

Google is building Chrome OS straight into Windows 8 - rbcoffee
http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/5/4806562/google-building-chrome-os-into-windows-8

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darklajid
I don't get it. I noticed in a recent thread about Firefox that people like
Chrome far more than I can understand. I still have an open tab with the
recent 'Setting up a Chromebook Development Laptop' article - that really
sounds interesting.

But why would any single person in this world run chromeos on a machine that
runs Windows 8? The very same machine already either runs Windows (if that's
your eco system) or is powerful enough to run Linux. Why would you _ever_ run
Chrome OS here?

Put differently: What's the whole point of Chrome OS, unless bundled with
cheap/slow hardware, as a kind of Damn Small Linux, the Web 2.0 version?

~~~
chestnut-tree
_" What's the whole point of Chrome OS...?"_

I don't get ChromeOS either. I find it completely unappealing. I'm guessing
that Google realised that many computer users (perhaps the majority) spend
most of their time in the web browser. Yet, to run a browser you need a
complete desktop operating system. Perhaps Google considered this overkill and
thought a browser-based operating system would make sense. Plus, as an
internet company, they could integrate all their online apps and services into
one seamless experience and gain even more users.

To me, the whole experience of using a browser-based OS like Chrome feels like
a giant step backward, especially since you have to be signed in to a Google
account to do anything. Want to set up your printer in Chrome OS? Yes, sign in
first. Seriously, does that actually appeal to anyone? Plus, for your locally
connected printer, you have to go through Google's cloud print service (and
route all your print jobs through them).

As for their apps, they are too clunky and basic for many tasks (in my
opinion). Take their word processor. You cannot even span a table cell (hardly
an advanced function). Worperfect 5.0 could do this over 20 years ago. This is
not progress.

~~~
thibauts
It's not that users are spending most of their time in a browser, it's that
browser technologies are quickly becoming an ubiquitous platform. The OS is
not changing in a browser, the browser is changing in an OS.

The fact is many peope don't care about the word processor. The computer isn't
an accounting and mail-printing device anymore. People buy phones and tablets,
use iOS and android. ChromeOS is perfect for them.

The best thing that could happen to open source today would be to have an
html5 desktop to replace gnome and friends for consumer devices.

------
nivla
Interesting. Great for people completely submerged into Google's ecosystem but
still clinging onto the Windows OS. For others especially who uses one or few
of Google's products, this sucks. When I got my Surface Pro tablet, I just
wanted to install Chrome Desktop, but nope, it automatically installs into the
metro apps and goes ahead and sets itself as the default browser. The worst
part is that it sucked compared to the IE metro. On desktop it doesn't get
better, with the lack of support for High-DPI scaling, the touch events are
about an inch away resulting in false clicks all the time.

I hope they don't ruin the Chrome browser with techniques used to promote
Google+. I don't want to see a tomorrow where you download Google Chrome and
it comes pre-installed with Google Drive, Google Docs, Google+ etc. Shoving
things down people throat isn't going to end well.

~~~
magicalist
As mentioned in the article, a browser has to be the default browser to be
able to be a metro app due to the restrictions Microsoft puts on them. I
haven't updated to Windows 8 yet, but at least according to the help
article[1], the Chrome installer asks if you want it to be your default
browser. That might be something they added more recently, though. HighDPI is
coming[2]

[1]
[https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95346?hl=en&ref_top...](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95346?hl=en&ref_topic=14660)

[2]
[https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=160457](https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=160457)

~~~
nivla
>a browser has to be the default browser to be able to be a metro app due to
the restrictions Microsoft puts on them.

Ahh I think I got into this whole limbo by trying to set Chrome as my default
browser in Desktop and IE as the default in metro.

>HighDPI is coming

Glad to hear that.

------
spongle
I really don't get this. It doesn't make sense at all.

Its like going into McDonalds and finding a Burger King stall inside it.

This is going to be an experience as smooth as a 1974 land rover with no tyres
on it.

~~~
cryptoz
When the user discovers that after a while owning a Windows computer and
rarely going outside of Chrome, their next computer may not be Microsoft at
all. It might be a Chromebook.

~~~
spongle
Like they know what the hell is going on?

Most people don't know the difference between Windows and Word. This is just
going to confuse them further which is not a great way to win market share.

