13 ms·

Chrome OS is here to stay

344 points by Navarr 11y ago

aznpwnzor 11y ago
The IOTization of any available media output seems to be the goal of the Chrome team: Chromecast, Chrome Audio, Chromebit. I like it.
- the-dude 11y ago
  Coworker sent met this: https://google.github.io/physical-web/ https://google.github.io/physical-web/ Haven't had the time to check it really out, but seams to be 'iBeacons'.
  - Navarr 11y ago
    Google has Beacons called "Eddystone" http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/07/meet-googles-eddystone-a-flexible-open-source-ibeacon-fighter/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/07/meet-googles-eddyston...
    - the-dude 11y ago
      These are called 'urlBeacons' iirc.
      - tjohns 11y ago
        Eddystone has a couple different modes. One of them is to transmit a URL, but beacons can also be configured to transmit a UID. Not all Eddystone beacons will be transmitting a URL. That said, I believe Physical Web does use the Eddystone-URL mode. Spec: https://github.com/google/eddystone/blob/master/protocol-specification.md https://github.com/google/eddystone/blob/master/protocol-spe...
  - csixty4 11y ago
    It's built on top of Google's beacon format. Every "Physical Web" beacon transmits an Eddystone beacon with a URL. Definitely check out the video on that page (it's only 5 minutes long). Also, Scott Jenson was interviewed on The Dirt podcast: http://www.freshtilledsoil.com/designing-for-the-future-pt-4-the-physical-web-with-scott-jenson/ http://www.freshtilledsoil.com/designing-for-the-future-pt-4...
  - bhanu423 11y ago
    I have a physical protype of v2 since the IO this year but i have not been able to find anything creative to do with it.
- amyjess 11y ago
  Didn't a teardown of the Chromecast reveal that the device actually ran Android?
  - Grazester 11y ago
    It ran Chrome OS edit:// Wikipedia article seem to state that is was more Android than Chrome OS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromecast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromecast
    - amyjess 11y ago
      Google's marketing department claimed it ran Chrome OS. However, a group managed to root it and figured out it was "more Android than ChromeOS", derived from Google TV of all things: https://blog.exploitee.rs/2013/chromecast-exploiting-the-newest-device-by-google/ https://blog.exploitee.rs/2013/chromecast-exploiting-the-new...
mtgx 11y ago
Then what exactly did they ever mean by "merging Chrome OS and Android" if Chrome OS remains a stand-alone OS, as well? And I'm not just talking about the recent WSJ article, either. They've mentioned the merger multiple times since Chrome OS first came out. Either way, I could care less about the "merger" (which nobody seems to be able to define anyway), but I do care about them being serious about making Android a real competitor to Windows on the desktop, by taking advantage of the huge native app and developer ecosystem they have there (which by definition is non-existent on the browser-based Chrome OS). In other words: keep Chrome OS or kill it. Whatever. Just get serious about Android on a PC. And please don't begin with the assumption that the tablet interface is enough for that - you know, like you just did with Pixel C? Like that. Don't do that!
- Navarr 11y ago
  I don't think I've ever heard that from an official source. It's been rumored basically forever.
  - datasage 11y ago
    Same thing could be said about OSX and iOS. There have been rumors of the platforms merging for a long time. Instead, they took some features of iOS and integrated them into OSX and vis versa. But they are still separate platforms. I think with merging them together you run the risk of confusion that Microsoft had with WindowsRT and Windows.
  - wnevets 11y ago
    I believe when Chrome OS was first announced it was rumored to replace Android on phones.
- rch 11y ago
  I don't know the first thing about it, but does App Runtime for Chrome seem like a viable way forward to you?
- trhway 11y ago
  after having worked for 15 years in several BigCo-s here i'd suppose that there are a bunch of S/EVPs there and they do what they typically do - whenever they see 2 things walking and quacking similarly [in their non-very discriminant "big picture" opinions] they immediately, like Pavlov dogs, starts to salivate for re-organization and mull the words like "synergy", "duplication", "efficiency", "unification of user experience across the whole range of devices", etc... I mean it is obvious to anybody that these 2 OS-es have majority of similar components that can be made common between them (anybody in Chrome or Android reading that phrase - i'd understand if you choked on your coffee right now :)
jordanthoms 11y ago
