isn't one to flog a dead horse. In fact, the company is happy to sink its projects if they're failing to perform, despite how popular they appear to be. Packaged Chrome apps are next on Google's hitlist, with the announcement yesterday that they'll be phased out over the next 12-24 months.

Chrome OS: Currently, if you want to add a lock screen to your Chromebook, you either have to use your Google password (which should be long) or pair it with a smartphone. Soon, you may be able to use a PIN instead.

Android apps on Chrome OS are amazing, but so far only one laptop -- the ASUS Chromebook Flip -- has been able to try them out. That list has grown two sizes today, to include the Acer R11 and the Chromebook Pixel.

Today, Google made a lot of Chrome OS users very happy. The full suite of Android apps will officially be coming to Chrome OS soon, starting with a few select devices.

Last month, we got a very strong indication that Google is bringing its Android-based Google Play Store to Chromebooks. This could be a game changer. Would it affect your decision to buy one?

Imagine a PC in your pocket, free to carry anywhere there's a screen you can use to get your work done. Sure, a laptop works, but a PC-on-a-stick gives you serious freedom and flexibility. The Google Chromebit and Intel Compute Stick both sell that dream pretty hard. We took both for a test drive.

If you haven't used a Chromebook in a while, they have come a long way. But you don't need to shell out cash for a new laptop just to run Chrome OS. You can install it on nearly any laptop with an application called CloudReady.

Chrome OS isn't quite as bad as it used to be. If you've got an old computer lying around that could use a refresh, CloudReady lets you install Chromium OS (the open-source variant of Chrome OS) on most computers.

Chromebooks have a crazy long battery life, but that doesn't mean you won't run out eventually. If you need a few extra hours on your Chromebook, log in as a guest.

Dear Lifehacker. I have a few older PC's lying around the house and was wondering, given that they are older PCs, if setting them up with Chrome OS would be a good option to give them a new lease of life? What would you suggest as the best way to set up a Chrome PC for home use?

No one likes to be told what to do, so why should your Chromebook follow the rules? Well, it'll have to abide but whatever physics dictates, but when it comes to running Android apps, there is a way to convince it (and other operating systems) to play ball, if you're willing to do a little legwork. Well, fingerwork.

Web/Android/iOS/Mac/Chrome: Wunderlist is already one of our favourite to-do apps, and today it just got better. Wunderlist 3 brings speed improvements, real-time syncing across devices, public to-do lists you can share with the web, a Do Not Disturb mode and an updated UI.

At its Google I/O 2014 developer conference, Google announced that Chrome OS will now support Android apps natively. Chromebooks will run them on-screen in their own windows. Notifications from phones and tablets such as new messages and low-battery warnings will sync as well.

If you have a Chromebook, most of the keyboard shortcuts you use will be straight from Chrome -- but there are a few extras you'll want to know about.

Yesterday, Acer launched the C720P Chromebook in Australia -- the first model with an inbuilt touchscreen. Like the recent spate of Windows 8 notebooks, its LED boasts 10-point touch functionality for added "fun and immersion". But is there actually any point to this when using Chrome OS? Apparently, that will largely depend on what developers choose to do with it.

Chrome/Windows/Chrome OS: Google today rolled out a new category of Chrome Apps, also known as Chrome Packaged Apps, that run on the desktop and feel more like native apps than ones tied to the browser. Popular services among these new apps include Google Keep, Any.DO and Pocket.