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Google is finally killing off Chrome apps, which nobody really used

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Re: Google is finally killing off Chrome apps, which nobody really used

#111

Post by dragonwriter »

dtech wrote: post #36
Eikon wrote: post #3

I feel like chrome apps were actually ahead of their time and very much better than embedding a full browser per app with electron. Of course, they were not perfect but IHMO made much more sense than what we have today, at least on a technical standpoint and could have evolved into something truly great.

I.i.r.c. Chrome Apps are compiled binaries specific for Chrome (NaCL), they're more like Flash, Java or Webassembly applications.

> I.i.r.c. Chrome Apps are compiled binaries specific for Chrome (NaCL),

NaCl was supported in Chrome Apps, but most Chrome Apps are just web apps using the chrome.* APIs, not NaCl.

Re: Google is finally killing off Chrome apps, which nobody really used

#112

Post by AdmiralAsshat »

wazoox wrote: post #38
hakanu wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What model of Chromebook do you use? I've 2 chromebooks purchased around $120 each of which is at least 3 years old and I have had android apps since the day I first bought in 2017 and linux support (crostini) for at least a year.

It's an ASUS 300M. A pretty high end model when I bought it 4 or 5 years ago, and as a basic PC, running a standard Linux it would be fine for at least 5 more years. But running Chrome OS, it may become a doorstop any time.

Looks like your model should be compatible with GalliumOS: https://wiki.galliumos.org/Hardware_Compatibility

So you could go that route, if you like. I ended up doing something similar with my original Chromebook Pixel when Google stopped supporting it: I removed the write-protect screw from the motherboard, flashed a normal BIOS, and installed Linux Mint on it.

Re: Google is finally killing off Chrome apps, which nobody really used

#114

Post by dragonwriter »

Twisell wrote: post #15

Please excuse this naive question, but what is the point of ChromeOS/ChromeBook then? If everything is now WebApp what's the point of an OS that can't run native App vs any other OS that can do both? I must be missing something???

> If everything is now WebApp what's the point of an OS that can't run native App vs any other OS that can do both?

The point is Google's effort to acheive capability equivalence between web and native apps, so that there is no consumer-relevant difference to “cant run local apps, only web apps”. Setting a firm.date for Chrome Apps going away can be seen as equivalent to Cortes burning his ships: they are visibly abandoning their alternative to pulling off that effort.

Re: Google is finally killing off Chrome apps, which nobody really used

#115

Post by somesortofsystm »

I've bought a few Chrome apps over the years, but I don't like it. They've all disappeared, or no longer work.

Its a worse user experience than plain ol' apps, imho. Definitely not good value for money when you can't even use the apps a year or so later ..

Re: Google is finally killing off Chrome apps, which nobody really used

#116

Post by untog »

ancarda wrote: post #46
guggle wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed... I don't even consider using their development tools now.

Just the other day I met a guy who told me he wouldn't consider learning and using Go because Google will cancel it eventually What a reputation issue they're developing. Even if their tech is pretty good, there's a growing number of people who won't even consider it (myself included)

That doesn't really make sense, though. Go is entirely open source. If Google dropped it tomorrow there are more than enough non-Google people invested in it to continue development.

Re: Google is finally killing off Chrome apps, which nobody really used

#117

Post by untog »

ddalex wrote: post #99
tomrod wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Precisely. Though all the Google devs I've met weren't using them for development --> devs aren't the target market.

TBH I dont understand the developers preference for laptops, generally. The laptops are good when you need to be mobile - but you can pry my multi-large-monitors desktop out of my dead hands, because I'm not giving that up for serious be-in-the-zone development.

I can only speak for myself, but my development environment being mobile is precisely the point. I can work from home, I can commit changes while on business trips... it's valuable. I also have a large monitor at the office that I plug my laptop into, so I get the best of both worlds.

Re: Google is finally killing off Chrome apps, which nobody really used

#118

Post by rockostrich »

jermaustin1 wrote: post #108
crazygringo wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does hangouts.google.com not work for you? It works for me. You don't need an installable app to use it. And it works inside Gmail too, of course. (True, for companies Google's currently transitioning to the alternative "Hangouts Chat" which has enterprise features. But that's different from consumer Hangouts, and in any case obviously neither depends on Chrome Apps.)

hangouts.google.com will actually launch the chrome app since I have it installed. Also, I only use hangouts for the chatting and SMS features, so all that cruft for video conferencing and stuff really detracts from the simplicity of the hangouts app.

So uninstall the app and then just use hangouts.google.com? There are buttons for video/audio calls, but if you don't click them then it behaves like a chat app and when you have 2 conversations open they get hidden anyway.

Re: Google is finally killing off Chrome apps, which nobody really used

#119

Post by falcolas »

crazygringo wrote: post #92

First of all, this was announced more than 3 years ago, and it still won't happen for another 2.5 years. Second of all, this should be treated as good news for the HN crowd: Google is transitioning from a proprietary, Chrome-only app model to the open-standard, PWA model. Who doesn't support that? There are a bunch of "typical Google cancelling a product" comments here. But for real, I simply cannot imagine any Chrom…

A chrome app that people use? There’s a lot of hobby flight controllers which are/were programmed using a Chrome app. There was no alternative. And since most web apps can’t get access to the host USB (webUSB seems to exist, but still seems pretty nascent), that whole system is probably going to have to find a new app deployment method.

Re: Google is finally killing off Chrome apps, which nobody really used

#120

Post by wazoox »

igravious wrote: post #17
wazoox wrote: post #13

Typical Google move. I have a Chromebook. It was listed on the models that would support Android app, this support never came (it's still "planned", 2 years later...). Support for Linux apps didn't come, either. So now I suppose my Chromebook will be soon a useless brick. Thanks, Google. Got the message, I'll never use any product with your badge again.

In fairness, they've enabled Android apps on an awful lot of Chromebooks: https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/chrome-os-systems-suppo... All new Chromebooks support Android apps afaik. What model do you have? Chrome OS is Linux (it runs the Linux kernel) – you mean your Chromebook doesn't yet support the greater Crostini project? https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromiumos/docs/+/master/c... What part of the Quicks…

It's an ASUS C300M, I bought it around 2015. There is no "Linux (beta)" entry in ChromeOS settings, though it's running version R76, the C300 is listed in the "compatible" list, and it's powerful enough to run Linux applications (dual core x86, 4GB of RAM).

I'll have another look but I don't see why it should be any different today than it was last month.

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