Notice that they never say Android is here to stay - Maybe Chrome OS will become the Phone/Tablet OS under a new guise? Google's working on a new UI layer and potential backwards compatibility for older Android apps, which points in that direction: - Chromium developers are working on a DART-based Mobile UI framework and execution engine, Flutter (http://flutter.io/ http://flutter.io/). It's looking to be far better than the existing Android UI system - built for touch and 120fps from the start. This uses the Dartium VM and a bridge to allow the DART apps to use all the native features of the platform, it's much more than just another web framework. Development on this is very active right now, clearly a sizable team working fulltime - and they're building new developer tools also. There was a talk on this a while ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnIWl33YMwA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnIWl33YMwA . - Google has built a Runtime to allow existing Android Java-based apps to run on Chrome OS, and is currently testing this and working with developers to get their apps to run on it. It doesn't make much sense to invest in building that out just for chromebooks, since the experience on a Chromebook with Android apps is pretty awful (can't resize etc), but it makes total sense if it's going to be how legacy Java/Android apps run on the new Chrome based phone OS. The sad truth is that Android simply isn't a very well engineered system - it's been improved over time, but problems persist - like the complex update process leading to unsatisfied users and security problems, poor UI performance (even now, Android can barely do simple animations at a steady 60fps on the latest Nexus devices, and has little hope of allowing for the beautiful animations the Material Design team has come up with), and poor battery life. Google's also at a dead-end with Java given the ongoing legal battles, and with Apache Harmony dead they have to maintain the standard library implementation themselves. On the other hand, Chrome OS performs great, has awesome battery life on Chromebooks, is quite possibly the most secure end-user OS ever, and Chromebooks get speedy updates for at least 5 years. I know which one I'd choose as the basis for a merged OS. Of course, if the merge is more Chrome OS than Android, they'd be saying exactly what they're saying now - The last thing they want is an Osbourne effect hitting the current Android phones.
- deleted 11y ago
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- thebaer 11y ago
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awqrre 11y ago
Does that mean that they will update it twice as often now (Chrome + Android engineers)?
simula67 11y ago
At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, they could be trying to avoid an osborne effect.
- deckar01 11y ago
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect Even if ChromeOS got completely replaced by Android (which they seem to say it won't) surely it would merge/fork and not just get abandoned.
  - simula67 11y ago
    To cause Osborne Effect, it is sufficient for people to think it would get abandoned.
- ocdtrekkie 11y ago
  I suspect this as well. Google doesn't want people to stop buying Chromebooks, even if Chrome OS, in the form it is, only has two years of life left.
ohitsdom 11y ago
This is confusing. Smells like there is a lot of friction and uncertainty inside Google...
- baddox 11y ago
  What seems uncertain? Couldn't it just be that the reports were false, which wouldn't indicate anything about the teams at Google?
  - danieldk 11y ago
    Or just taken out of context. Since both Android and Chrome OS run on Linux, a small userland, and a display server, maybe there is some effort within Google to bring these two more together to reduce maintenance cost. Disclaimer: I don't know how much the code bases differ now.
    - Sanddancer 11y ago
      Fairly substantially. ChromeOS is a fairly standard Linux distro under the hood, albeit with not using X11 or directfb for their rendering layer, while Android uses a different libc, rendering layer, etc.
- chaz72 11y ago
  Possibly uncertainty inside Google... but like as not the uncertainty is from the outside and the rumor mill got it wrong. Certainly it's confusing. :)
- BinaryIdiot 11y ago
  > Smells like there is a lot of friction and uncertainty inside Google... Since they didn't make announce their plans of merging operating systems (and thusly just wanted to reassure people that ChromeOS wasn't going away), why does it make it seem like there is "a lot of friction and uncertainty inside Google"? Seems like you're making a huge leap with little information supporting such a claim. If you have more information than what is it?
toddchambery 11y ago
I'm sure for the vast majority of Chrome OS users, the technology powering their device is of no significance compared to a reliable and consistent UI.
- nraynaud 11y ago
  plus who cares? Chrome OS could just be a stripped-down android, and the world would be fine. Actually I though they were already mostly the same (I have a chromebook, but no android device, I don't know what's the difference, appart from the fact that my chromebook gets regular updates)
  - 0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
    > Chrome OS could just be a stripped-down android, and the world would be fine. Well they'd only be fine if it were equally reliable and consistent, which is not a sure bet.
  - pgrote 11y ago
    I don't think that is correct. There are flavors of android including vendor modified or changed specifications. They can be subtle, like a pay as you go phone carrier, or major like what Amazon has done with Fire. Each of these changes introduces security issues outside of Google's control. With a Chromebook you get the ChromeOS from Google regardless of the vendor who made the hardware. At least that is my understanding.
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thebouv 11y ago
That's clear as mud. On the more interesting side, I had no idea about the Chromebit. So now to find out how to get one since the page linked in the article is a "sign up to stay in loop". But after some more digging seems like it is already out, or maybe just previewed earlier this year to some bloggers?
- wishinghand 11y ago
