Crostini. https://chromeos.dev/en/linux

A "one click" install of Debian (in a VM) that runs alongside your ChomeOS device. It's a great starter tool for those getting used to Linux and even for the Linux Pro it gives you a terminal, which 99% of the time is all I need.

You can use GUI applications as well so GIMP and other tools are available.

Super easy, barely an inconvenience.

Good question, I don’t know! I haven’t touched a Chromebook since at least 2020…

If I were to do it now, I’d probably still use crouton, but get it to download something other than Ubuntu 16.04, or I’d just dual boot.