4 ms·

What a weird title and article. I was entirely confused until the very last paragraph: > Google said that ChromeOS would allow users to stream legacy Windows a

by oefrha 3y ago

What a weird title and article. I was entirely confused until the very last paragraph: > Google said that ChromeOS would allow users to stream legacy Windows and productivity applications, which will help deliver them to devices by running the apps on a data center. So if I understand this correctly, Google won’t enable “OS upgrades”, they’re offering a version of ChromeOS where some Windows apps can be streamed, Stadia-style. (Guess how long before it’s canned?)

stuartd 3y ago
Very odd. And will businesses be OK with their data being in Google's cloud?
- JonChesterfield 3y ago
  They're totally happy with it being in Microsoft's cloud so I expect that'll be fine too
- oefrha 3y ago
  Given there are already lots of B2B cloud PC offerings (including from both Microsoft and Google), probably.
- danpalmer 3y ago
  Google Cloud, and Google Workspace, are subject to different terms of service than the consumer offerings. For example: "Google does not collect, scan, or use your content in Google Workspace services for advertising purposes". Same for model training etc it seems. https://support.google.com/a/answer/13881138 https://support.google.com/a/answer/13881138
  - soco 3y ago
    Which leaves it open to using your content for anything else than advertising, whatever that is. And even "advertising" can be called another name, if they decide so.
    - danpalmer 3y ago
      When I was selecting a cloud provider at a previous company there wasn't any concern with using GCP or Azure. There was a minor concern (from some clients in retail) about using Amazon, but even that was overblown in my opinion. These businesses live or die on being trustworthy with infrastructure. I think the view that cloud providers are screwing over their customers behind their backs is just not grounded in reality, experience, evidence, or how business contracts work.
felsokning 3y ago
> Guess how long before it’s canned? I'm thinking how long is it before the latest/greatest subscription service is born from it? Edit: Forgot a space.
- HWR_14 3y ago
  Both can be true. In 18 months it could be the greatest new product and then shut down in 24 months.
supermatt 3y ago
They probably mean Microsofts "Windows App" (https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9N1F85V9T8BN?hl=en-gb&gl=US https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9N1F85V9T8BN?hl=en-gb&gl=U...) which will stream through the browser (or as a ChromeOS PWA/web-app).
eitally 3y ago
Think about it this way: Google is offering enterprises an alternative to 1) thin clients (big investment), 2) PC refreshes (big investment), and 3) Microsoft endpoint licensing (big investment). They've done this by creating a fully managed version of ChromeOS that can be installed on any x86 PC, and by adding software on top of it that allows ChromeOS to run remote Windows apps (just like a traditional thin client). It's very appealing in some industries (like manufacturing), which has already been doing very well with ChromeOS.
- FirmwareBurner 3y ago
  Huh? What manufacturing industries do you know on ChromeOS? In Germany, 90% of manufacturing industry is knees deep windows.
  - Dalewyn 3y ago
    I can't be bothered to read the trainwreck of an article, but I am assuming this is basically an RDP terminal to a Windows mainframe.
  - LeifCarrotson 3y ago
    Knee deep? In the US, 90% of manufacturing is up to their earlobes in Windows. The most popular HMI is an Allen Bradley Panelview which runs Windows CE 6.0. The most popular PLC is an AB CompactLogix/ControlLogix, which can only be edited using an IDE that runs on Windows. Ignition is making significant inroads with Linux servers on the SCADA side, and I have heard of people building machines with Beckhoff TwinCAT BSD, but Windows is everywhere.
  - eitally 3y ago
    I spent 15 years in high tech manufacturing IT, the latter half running test engineering and end user computing. Manufacturing processes will likely NEVER move off Windows and there are plenty of airgapped NT4 machines out there still, and millions of unsupported homegrown apps running on top of old versions of MSSQL or even Access. This is besides the fact that there are machine connectors for Windows that don't exist for anything else -- it's a no brainer. But, that doesn't mean ChromeOS hasn't been making inroads in manufacturing. Sales of ChromeOS Kiosks for Digital Signage are strong, and so is the adoption of cheap Chromeboxes & ChromeOS laptops for things like digital work instructions, check-in/out, and all sorts of manufacturing-adjacent processes/controls that don't require a full Windows PC. 10-15 years ago there was a trend to move a lot of this to traditional VDI, and that's the market that Google has been targeting. This is just a small fraction of the overall manufacturing IT market, but for Google -- starting from $0 -- it's meaningful.
ChrisArchitect 3y ago
Agreed, ridiculous title. And this will be syndicated around the global reuters network making everyone think that Google has something to do with Microsoft/Windows OS operations.

by oefrha 3y ago

stuartd 3y ago

Very odd. And will businesses be OK with their data being in Google's cloud?