  I found out about it a few weeks ago. It was announced in the Spring, supposed to come out in the summer, then nothing other than maybe it'll be less than $100 and available Q4 2015. Hearing Google say it'll be a few weeks is reassuring.
  - thebouv 11y ago
    I just bought a Chromecast to play with for a digital signage solution, but this could be better. I couldn't find any specs on how it is powered. From the very little research I've done, it seems like power over HDMI is possible, but maybe I'm wrong on that. Would be nice to get it down to just the stick.
    - organsnyder 11y ago
      If the TV has a USB port, the Chromecast can be likely powered from that. It works on both of the TVs that I have (neither of which are high-end by any means), even though one of the TVs only claims 500mA of output on that port.
    - jotux 11y ago
      ExtremeTech[1] lists the specs: >the Chromebit contains a quad-core ARM Cortex A17 Rockchip CPU and a quad-core ARM 760 Mali GPU, drawing as little as 3 watts of power, and the Chromebit contains 2GB RAM and 16GB flash storage. 802.11ac and Bluetooth are on board, with the latter meant for connecting a keyboard or mouse; an additional USB 2.0 port is for hooking up a drive or other peripherals. There’s no microSD slot on this one. [1]http://www.extremetech.com/computing/202907-intel-compute-stick-vs-asus-chromebit-should-you-wait-for-chrome-os http://www.extremetech.com/computing/202907-intel-compute-st...
kinofcain 11y ago
"no plan to phase out Chrome OS" does not explicitly refute "speculation that Chrome OS will be folded into Android" Especially since the original story stated that google was going to "combine the operating systems": http://www.wsj.com/articles/alphabets-google-to-fold-chrome-operating-system-into-android-1446151134 http://www.wsj.com/articles/alphabets-google-to-fold-chrome-... Google could easily market the combined OS as "Chrome OS" rather than Android. In fact that might be a good idea if they're going to make the experience/distribution model more Google-led like it is with Chrome OS.
- x5n1 11y ago
  I for one enjoy my Chinese phone and like the Android model, I would hate to see the model go the way of Chrome.
- digi_owl 11y ago
  Or it could be that some willfully ignorant "journalist" heard about how they were to share development resources and interpreted it as combining.
  - eli 11y ago
    "willfully ignorant" seems rather uncharitable
    - JoshTriplett 11y ago
      True; ignorance suggests that they weren't well aware of what would sell a story. Notice, reading the original WSJ article, exactly which (and how few) statements are attributed to unnamed Google sources or statements, and which are speculation or third-party commentary.
- derefr 11y ago
  It could also mean that the two operating systems are going to be merged at a base level but keep distinct userlands, like iOS and OSX. The point this article was trying to make, is that Chrome OS is under LTS constraints at the UX and userland-API level for its present enterprise users (schools, mostly, but also some corporations.) Under these constraints, the kernel, display-server stack, etc. might get switched out in some future version, but educators who are dependent on their present workflows using specific apps+extensions will be able to continue to use them with no change. Any "merger" with Android will be at a level that is transparent both to the user, and to the Chrome app/extension developer.
shmerl 11y ago
But will it still use glibc Linux (Gentoo) or it will switch to bionic Android one? That was the main point, and not the confusion that Chrome OS is disappearing.
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bedros 11y ago
I think the plan is to run android apps inside chrome OS, the same way you can install android apps inside a PC using bluestacks
byron_fast 11y ago
"Chrome OS thinks it would like to go for a walk."
Artistry121 11y ago
What blog template does google use for their blogspot domains?
Zigurd 11y ago
Nearly everyone glossed over how hard it is to make one os for both lo-cost non-touch laptop and finger-touch mobile form factors. If there was an awesome touch ux for the pixel laptop I'd be more inclined to believe.
- anonbanker 11y ago
  KDE5 and multitouch? :) (written from my Chromebook running custom Gentoo Linux)
nitpickifying 11y ago
The green Android robot logo kind of sucks, and I bet there's an internal campaign amongst some marketing/branding goons to try and kill it off in the name of beauty and elegance.
rdl 11y ago
I'm generally willing to take statements from Google at face value; they've done unpopular things (killing Reader, etc.), but in my experience haven't been deceptive about them. I hope they realize how valuable a reasonably secure, "stateless" OS like Chrome OS is for many applications. Chrome OS is far from perfection in this space (and there are a lot of easy ways to make it better, and some hard ways to make it vastly better), but it is head and shoulders above anything else for a lot of deployment models right now. Handing me a Chromebook with reasonable assurances the "dev switch" hasn't ever been switched is one of the general purpose full-TCB devices I'd accept from someone and mostly trust. (obviously hardware hacks, or switch was thrown and reflashed and disabled/reset). It's also a cheap/awesome way to manage fleets of machines in education and corporate/kiosk/etc. environments -- you CAN achieve that with Mac OS or Windows, but it requires a lot of work. I hope they don't kill it in the future.
- slacka 11y ago
