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In what way is the iPad OS so different from a traditional desktop OS that Android or Chrome are not?

tumult 17y ago
It's possible to break Android from just within the OS itself. This also applies to Ubuntu and almost every other OS I can think of. I don't know if this will be the case with Chrome.
Zev 17y ago
Android has a file browser. Plus, it seems to be designed around small, portable devices. Which the iPad (and the tablet in the video) isn't. And are there any devices with ChromeOS available or about to be available in the next month or two? It was announced months and months ago. Can you write apps specifically targeting it yet? Do you even want to? What kind of device is Google targeting with ChromeOS? Whatever it can fit on? How is a ChromeOS app different from an HTML5 app on the iPad? I don't even know what Google's intentions with ChromeOS are. At least with Android, theres some sort of direction, even if it does get hijacked and thrown away by other companies. With the iPad, you know what market the OS is aimed at. Not so with ChromeOS or Android, to a lesser degree.
- theBobMcCormick 17y ago
  Android does not come with a file browser, although there are third party file browsers available in the Android Market. By default, all access to files on the SD card are through the individual that manage those types of files. For example, there's a built in service that index's all media files (mp3s, AAC's, etc) and presents them, with metadata, to any app that wants them. Same goes for pictures.
tolmasky 17y ago
I am a big fan of Chrome OS, but iPad is simply a completely different model of computing, whereas Chrome OS is a completely different foundation of computing. At the end of the day, for Google to succeed, one of Chrome OS's achievements has to be to match a lot of what desktop computing is today. In fact, one "ideal" scenario is for Chrome OS to simply be the same as desktop computing today, except "better". For example, it would be faster (launch more quickly, open apps faster, etc.); the deployment model would be simpler (over the web, no more software updates for apps, etc.); and more secure. However, while these advancements are certainly great, these are all very much simply an evolution of the current desktop model. Most of the "revolutions" in Chrome OS exist for developers, not users. On the other hand with iPad you have to admit that it is drastically asking you to reanalyze what it means to use a computer. This isn't a value judgment: it remains to be seen whether this new model will be good or intuitive or successful or what have you, but it is different.

It's possible to break Android from just within the OS itself. This also applies to Ubuntu and almost every other OS I can think of. I don't know if this will be the case with Chrome.

Zev 17y ago

Android has a file browser. Plus, it seems to be designed around small, portable devices. Which the iPad (and the tablet in the video) isn't. And are there any devices with ChromeOS available or about to be available in the next month or two? It was announced months and months ago. Can you write apps specifically targeting it yet? Do you even want to? What kind of device is Google targeting with ChromeOS? Whatever it can fit on? How is a ChromeOS app different from an HTML5 app on the iPad? I don't even know what Google's intentions with ChromeOS are. At least with Android, theres some sort of direction, even if it does get hijacked and thrown away by other companies. With the iPad, you know what market the OS is aimed at. Not so with ChromeOS or Android, to a lesser degree.

theBobMcCormick 17y ago
Android does not come with a file browser, although there are third party file browsers available in the Android Market. By default, all access to files on the SD card are through the individual that manage those types of files. For example, there's a built in service that index's all media files (mp3s, AAC's, etc) and presents them, with metadata, to any app that wants them. Same goes for pictures.

tolmasky 17y ago

I am a big fan of Chrome OS, but iPad is simply a completely different model of computing, whereas Chrome OS is a completely different foundation of computing. At the end of the day, for Google to succeed, one of Chrome OS's achievements has to be to match a lot of what desktop computing is today. In fact, one "ideal" scenario is for Chrome OS to simply be the same as desktop computing today, except "better". For example, it would be faster (launch more quickly, open apps faster, etc.); the deployment model would be simpler (over the web, no more software updates for apps, etc.); and more secure. However, while these advancements are certainly great, these are all very much simply an evolution of the current desktop model. Most of the "revolutions" in Chrome OS exist for developers, not users. On the other hand with iPad you have to admit that it is drastically asking you to reanalyze what it means to use a computer. This isn't a value judgment: it remains to be seen whether this new model will be good or intuitive or successful or what have you, but it is different.