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Android-x86 is a free, open-source project that aims to bring Google's mobile operating system to Intel and AMD machines with RISC instead of ARM architecture, which is standard on mobile devices.
What began as a project to run Android on certain netbook models has become a fully functional operating system that can be used on many combinations of hardware. It can be installed as an operating system on a desktop, and even be set up to run alongside other systems on the same machine. In fact, Android is based on the Linux kernel.
When launching Android on a PC, the computer will think you're using a tablet, although you can use it perfectly with a keyboard and mouse and even use shared machine resources like your Internet connection or USB ports, with features continuing to be added with each new version.
It is also possible to virtualize Android through popular programs like VMWare or VirtualBox, where you'll find it much easier to configure and test the operating system.
There are some obvious differences from using an actual Android, such as the fact that very few applications work correctly, so if you want to install Android to play games, you might want to consider other options like Bluestacks. The real potential of this project lies in its use by developers; in fact, it comes with several applications and configuration tools included for that purpose.