  > Chrome OS is far from perfection In fact, I would say for some users, Chrome OS is near perfection. Take my uncle for instance, who for years was getting himself infected with malware requiring regular visits from me or geek squad to wipe his system. When he was ready for his most recent upgrade, I tried him on Mint, but he didn't like the interface. Then I suggested a Chromebook. He LOVES IT. He says it's the best machine he's ever owned. One year later, and not a single issue with malware. I don't worry about him getting infected. If instead of a Chromebook, he had gotten some Android tablet with an OS stuck at 4.x, he's likely be infected by now. Android and Chrome OS serve different use cases. Even if Android manages to fix their upgrade issue, I doubt it will ever be as secure as Chrome OS. From the blog, "guaranteed auto-updates for five years", sounds like a few people at Google get this. Fingers crossed.
  - rdl 11y ago
    The "perfection" I want is "not having to trust Google as an operator, only as a developer (and, open source!), and being able to plug in my own enterprise as root of trust for XXX-OS, with my own choice of backend services too -- which may include google apps". I'd also like some non-defeatable indicator in the hardware/display/etc. that "box is in "good" state. The dev switch doesn't retain state. These probably don't matter much for individuals but do matter for enterprise. If this existed, even if it were just keys to approve/sign updates and still required google services for a lot of the functionality, would be awesome.
shadowmint 11y ago
I'm willing to bet money that: While we’ve been working on ways to bring together the best of both operating systems, there's no plan to phase out Chrome OS Comes from a worry about chromebook sales, not any presence or lack of a technical plan to merge or combine components from the two. I would bet this is actually: 'YES, we are merging something with something technically, we're just going to keep two brands for now'. For all the reasons in the other thread, it's both good and bad in different ways; but I would be astonished if you don't see wide support for Android apps on chromebooks in the near future; and that does require some kind of Android runtime.
nikanj 11y ago
Reminds me of Microsoft trying to convince us Windows RT wasn't in hospice care internally
bingobob 11y ago
well this was found the other day. https://chromium-review.googlesource.com/#/c/306706/ https://chromium-review.googlesource.com/#/c/306706/ libchromeos is transitioning to libbrillo and chromeos namespaces and include directory is changing to brillo. brillo is Google IoT OS, https://developers.google.com/brillo/?hl=en https://developers.google.com/brillo/?hl=en they say its based on Android? also the new Google onHub Router are running ChromeOS http://thehackernews.com/2015/10/root-google-onhub-chromeos.html http://thehackernews.com/2015/10/root-google-onhub-chromeos.... I think the idea is Google are just aligning there Core Linux base between all there products allowing for a whole range of improvements from resource sharing to a even better security. and it may even allow them to upgrade Android at a better update rate, with reports that the Google Pixel C a Tablet running Android is getting updates every 6 weeks. i would also like to point out Microsoft has basically done the same thing with the Windows 10 Core its now on XBOX ONE, Windows Phone, PC and even a Raspberry Pi runs this core but they all have there own user space setups/gui.
- notatoad 11y ago
  This would, imho, be the best possible outcome of this: libchromeos becoming the underpinning for all Google's consumer OS projects, and then having a distinct userland slapped on top of it. Especially if it meant the device-specific stuff all happens in the brillo/core layer, and we can slap a chromeos, iot, or android layer on top of it regardless of the device. Want to turn your nexus player into a desktop computer? replace the androidTV user layer with the ChromeOS user layer. Want to turn your chromebook into a media centre? do the opposite. turn an old phone into a home automation server by replacing android with the IOT layer.
- patrickaljord 11y ago
  Thanks for sharing this. Sounds like a great outcome.
fibo 11y ago
I have a Chromebook and I am really happy with it
snambi 11y ago
There is enough market for an android laptop. There is no need to kill chrome OS. Is google planning to release an Android Laptop or not?
- notatoad 11y ago
  It's been done. It wasn't very good. http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/21/hp-slatebook-14-review/ http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/21/hp-slatebook-14-review/
cowardlydragon 11y ago
Can we please get a gradual plan for looping in the rest of the mainline linux ecosystem? The desktop market may be shit, but it's there and google could still go after it if they wanted to. At some point Apple is going to realize that the major market it hasn't dominated yet is... the PC, and it's ripe for attack now that alternative computing footholds are so well established in mobile from the Microsoft days of yore.
ausjke 11y ago
so what does this really mean, Chrome-OS will not be "folded" into Android? Can't have a concrete answer after reading it through though. MS Windows is trying to rule all platforms with one OS, so does iOS, even Ubuntu is trying the same, maybe Google though they need one OS to rule it all as well?
KuhlMensch 11y ago
"every school day, 30,000 new Chromebooks are activated in U.S. classrooms" spits out coffee Wow.
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344 points by Navarr 11y ago

