7 ms·

Took'em a while but better late than never I suppose. I have long been saying (on various forums :)) that this is the right approach. Flash is dying off and if

Took'em a while but better late than never I suppose. I have long been saying (on various forums :)) that this is the right approach. Flash is dying off and if Android gets better desktop window manager and shell (the bar is already set too low - ChromeOS sucked with its stupid everything including WiFi settings in Chrome, tiny fonts and web-only apps) people will finally have a credible alternative to Windows desktops/laptops. Plus this gives Google a chance to do something like Continuum - without having to be beholden to x86 for apps like MS.

edutechnion 11y ago
July 2009: Ballmer told the crowd, "I don't know if they can't make up their mind or what the problem is over there, but the last time I checked, you don't need two client operating systems. It's good to have one." May 2010: Om Malik "Android Has Won — Time for Chrome OS to Move Along?"
bad_user 11y ago
Chrome OS having just a browser UI with web-only apps is what made it appealing. I actually admired Google for releasing two competing operating systems and to me this is sad news, even though I've been an Android fan. You make it sound like Google is the one that needs a "credible alternative" to Windows, when in fact it is Microsoft that needs a credible alternative to Chrome OS and Android. Speaking of which I don't believe in Continuum. It's an idea that's natural coming from a company that has a desktop OS and wants to leverage that in order to maybe win some market share on mobile. I first heard of the idea from Canonical with their Ubuntu phone, another company trying to leverage a desktop OS. It's a cool idea for geeks, but made obsolete by cloud-enabled apps like Google Docs. Why would one need Continuum when the changes you make in Google Docs on your phone are reflected immediately on every device or PCs you have?
- blinkingled 11y ago
  > You make it sound like Google is the one that needs a "credible alternative" to Windows With the new Windows licensing Windows is the better alternative to ChromeOS - you can do more at the same price and you can lock it down if you need to a la ChromeOS. In some ways Google is stepping up the game - with Android you can do more. Good point about Google Docs use case however that's very limited - If I carry the shared storage of my phone with me, if I can blow up the phone to use two monitors and still have my missed calls, SMSs etc in front of me - it enables a greater use case. There is definitely merit in that if continuum is done right.
  - bad_user 11y ago
    What Windows licensing are you talking about? Windows 10 is licensed the same as ever. On missed calls and SMSs, with my iOS device I get both SMS messages and phone calls through iMessage and Facetime on my MacBook. With my Android device I do the same for SMS messages, plus all the notifications I'm interested in with PushBullet.
    - blinkingled 11y ago
      http://winsupersite.com/mobile/power-people-low-end-tablets-and-pcs-reinvented-personal-computing-market-2014 http://winsupersite.com/mobile/power-people-low-end-tablets-... They have a very low cost license for OEMs that sell cheap devices - those get upgraded to Windows 10 for free. I can't find a source for Win 10 licensing but I'd be surprised if they aren't continuing the zero dollar licensing for a subset of devices.
    - scholia 11y ago
