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They are just apps that use the ChromeOS development library (JS, HTML, CSS and some custom APIs). Think of it like Cocoa on OS X. Except they can also run in t
by pkulak 13y ago
They are just apps that use the ChromeOS development library (JS, HTML, CSS and some custom APIs). Think of it like Cocoa on OS X. Except they can also run in the Chrome browser on other OSes. I don't understand why people get so riled up about this.
- mbreese 13y agoIs there someway to do standalone installs as well? It seems like that might be against Google's motives in getting everyone to use Chrome as a browser, but it would make it easier to distribute applications in a "traditional" manner. Plus, it would be nice to have dedicated icons, etc...
- busterc 13y agohttps://github.com/rogerwang/node-webkit https://github.com/rogerwang/node-webkit
- mbreese 13y agoCan you run Chrome Apps with that though? It looks like it might be just nodejs.
- busterc 13y agoNo, you cannot build Chrome Apps with Node-WebKit, but you can target Win/Lin/OSX. See my comments below: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6778882 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6778882
- archagon 13y agoI think people get riled up because the humble browser is rapidly turning into this: http://i.imgur.com/XNRtCGh.jpg http://i.imgur.com/XNRtCGh.jpg
- tadfisher 13y agoSo browser extensions are bad now? When can HN get off the hate train for everything new? This place is seriously starting to depress me.
- archagon 13y agoWell, most browser extensions relate to browsing. Google, on the other hand, is trying to turn the browser into an OS. This is a really big shift that may very well determine the future of computing, so I think there's plenty here for people to get legitimately angry about. Not really the same kind of "hate train" that occasionally shows up on project posts, I think.
- techzomby 13y agoWhat's wrong with the Chrome browser becoming an OS? What you get is a fast and secure OS. Most users spend most of the time on the browser anyways - why not leverage that to make user's lives easier?
- archagon 13y agoI don't know about others, but for me, it just doesn't make any conceptual sense. Would you use Excel as a word processor? Would you use Lightroom for mapping? The modern operating system offers so many amazing frameworks and features; why throw that all away and start anew on a shaky foundation of Javascript, HTML, and insanely complicated rendering code, all originally designed for a completely different purpose? I prefer my software to adhere to the single responsibility principle as much as possible. EDIT: Why are you downvoting me? If you disagree, that's what the reply button is for. I'd like to think that HN is better than Reddit.
- epsylon 13y agoWhy would I want a crippled, vendor locked-in OS inside my fully capable and free OS?
- coldtea 13y ago
- jorangreef 13y agoChrome Apps as far as I know can only be installed via a proprietary web store. You can't actually package them up as an exe or dmg to distribute yourself. They also don't have access to the system tray - they're not really first-class standalone desktop apps.
- bergie 13y agoThere is a PhoneGap wrapper for Chrome Apps, which you can probably eventually use also for packaging for the desktop OSs (even though now the focus is understandably on iOS and Android as Chrome apps work on the other platforms): https://github.com/MobileChromeApps/mobile-chrome-apps https://github.com/MobileChromeApps/mobile-chrome-apps