The IOTization of any available media output seems to be the goal of the Chrome team: Chromecast, Chrome Audio, Chromebit. I like it.

the-dude 11y ago
Coworker sent met this: https://google.github.io/physical-web/ https://google.github.io/physical-web/ Haven't had the time to check it really out, but seams to be 'iBeacons'.
- Navarr 11y ago
  Google has Beacons called "Eddystone" http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/07/meet-googles-eddystone-a-flexible-open-source-ibeacon-fighter/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/07/meet-googles-eddyston...
  - the-dude 11y ago
    These are called 'urlBeacons' iirc.
    - tjohns 11y ago
      Eddystone has a couple different modes. One of them is to transmit a URL, but beacons can also be configured to transmit a UID. Not all Eddystone beacons will be transmitting a URL. That said, I believe Physical Web does use the Eddystone-URL mode. Spec: https://github.com/google/eddystone/blob/master/protocol-specification.md https://github.com/google/eddystone/blob/master/protocol-spe...
- csixty4 11y ago
  It's built on top of Google's beacon format. Every "Physical Web" beacon transmits an Eddystone beacon with a URL. Definitely check out the video on that page (it's only 5 minutes long). Also, Scott Jenson was interviewed on The Dirt podcast: http://www.freshtilledsoil.com/designing-for-the-future-pt-4-the-physical-web-with-scott-jenson/ http://www.freshtilledsoil.com/designing-for-the-future-pt-4...
- bhanu423 11y ago
  I have a physical protype of v2 since the IO this year but i have not been able to find anything creative to do with it.
amyjess 11y ago
Didn't a teardown of the Chromecast reveal that the device actually ran Android?
- Grazester 11y ago
  It ran Chrome OS edit:// Wikipedia article seem to state that is was more Android than Chrome OS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromecast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromecast
  - amyjess 11y ago
    Google's marketing department claimed it ran Chrome OS. However, a group managed to root it and figured out it was "more Android than ChromeOS", derived from Google TV of all things: https://blog.exploitee.rs/2013/chromecast-exploiting-the-newest-device-by-google/ https://blog.exploitee.rs/2013/chromecast-exploiting-the-new...

mtgx 11y ago

Then what exactly did they ever mean by "merging Chrome OS and Android" if Chrome OS remains a stand-alone OS, as well? And I'm not just talking about the recent WSJ article, either. They've mentioned the merger multiple times since Chrome OS first came out. Either way, I could care less about the "merger" (which nobody seems to be able to define anyway), but I do care about them being serious about making Android a real competitor to Windows on the desktop, by taking advantage of the huge native app and developer ecosystem they have there (which by definition is non-existent on the browser-based Chrome OS). In other words: keep Chrome OS or kill it. Whatever. Just get serious about Android on a PC. And please don't begin with the assumption that the tablet interface is enough for that - you know, like you just did with Pixel C? Like that. Don't do that!

Navarr 11y ago
I don't think I've ever heard that from an official source. It's been rumored basically forever.
- datasage 11y ago
  Same thing could be said about OSX and iOS. There have been rumors of the platforms merging for a long time. Instead, they took some features of iOS and integrated them into OSX and vis versa. But they are still separate platforms. I think with merging them together you run the risk of confusion that Microsoft had with WindowsRT and Windows.
- wnevets 11y ago
  I believe when Chrome OS was first announced it was rumored to replace Android on phones.
rch 11y ago
I don't know the first thing about it, but does App Runtime for Chrome seem like a viable way forward to you?
trhway 11y ago
after having worked for 15 years in several BigCo-s here i'd suppose that there are a bunch of S/EVPs there and they do what they typically do - whenever they see 2 things walking and quacking similarly [in their non-very discriminant "big picture" opinions] they immediately, like Pavlov dogs, starts to salivate for re-organization and mull the words like "synergy", "duplication", "efficiency", "unification of user experience across the whole range of devices", etc... I mean it is obvious to anybody that these 2 OS-es have majority of similar components that can be made common between them (anybody in Chrome or Android reading that phrase - i'd understand if you choked on your coffee right now :)

