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Chromebooks have come a long way since they were introduced in 2011. They can be 2-in-1s, run almost any app on the planet with Chrome Remote Desktop, play Chro

Chromebooks have come a long way since they were introduced in 2011. They can be 2-in-1s, run almost any app on the planet with Chrome Remote Desktop, play Chrome OS games, and run Google and Android apps like Skype, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Assistant, WhatsApp, and many more

romwell 4y ago
> run almost any app on the planet with Chrome Remote Desktop You must be kidding, right? By that standard, my monitor can run any app in the world... as long as I plug it into a computer that runs it! Thin clients have been a thing for a while. They don't run apps. That's the point.
- panny 4y ago
  >You must be kidding, right? No, he's not. You can run Android applications on the device, they're not running remotely. You can also run Linux applications using Crostini, on the device. The real limitation I found with either of these approaches is that they are sandboxed in such a way as the apps are always hobbled. Android applications can only reach a sandboxed file system. Linux apps can't use GPU. Neither can read USB storage. Stuff like that. Some of those may be fixed now, but after trying for a couple of years, I eventually gave up on ChromeOS ever working as advertised in that regard. Running applications on ChromeOS is a sort of toy feature that might work, but if it doesn't, don't expect any attention in making it work, because you're the weirdo trying to run apps on ChromeOS.
  - romwell 4y ago
    I am specifically referring to this part: >run almost any app on the planet with Chrome Remote Desktop Sure, any device that can run RealVNC is capable of running "almost any app on the planet" then.
  - pjmlp 4y ago
    On selected devices, usually more expensive than equivalent GNU/Linux or Windows laptops.
    - KevinCTofel 4y ago
      Every new Chromebook since 2020 supports the Linux container, even the low cost ones. Would I use Linux for heavy duty desktop apps on an entry-level Chromebook? No, but for occasional use or a third party browser it works perfectly fine.
      - pjmlp 4y ago
        No they don't, I am quite sure a couple of models at the local Shopping mall here in Germany state the support is not avaiable. Anyway why waste money on a Chromebook when GNU/Linux laptops are much cheaper or have similar price points.
- tshaddox 4y ago
  > By that standard, my monitor can run any app in the world... as long as I plug it into a computer that runs it! Well, yeah, and if someone says your monitor sucks because it can’t even run apps, that’s exactly what your response would be. That’s not a slight against your monitor or against a Chromebook.
  - romwell 4y ago
    So, Chromebook can run any app... as long as you also have a computer on which to run the apps. Makes sense. Similarly, a car seat is a vehicle: it can get a person to another place (as long as it's installed in a car).
    - tshaddox 4y ago
      Right, just like your monitor. Again, it’s not a slight against your monitor or your Chromebook. Nor is it a slight against your car seat that it is not itself an automobile.
    - Dalewyn 4y ago
      >So, Chromebook can run any app... as long as you also have a computer on which to run the apps. Isn't that the entire point of a dumb terminal, which a Chromebook essentially is?
      - stonogo 4y ago
        A dumb terminal with identical specifications to a full computer isn't a dumb terminal, it's a dumb idea. Dumb terminals haven't been economically viable since the 1970s; the common terminals (VT100 and successors, ANSI, IBM 3151, etc) are all smart terminals; they support line drawing features and so forth. Chromebooks are the end result of making terminals smarter and smarter until they're just computers with artificial restrictions on which programs they can run. That's a valid product if you want to subject yourself (retail chromebooks) or others (school fleets) to such restrictions, but pretending it's innovative because you have to work around limitations you needlessly imposed on yourself is a bit daft.

romwell 4y ago

> run almost any app on the planet with Chrome Remote Desktop You must be kidding, right? By that standard, my monitor can run any app in the world... as long as I plug it into a computer that runs it! Thin clients have been a thing for a while. They don't run apps. That's the point.

panny 4y ago
>You must be kidding, right? No, he's not. You can run Android applications on the device, they're not running remotely. You can also run Linux applications using Crostini, on the device. The real limitation I found with either of these approaches is that they are sandboxed in such a way as the apps are always hobbled. Android applications can only reach a sandboxed file system. Linux apps can't use GPU. Neither can read USB storage. Stuff like that. Some of those may be fixed now, but after trying for a couple of years, I eventually gave up on ChromeOS ever working as advertised in that regard. Running applications on ChromeOS is a sort of toy feature that might work, but if it doesn't, don't expect any attention in making it work, because you're the weirdo trying to run apps on ChromeOS.
- romwell 4y ago
  I am specifically referring to this part: >run almost any app on the planet with Chrome Remote Desktop Sure, any device that can run RealVNC is capable of running "almost any app on the planet" then.
- pjmlp 4y ago
  On selected devices, usually more expensive than equivalent GNU/Linux or Windows laptops.
  - KevinCTofel 4y ago
    Every new Chromebook since 2020 supports the Linux container, even the low cost ones. Would I use Linux for heavy duty desktop apps on an entry-level Chromebook? No, but for occasional use or a third party browser it works perfectly fine.
    - pjmlp 4y ago
      No they don't, I am quite sure a couple of models at the local Shopping mall here in Germany state the support is not avaiable. Anyway why waste money on a Chromebook when GNU/Linux laptops are much cheaper or have similar price points.
tshaddox 4y ago
> By that standard, my monitor can run any app in the world... as long as I plug it into a computer that runs it! Well, yeah, and if someone says your monitor sucks because it can’t even run apps, that’s exactly what your response would be. That’s not a slight against your monitor or against a Chromebook.
- romwell 4y ago
  So, Chromebook can run any app... as long as you also have a computer on which to run the apps. Makes sense. Similarly, a car seat is a vehicle: it can get a person to another place (as long as it's installed in a car).
  - tshaddox 4y ago
    Right, just like your monitor. Again, it’s not a slight against your monitor or your Chromebook. Nor is it a slight against your car seat that it is not itself an automobile.
  - Dalewyn 4y ago
    >So, Chromebook can run any app... as long as you also have a computer on which to run the apps. Isn't that the entire point of a dumb terminal, which a Chromebook essentially is?
    - stonogo 4y ago
      A dumb terminal with identical specifications to a full computer isn't a dumb terminal, it's a dumb idea. Dumb terminals haven't been economically viable since the 1970s; the common terminals (VT100 and successors, ANSI, IBM 3151, etc) are all smart terminals; they support line drawing features and so forth. Chromebooks are the end result of making terminals smarter and smarter until they're just computers with artificial restrictions on which programs they can run. That's a valid product if you want to subject yourself (retail chromebooks) or others (school fleets) to such restrictions, but pretending it's innovative because you have to work around limitations you needlessly imposed on yourself is a bit daft.