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Chrome OS is intended to run on hardware not entirely dissimilar to the iPad (get rid of the keyboard, put in a touch screen), with similar types of on-line con

Chrome OS is intended to run on hardware not entirely dissimilar to the iPad (get rid of the keyboard, put in a touch screen), with similar types of on-line connectivity. Chrome OS will be to the iPad what Android is to the iPod.

rufo 17y ago
Why not Android on a tablet? (Or, to put it another way, why does Chrome OS exist?)
- ZeroGravitas 17y ago
  Because with small screens and underpowered chips web technologies can't cut it right now for many tasks, hence Android. This will become less and less true over time, and bigger screens, faster chips, new tech like WebGL and Apple convincing the public that a tablet doesn't need to be the same as their old computer all help it happen faster and make Chrome OS more compelling long term.
metachor 17y ago
Can Chrome OS run games, or music-making applications (synthesizers, drum machines), or really anything that isn't in a web page?
- elblanco 17y ago
  That's a good question, and I get where you are coming from with it. The iPad/phone/touch devices let you run local apps that can take more efficient advantage of the hardware the software is running on. But from what I can tell, the vast majority of apps are simply portals to data on the internet anyway -- in some cases just exact reproductions of the mobile version of some site (Wolfram Alpha anybody). And as Google has demonstrated, pretty advanced apps can be built on the web, that work great on the phone (and has the nice side benefit of circumventing Apple's ridiculous approval process). I think that if you look strategically where Google is heading (faster Javascript, native apps - which I think now supports ARM, embedded flash, etc.), running stuff embedded in a web page shouldn't really be any less efficient than running a local app. The good short-term rebuttal is that Apple can do it now, with local apps. Longer term, if the development ecosystem for web-based apps gets sophisticated enough, it won't really matter if you own an iPhone, iPad, Chrome OS device, Android phone, whatever...because the app will be pulled off of a website completely circumventing Apple's walled garden. Your two examples, games and music-making apps, are already widely available over the web right-now. So yes, a Chrome OS box can run those things. http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224201220 http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/sho... http://armorgames.com/ http://armorgames.com/ http://aviary.com/tools/Myna#googtrans/auto/en http://aviary.com/tools/Myna#googtrans/auto/en http://blog.soundseller.eu/2009/11/online-audio-editor-aviary-myna/ http://blog.soundseller.eu/2009/11/online-audio-editor-aviar... http://vimeo.com/8525101 http://vimeo.com/8525101 http://blog.soundseller.eu/2010/03/spectrum-visualization-with-the-html5-audio-data-api/ http://blog.soundseller.eu/2010/03/spectrum-visualization-wi...

rufo 17y ago

Why not Android on a tablet? (Or, to put it another way, why does Chrome OS exist?)

ZeroGravitas 17y ago
Because with small screens and underpowered chips web technologies can't cut it right now for many tasks, hence Android. This will become less and less true over time, and bigger screens, faster chips, new tech like WebGL and Apple convincing the public that a tablet doesn't need to be the same as their old computer all help it happen faster and make Chrome OS more compelling long term.

metachor 17y ago

Can Chrome OS run games, or music-making applications (synthesizers, drum machines), or really anything that isn't in a web page?

elblanco 17y ago
That's a good question, and I get where you are coming from with it. The iPad/phone/touch devices let you run local apps that can take more efficient advantage of the hardware the software is running on. But from what I can tell, the vast majority of apps are simply portals to data on the internet anyway -- in some cases just exact reproductions of the mobile version of some site (Wolfram Alpha anybody). And as Google has demonstrated, pretty advanced apps can be built on the web, that work great on the phone (and has the nice side benefit of circumventing Apple's ridiculous approval process). I think that if you look strategically where Google is heading (faster Javascript, native apps - which I think now supports ARM, embedded flash, etc.), running stuff embedded in a web page shouldn't really be any less efficient than running a local app. The good short-term rebuttal is that Apple can do it now, with local apps. Longer term, if the development ecosystem for web-based apps gets sophisticated enough, it won't really matter if you own an iPhone, iPad, Chrome OS device, Android phone, whatever...because the app will be pulled off of a website completely circumventing Apple's walled garden. Your two examples, games and music-making apps, are already widely available over the web right-now. So yes, a Chrome OS box can run those things. http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224201220 http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/sho... http://armorgames.com/ http://armorgames.com/ http://aviary.com/tools/Myna#googtrans/auto/en http://aviary.com/tools/Myna#googtrans/auto/en http://blog.soundseller.eu/2009/11/online-audio-editor-aviary-myna/ http://blog.soundseller.eu/2009/11/online-audio-editor-aviar... http://vimeo.com/8525101 http://vimeo.com/8525101 http://blog.soundseller.eu/2010/03/spectrum-visualization-with-the-html5-audio-data-api/ http://blog.soundseller.eu/2010/03/spectrum-visualization-wi...