jordanthoms 11y ago

Notice that they never say Android is here to stay - Maybe Chrome OS will become the Phone/Tablet OS under a new guise? Google's working on a new UI layer and potential backwards compatibility for older Android apps, which points in that direction: - Chromium developers are working on a DART-based Mobile UI framework and execution engine, Flutter (http://flutter.io/ http://flutter.io/). It's looking to be far better than the existing Android UI system - built for touch and 120fps from the start. This uses the Dartium VM and a bridge to allow the DART apps to use all the native features of the platform, it's much more than just another web framework. Development on this is very active right now, clearly a sizable team working fulltime - and they're building new developer tools also. There was a talk on this a while ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnIWl33YMwA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnIWl33YMwA . - Google has built a Runtime to allow existing Android Java-based apps to run on Chrome OS, and is currently testing this and working with developers to get their apps to run on it. It doesn't make much sense to invest in building that out just for chromebooks, since the experience on a Chromebook with Android apps is pretty awful (can't resize etc), but it makes total sense if it's going to be how legacy Java/Android apps run on the new Chrome based phone OS. The sad truth is that Android simply isn't a very well engineered system - it's been improved over time, but problems persist - like the complex update process leading to unsatisfied users and security problems, poor UI performance (even now, Android can barely do simple animations at a steady 60fps on the latest Nexus devices, and has little hope of allowing for the beautiful animations the Material Design team has come up with), and poor battery life. Google's also at a dead-end with Java given the ongoing legal battles, and with Apache Harmony dead they have to maintain the standard library implementation themselves. On the other hand, Chrome OS performs great, has awesome battery life on Chromebooks, is quite possibly the most secure end-user OS ever, and Chromebooks get speedy updates for at least 5 years. I know which one I'd choose as the basis for a merged OS. Of course, if the merge is more Chrome OS than Android, they'd be saying exactly what they're saying now - The last thing they want is an Osbourne effect hitting the current Android phones.

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thebaer 11y ago

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awqrre 11y ago

Does that mean that they will update it twice as often now (Chrome + Android engineers)?

simula67 11y ago

At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, they could be trying to avoid an osborne effect.

deckar01 11y ago
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect Even if ChromeOS got completely replaced by Android (which they seem to say it won't) surely it would merge/fork and not just get abandoned.
- simula67 11y ago
  To cause Osborne Effect, it is sufficient for people to think it would get abandoned.
ocdtrekkie 11y ago
I suspect this as well. Google doesn't want people to stop buying Chromebooks, even if Chrome OS, in the form it is, only has two years of life left.

ohitsdom 11y ago

This is confusing. Smells like there is a lot of friction and uncertainty inside Google...

baddox 11y ago
What seems uncertain? Couldn't it just be that the reports were false, which wouldn't indicate anything about the teams at Google?
- danieldk 11y ago
  Or just taken out of context. Since both Android and Chrome OS run on Linux, a small userland, and a display server, maybe there is some effort within Google to bring these two more together to reduce maintenance cost. Disclaimer: I don't know how much the code bases differ now.
  - Sanddancer 11y ago
    Fairly substantially. ChromeOS is a fairly standard Linux distro under the hood, albeit with not using X11 or directfb for their rendering layer, while Android uses a different libc, rendering layer, etc.
chaz72 11y ago
Possibly uncertainty inside Google... but like as not the uncertainty is from the outside and the rumor mill got it wrong. Certainly it's confusing. :)
BinaryIdiot 11y ago
> Smells like there is a lot of friction and uncertainty inside Google... Since they didn't make announce their plans of merging operating systems (and thusly just wanted to reassure people that ChromeOS wasn't going away), why does it make it seem like there is "a lot of friction and uncertainty inside Google"? Seems like you're making a huge leap with little information supporting such a claim. If you have more information than what is it?

toddchambery 11y ago

I'm sure for the vast majority of Chrome OS users, the technology powering their device is of no significance compared to a reliable and consistent UI.

nraynaud 11y ago
plus who cares? Chrome OS could just be a stripped-down android, and the world would be fine. Actually I though they were already mostly the same (I have a chromebook, but no android device, I don't know what's the difference, appart from the fact that my chromebook gets regular updates)
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
  > Chrome OS could just be a stripped-down android, and the world would be fine. Well they'd only be fine if it were equally reliable and consistent, which is not a sure bet.
- pgrote 11y ago
  I don't think that is correct. There are flavors of android including vendor modified or changed specifications. They can be subtle, like a pay as you go phone carrier, or major like what Amazon has done with Fire. Each of these changes introduces security issues outside of Google's control. With a Chromebook you get the ChromeOS from Google regardless of the vendor who made the hardware. At least that is my understanding.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

thebouv 11y ago

That's clear as mud. On the more interesting side, I had no idea about the Chromebit. So now to find out how to get one since the page linked in the article is a "sign up to stay in loop". But after some more digging seems like it is already out, or maybe just previewed earlier this year to some bloggers?