      Windows 8.1 with Bing has been free on devices with smaller than 10-inch screens, and that gets a free upgrade to Windows 10. Windows 10 also seems to be available at low prices.... The US Justice Department forced Microsoft to stop offering special deals on Windows so all the top suppliers paid the same price (1). I assume that's lifted now that Microsoft is no longer closely monitored by the DoJ. Anyone know? (1) Which seemed to have the (presumably) unintended effect of pushing up the average price of Windows and increasing Microsoft's profits.
      - bad_user 11y ago
        Windows 10 is more expensive than Windiws 8. The price listed is $120 for Home and Pro at $200. But that's without taxes because in my country that's $148 for Home and $298 for Pro, after taxes. And I've seen this notion flying that Windows is cheap, but I want whatever you guys are smoking.
        signal11 11y ago
        I think the parent poster meant, Windows (including 10, presumably, per Microsoft's 2014 announcement) is free to OEMs for devices with a screen size < 9 inches.
- adventured 11y ago
  Microsoft doesn't need a credible competitor to Android at all. Anything they do in mobile is pure gravy. They're generating $20 billion a year in profit without one, and have seen zero meaningful harm to their profitability over the last five or six year rise of Android. It can easily be argued Microsoft will make a lot more money building software for Android and iOS, rather than competing with them. Office is more valuable than either Windows or Android. Azure is going to be a more valuable business than Android is for Google.
- amyjess 11y ago
  > Why would one need Continuum when the changes you make in Google Docs on your phone are reflected immediately on every device or PCs you have? You're not thinking long-term enough. You should be asking, "why would one need a PC when you can just stick your phone in a dock?". It's going to take a while for hardware to catch up, but in about a decade I think desktops will almost exclusively be used as high-end workstations for stuff like 3-D rendering, scientific number crunching, and maybe hardcore gaming, while anything with fewer demands will be satisfied by a phone using Continuum or something like it.
  - vetinari 11y ago
    That dock thing is not going to happen. For that you need connectors, that are big, unsightly and brittle - or high bandwidth, ultra low latency wireless. From the engineering point, it is much simpler just throw separate device into the mix. From the business point of view, more profitable too.
    - derefr 11y ago
      > connectors, that are big, unsightly, and brittle You know you can run Thunderbolt over USB-C, right? There's no reason that even five years from now, I shouldn't be able to plug my iPhone into my iMac in Target Display mode using the same cable I use to charge it.
      - chinpokomon 11y ago
        Miracast, Bluetooth, and Qi charging... Who needs a dock?
        newjersey 11y ago
        Having seen a few people struggle with Intel Wireless Display, I'd argue that wireless display over current infrastructure is very premature.
        11y ago
- ocean3 11y ago
  I would be a cool idea for normal folks. Instead of using a laptop they can connect the phone to bigger screen for watching movies/browsing/email etc. That is mostly the case of my friends/relatives who are not in IT/Business sectors.
mintplant 11y ago
I've been waiting for someone to adapt Aura/Ash from ChromeOS to work with a regular Linux desktop. It would instantly become one of the more polished DEs available. Maybe this could help things along.
- 0xFFC 11y ago
  +1, considering status quo of DEs in linux.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
RamshackleJ 11y ago
Nailed it

