14 DAY TRIAL // The Chrome OS dev channel is staying close to the desktop variant. The latest update was Chrome 22.0.1229.12, the same one desktop users got a few days earlier, part of Chrome OS 2723.25.0. This was just a routine update, with bug fixes mostly, in preparation to making to switch to the beta channel.
But something went horribly wrong and Google halted the updates. Some machines failed to boot after the update which, as you can imagine, can be quite a problem. It's one thing for your browser to crash, it's a completely different thing to have your Chromebook bricked.
Those that did manage to get the update and now have problems can recover their devices, thankfully. But it does require users to reinstall the operating system. Google provides instructions, but it's not something most people will be comfortable with.
Then again, most people wouldn't be owning a Chromebook and most of the owners would not be running the dev channel. It can be assumed that dev channel users are a bit more tech savvy than the rest.
The recovery process is not that painful, you need to create a Chrome OS image on a USB drive or SD card, plug it into your Chromebook or Chromebox and then follow the instructions there. It's just as easy as installing Linux from a live CD/DVD/USB.
Google will fix the issue eventually and will start rolling out the update once more. The update was supposed to fix several problems, ironically, one where machines updating from older Chrome OS versions would hang when booting up.
Also coming to the dev channel are new avatar images for users and guests. An updated Pepper version of Flash Player 11.3.31.318 was also scheduled to land in the latest dev update. Incidentally, Adobe has just released Flash Player 11.4.