wishinghand 11y ago
I found out about it a few weeks ago. It was announced in the Spring, supposed to come out in the summer, then nothing other than maybe it'll be less than $100 and available Q4 2015. Hearing Google say it'll be a few weeks is reassuring.
- thebouv 11y ago
  I just bought a Chromecast to play with for a digital signage solution, but this could be better. I couldn't find any specs on how it is powered. From the very little research I've done, it seems like power over HDMI is possible, but maybe I'm wrong on that. Would be nice to get it down to just the stick.
  - organsnyder 11y ago
    If the TV has a USB port, the Chromecast can be likely powered from that. It works on both of the TVs that I have (neither of which are high-end by any means), even though one of the TVs only claims 500mA of output on that port.
  - jotux 11y ago
    ExtremeTech[1] lists the specs: >the Chromebit contains a quad-core ARM Cortex A17 Rockchip CPU and a quad-core ARM 760 Mali GPU, drawing as little as 3 watts of power, and the Chromebit contains 2GB RAM and 16GB flash storage. 802.11ac and Bluetooth are on board, with the latter meant for connecting a keyboard or mouse; an additional USB 2.0 port is for hooking up a drive or other peripherals. There’s no microSD slot on this one. [1]http://www.extremetech.com/computing/202907-intel-compute-stick-vs-asus-chromebit-should-you-wait-for-chrome-os http://www.extremetech.com/computing/202907-intel-compute-st...

kinofcain 11y ago

"no plan to phase out Chrome OS" does not explicitly refute "speculation that Chrome OS will be folded into Android" Especially since the original story stated that google was going to "combine the operating systems": http://www.wsj.com/articles/alphabets-google-to-fold-chrome-operating-system-into-android-1446151134 http://www.wsj.com/articles/alphabets-google-to-fold-chrome-... Google could easily market the combined OS as "Chrome OS" rather than Android. In fact that might be a good idea if they're going to make the experience/distribution model more Google-led like it is with Chrome OS.

x5n1 11y ago
I for one enjoy my Chinese phone and like the Android model, I would hate to see the model go the way of Chrome.
digi_owl 11y ago
Or it could be that some willfully ignorant "journalist" heard about how they were to share development resources and interpreted it as combining.
- eli 11y ago
  "willfully ignorant" seems rather uncharitable
  - JoshTriplett 11y ago
    True; ignorance suggests that they weren't well aware of what would sell a story. Notice, reading the original WSJ article, exactly which (and how few) statements are attributed to unnamed Google sources or statements, and which are speculation or third-party commentary.
derefr 11y ago
It could also mean that the two operating systems are going to be merged at a base level but keep distinct userlands, like iOS and OSX. The point this article was trying to make, is that Chrome OS is under LTS constraints at the UX and userland-API level for its present enterprise users (schools, mostly, but also some corporations.) Under these constraints, the kernel, display-server stack, etc. might get switched out in some future version, but educators who are dependent on their present workflows using specific apps+extensions will be able to continue to use them with no change. Any "merger" with Android will be at a level that is transparent both to the user, and to the Chrome app/extension developer.

shmerl 11y ago

But will it still use glibc Linux (Gentoo) or it will switch to bionic Android one? That was the main point, and not the confusion that Chrome OS is disappearing.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

bedros 11y ago

I think the plan is to run android apps inside chrome OS, the same way you can install android apps inside a PC using bluestacks

byron_fast 11y ago

"Chrome OS thinks it would like to go for a walk."

Artistry121 11y ago

What blog template does google use for their blogspot domains?

Zigurd 11y ago

Nearly everyone glossed over how hard it is to make one os for both lo-cost non-touch laptop and finger-touch mobile form factors. If there was an awesome touch ux for the pixel laptop I'd be more inclined to believe.

anonbanker 11y ago
KDE5 and multitouch? :) (written from my Chromebook running custom Gentoo Linux)

nitpickifying 11y ago

The green Android robot logo kind of sucks, and I bet there's an internal campaign amongst some marketing/branding goons to try and kill it off in the name of beauty and elegance.

rdl 11y ago

I'm generally willing to take statements from Google at face value; they've done unpopular things (killing Reader, etc.), but in my experience haven't been deceptive about them. I hope they realize how valuable a reasonably secure, "stateless" OS like Chrome OS is for many applications. Chrome OS is far from perfection in this space (and there are a lot of easy ways to make it better, and some hard ways to make it vastly better), but it is head and shoulders above anything else for a lot of deployment models right now. Handing me a Chromebook with reasonable assurances the "dev switch" hasn't ever been switched is one of the general purpose full-TCB devices I'd accept from someone and mostly trust. (obviously hardware hacks, or switch was thrown and reflashed and disabled/reset). It's also a cheap/awesome way to manage fleets of machines in education and corporate/kiosk/etc. environments -- you CAN achieve that with Mac OS or Windows, but it requires a lot of work. I hope they don't kill it in the future.