JonChesterfield 3y ago
They're totally happy with it being in Microsoft's cloud so I expect that'll be fine too
oefrha 3y ago
Given there are already lots of B2B cloud PC offerings (including from both Microsoft and Google), probably.
danpalmer 3y ago
Google Cloud, and Google Workspace, are subject to different terms of service than the consumer offerings. For example: "Google does not collect, scan, or use your content in Google Workspace services for advertising purposes". Same for model training etc it seems. https://support.google.com/a/answer/13881138 https://support.google.com/a/answer/13881138
- soco 3y ago
  Which leaves it open to using your content for anything else than advertising, whatever that is. And even "advertising" can be called another name, if they decide so.
  - danpalmer 3y ago
    When I was selecting a cloud provider at a previous company there wasn't any concern with using GCP or Azure. There was a minor concern (from some clients in retail) about using Amazon, but even that was overblown in my opinion. These businesses live or die on being trustworthy with infrastructure. I think the view that cloud providers are screwing over their customers behind their backs is just not grounded in reality, experience, evidence, or how business contracts work.

felsokning 3y ago

> Guess how long before it’s canned? I'm thinking how long is it before the latest/greatest subscription service is born from it? Edit: Forgot a space.

HWR_14 3y ago
Both can be true. In 18 months it could be the greatest new product and then shut down in 24 months.

supermatt 3y ago

They probably mean Microsofts "Windows App" (https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9N1F85V9T8BN?hl=en-gb&gl=US https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9N1F85V9T8BN?hl=en-gb&gl=U...) which will stream through the browser (or as a ChromeOS PWA/web-app).

eitally 3y ago

Think about it this way: Google is offering enterprises an alternative to 1) thin clients (big investment), 2) PC refreshes (big investment), and 3) Microsoft endpoint licensing (big investment). They've done this by creating a fully managed version of ChromeOS that can be installed on any x86 PC, and by adding software on top of it that allows ChromeOS to run remote Windows apps (just like a traditional thin client). It's very appealing in some industries (like manufacturing), which has already been doing very well with ChromeOS.

FirmwareBurner 3y ago
Huh? What manufacturing industries do you know on ChromeOS? In Germany, 90% of manufacturing industry is knees deep windows.
- Dalewyn 3y ago
  I can't be bothered to read the trainwreck of an article, but I am assuming this is basically an RDP terminal to a Windows mainframe.
- LeifCarrotson 3y ago
  Knee deep? In the US, 90% of manufacturing is up to their earlobes in Windows. The most popular HMI is an Allen Bradley Panelview which runs Windows CE 6.0. The most popular PLC is an AB CompactLogix/ControlLogix, which can only be edited using an IDE that runs on Windows. Ignition is making significant inroads with Linux servers on the SCADA side, and I have heard of people building machines with Beckhoff TwinCAT BSD, but Windows is everywhere.
- eitally 3y ago
  I spent 15 years in high tech manufacturing IT, the latter half running test engineering and end user computing. Manufacturing processes will likely NEVER move off Windows and there are plenty of airgapped NT4 machines out there still, and millions of unsupported homegrown apps running on top of old versions of MSSQL or even Access. This is besides the fact that there are machine connectors for Windows that don't exist for anything else -- it's a no brainer. But, that doesn't mean ChromeOS hasn't been making inroads in manufacturing. Sales of ChromeOS Kiosks for Digital Signage are strong, and so is the adoption of cheap Chromeboxes & ChromeOS laptops for things like digital work instructions, check-in/out, and all sorts of manufacturing-adjacent processes/controls that don't require a full Windows PC. 10-15 years ago there was a trend to move a lot of this to traditional VDI, and that's the market that Google has been targeting. This is just a small fraction of the overall manufacturing IT market, but for Google -- starting from $0 -- it's meaningful.

ChrisArchitect 3y ago

Agreed, ridiculous title. And this will be syndicated around the global reuters network making everyone think that Google has something to do with Microsoft/Windows OS operations.