edutechnion 11y ago

July 2009: Ballmer told the crowd, "I don't know if they can't make up their mind or what the problem is over there, but the last time I checked, you don't need two client operating systems. It's good to have one." May 2010: Om Malik "Android Has Won — Time for Chrome OS to Move Along?"

bad_user 11y ago

Chrome OS having just a browser UI with web-only apps is what made it appealing. I actually admired Google for releasing two competing operating systems and to me this is sad news, even though I've been an Android fan. You make it sound like Google is the one that needs a "credible alternative" to Windows, when in fact it is Microsoft that needs a credible alternative to Chrome OS and Android. Speaking of which I don't believe in Continuum. It's an idea that's natural coming from a company that has a desktop OS and wants to leverage that in order to maybe win some market share on mobile. I first heard of the idea from Canonical with their Ubuntu phone, another company trying to leverage a desktop OS. It's a cool idea for geeks, but made obsolete by cloud-enabled apps like Google Docs. Why would one need Continuum when the changes you make in Google Docs on your phone are reflected immediately on every device or PCs you have?

blinkingled 11y ago
> You make it sound like Google is the one that needs a "credible alternative" to Windows With the new Windows licensing Windows is the better alternative to ChromeOS - you can do more at the same price and you can lock it down if you need to a la ChromeOS. In some ways Google is stepping up the game - with Android you can do more. Good point about Google Docs use case however that's very limited - If I carry the shared storage of my phone with me, if I can blow up the phone to use two monitors and still have my missed calls, SMSs etc in front of me - it enables a greater use case. There is definitely merit in that if continuum is done right.
- bad_user 11y ago
  What Windows licensing are you talking about? Windows 10 is licensed the same as ever. On missed calls and SMSs, with my iOS device I get both SMS messages and phone calls through iMessage and Facetime on my MacBook. With my Android device I do the same for SMS messages, plus all the notifications I'm interested in with PushBullet.
  - blinkingled 11y ago
    http://winsupersite.com/mobile/power-people-low-end-tablets-and-pcs-reinvented-personal-computing-market-2014 http://winsupersite.com/mobile/power-people-low-end-tablets-... They have a very low cost license for OEMs that sell cheap devices - those get upgraded to Windows 10 for free. I can't find a source for Win 10 licensing but I'd be surprised if they aren't continuing the zero dollar licensing for a subset of devices.
  - scholia 11y ago
    Windows 8.1 with Bing has been free on devices with smaller than 10-inch screens, and that gets a free upgrade to Windows 10. Windows 10 also seems to be available at low prices.... The US Justice Department forced Microsoft to stop offering special deals on Windows so all the top suppliers paid the same price (1). I assume that's lifted now that Microsoft is no longer closely monitored by the DoJ. Anyone know? (1) Which seemed to have the (presumably) unintended effect of pushing up the average price of Windows and increasing Microsoft's profits.
    - bad_user 11y ago
      Windows 10 is more expensive than Windiws 8. The price listed is $120 for Home and Pro at $200. But that's without taxes because in my country that's $148 for Home and $298 for Pro, after taxes. And I've seen this notion flying that Windows is cheap, but I want whatever you guys are smoking.
      - signal11 11y ago
        I think the parent poster meant, Windows (including 10, presumably, per Microsoft's 2014 announcement) is free to OEMs for devices with a screen size < 9 inches.
adventured 11y ago
Microsoft doesn't need a credible competitor to Android at all. Anything they do in mobile is pure gravy. They're generating $20 billion a year in profit without one, and have seen zero meaningful harm to their profitability over the last five or six year rise of Android. It can easily be argued Microsoft will make a lot more money building software for Android and iOS, rather than competing with them. Office is more valuable than either Windows or Android. Azure is going to be a more valuable business than Android is for Google.
amyjess 11y ago
> Why would one need Continuum when the changes you make in Google Docs on your phone are reflected immediately on every device or PCs you have? You're not thinking long-term enough. You should be asking, "why would one need a PC when you can just stick your phone in a dock?". It's going to take a while for hardware to catch up, but in about a decade I think desktops will almost exclusively be used as high-end workstations for stuff like 3-D rendering, scientific number crunching, and maybe hardcore gaming, while anything with fewer demands will be satisfied by a phone using Continuum or something like it.
- vetinari 11y ago
  That dock thing is not going to happen. For that you need connectors, that are big, unsightly and brittle - or high bandwidth, ultra low latency wireless. From the engineering point, it is much simpler just throw separate device into the mix. From the business point of view, more profitable too.
  - derefr 11y ago
    > connectors, that are big, unsightly, and brittle You know you can run Thunderbolt over USB-C, right? There's no reason that even five years from now, I shouldn't be able to plug my iPhone into my iMac in Target Display mode using the same cable I use to charge it.
    - chinpokomon 11y ago
      Miracast, Bluetooth, and Qi charging... Who needs a dock?
      - newjersey 11y ago
        Having seen a few people struggle with Intel Wireless Display, I'd argue that wireless display over current infrastructure is very premature.
        11y ago
ocean3 11y ago
I would be a cool idea for normal folks. Instead of using a laptop they can connect the phone to bigger screen for watching movies/browsing/email etc. That is mostly the case of my friends/relatives who are not in IT/Business sectors.

mintplant 11y ago

I've been waiting for someone to adapt Aura/Ash from ChromeOS to work with a regular Linux desktop. It would instantly become one of the more polished DEs available. Maybe this could help things along.

0xFFC 11y ago
+1, considering status quo of DEs in linux.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

RamshackleJ 11y ago

Nailed it