slacka 11y ago
> Chrome OS is far from perfection In fact, I would say for some users, Chrome OS is near perfection. Take my uncle for instance, who for years was getting himself infected with malware requiring regular visits from me or geek squad to wipe his system. When he was ready for his most recent upgrade, I tried him on Mint, but he didn't like the interface. Then I suggested a Chromebook. He LOVES IT. He says it's the best machine he's ever owned. One year later, and not a single issue with malware. I don't worry about him getting infected. If instead of a Chromebook, he had gotten some Android tablet with an OS stuck at 4.x, he's likely be infected by now. Android and Chrome OS serve different use cases. Even if Android manages to fix their upgrade issue, I doubt it will ever be as secure as Chrome OS. From the blog, "guaranteed auto-updates for five years", sounds like a few people at Google get this. Fingers crossed.
- rdl 11y ago
  The "perfection" I want is "not having to trust Google as an operator, only as a developer (and, open source!), and being able to plug in my own enterprise as root of trust for XXX-OS, with my own choice of backend services too -- which may include google apps". I'd also like some non-defeatable indicator in the hardware/display/etc. that "box is in "good" state. The dev switch doesn't retain state. These probably don't matter much for individuals but do matter for enterprise. If this existed, even if it were just keys to approve/sign updates and still required google services for a lot of the functionality, would be awesome.

shadowmint 11y ago

I'm willing to bet money that: While we’ve been working on ways to bring together the best of both operating systems, there's no plan to phase out Chrome OS Comes from a worry about chromebook sales, not any presence or lack of a technical plan to merge or combine components from the two. I would bet this is actually: 'YES, we are merging something with something technically, we're just going to keep two brands for now'. For all the reasons in the other thread, it's both good and bad in different ways; but I would be astonished if you don't see wide support for Android apps on chromebooks in the near future; and that does require some kind of Android runtime.

nikanj 11y ago

Reminds me of Microsoft trying to convince us Windows RT wasn't in hospice care internally

bingobob 11y ago

well this was found the other day. https://chromium-review.googlesource.com/#/c/306706/ https://chromium-review.googlesource.com/#/c/306706/ libchromeos is transitioning to libbrillo and chromeos namespaces and include directory is changing to brillo. brillo is Google IoT OS, https://developers.google.com/brillo/?hl=en https://developers.google.com/brillo/?hl=en they say its based on Android? also the new Google onHub Router are running ChromeOS http://thehackernews.com/2015/10/root-google-onhub-chromeos.html http://thehackernews.com/2015/10/root-google-onhub-chromeos.... I think the idea is Google are just aligning there Core Linux base between all there products allowing for a whole range of improvements from resource sharing to a even better security. and it may even allow them to upgrade Android at a better update rate, with reports that the Google Pixel C a Tablet running Android is getting updates every 6 weeks. i would also like to point out Microsoft has basically done the same thing with the Windows 10 Core its now on XBOX ONE, Windows Phone, PC and even a Raspberry Pi runs this core but they all have there own user space setups/gui.

notatoad 11y ago
This would, imho, be the best possible outcome of this: libchromeos becoming the underpinning for all Google's consumer OS projects, and then having a distinct userland slapped on top of it. Especially if it meant the device-specific stuff all happens in the brillo/core layer, and we can slap a chromeos, iot, or android layer on top of it regardless of the device. Want to turn your nexus player into a desktop computer? replace the androidTV user layer with the ChromeOS user layer. Want to turn your chromebook into a media centre? do the opposite. turn an old phone into a home automation server by replacing android with the IOT layer.
patrickaljord 11y ago
Thanks for sharing this. Sounds like a great outcome.

fibo 11y ago

I have a Chromebook and I am really happy with it

snambi 11y ago

There is enough market for an android laptop. There is no need to kill chrome OS. Is google planning to release an Android Laptop or not?

notatoad 11y ago
It's been done. It wasn't very good. http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/21/hp-slatebook-14-review/ http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/21/hp-slatebook-14-review/

cowardlydragon 11y ago

Can we please get a gradual plan for looping in the rest of the mainline linux ecosystem? The desktop market may be shit, but it's there and google could still go after it if they wanted to. At some point Apple is going to realize that the major market it hasn't dominated yet is... the PC, and it's ripe for attack now that alternative computing footholds are so well established in mobile from the Microsoft days of yore.

ausjke 11y ago

so what does this really mean, Chrome-OS will not be "folded" into Android? Can't have a concrete answer after reading it through though. MS Windows is trying to rule all platforms with one OS, so does iOS, even Ubuntu is trying the same, maybe Google though they need one OS to rule it all as well?

KuhlMensch 11y ago

"every school day, 30,000 new Chromebooks are activated in U.S. classrooms" spits out coffee Wow.

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