13 votes

New Chrome OS will add support for Linux apps

5 comments

  1. [5]
    NeoTheFox
    Link
    Chromebooks are looking better and better to me, Google can do really awesome things when they want to.

    Chromebooks are looking better and better to me, Google can do really awesome things when they want to.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      Grendel
      Link Parent
      In the past I have thought about getting one just to install Linux on as my everyday machine. I guess now that's not necessary, though I still hesitate to use Chrome OS because I'm not sure what...

      In the past I have thought about getting one just to install Linux on as my everyday machine. I guess now that's not necessary, though I still hesitate to use Chrome OS because I'm not sure what kind of telemetry they use to track users.

      This is a good step by Google and could help to grow the Linux app ecosystem.

      4 votes
      1. Wes
        Link Parent
        That should be listed in their privacy policy. It looks like Chrome and ChromeOS share the same policy: https://www.google.com/chrome/privacy/

        though I still hesitate to use Chrome OS because I'm not sure what kind of telemetry they use to track users.

        That should be listed in their privacy policy. It looks like Chrome and ChromeOS share the same policy:

        https://www.google.com/chrome/privacy/

    2. [2]
      AVo
      Link Parent
      Chrome OS has always been something I've been very curious about. I would consider myself a "power" user: graphic design/ video editing but I've kept an eye out for it because the majority of...

      Chrome OS has always been something I've been very curious about. I would consider myself a "power" user: graphic design/ video editing but I've kept an eye out for it because the majority of users don't need that functionality. It's interesting to see Google focus on users that prefer a very easy to use OS that works perfectly with other Google documents.

      Currently the biggest issue at least for my family is some applications they use just aren't there. Even my youngest, she would be the perfect candidate to use Chrome OS but Roblox isn't available. No go.

      My girlfriend requires Matlab. There is a MatLab Online but it doesn't have the functionality she needs. No go.

      We'll see how the software front of ChromeOS will grow over the years.

      3 votes
      1. psi
        Link Parent
        Since ChromeOS supports Linux apps (on some models) and Android apps (on some models), there's probably a great more applications available for use than you give it credit for. In fact, Roblox is...

        Since ChromeOS supports Linux apps (on some models) and Android apps (on some models), there's probably a great more applications available for use than you give it credit for. In fact, Roblox is available as an Android app, so you can in principle run Roblox on a ChromeOS device (admittedly, I'm not sure how the Android app stacks up against the windows version). Similarly, MatLab is available on Linux, so you can run that too (in the past, I've run Mathematica on my chromebook; currently, I run Jupyter on it).

        That said, Linux app support is buggy (and frankly, not very well documented). I don't think the problem is really app availability but rather app support; often things don't "just work" the way you'd expect.

        1 vote