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Chrome OS update adds Google's hardware-accelerated Aura UI

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Re: Chrome OS update adds Google's hardware-accelerated Aura UI

#4

Post by cryptoz »

currywurst wrote: post #2

I really don't get why ChromeOS should exist .. wouldn't an Android tablet with a keyboard (e.g. Asus Transformer) be a much better choice?

Google started work on ChromeOS before Android became successful in the market and long before it arrived on tablets. Additionally, I don't think Google really wants everybody on an OS that runs native apps. Their speciality is the web. Their money comes from the web and the more time people spend searching and browsing the more money they make. ChromeOS is probably what they wish everybody were using, but they aren't going to ignore Android's success.

They'll keep building ChromeOS to hedge their bets. They can't risk getting shoved out of the OS game in any way.

Re: Chrome OS update adds Google's hardware-accelerated Aura UI

#5

Post by MatthewPhillips »

cryptoz wrote: post #4
currywurst wrote: post #2

I really don't get why ChromeOS should exist .. wouldn't an Android tablet with a keyboard (e.g. Asus Transformer) be a much better choice?

Google started work on ChromeOS before Android became successful in the market and long before it arrived on tablets. Additionally, I don't think Google really wants everybody on an OS that runs native apps. Their speciality is the web. Their money comes from the web and the more time people spend searching and browsing the more money they make. ChromeOS is probably what they wish everybody were using, but they aren'…

I would have agreed with you if this was the Google of 4 years ago, but I think the faction of the company that thinks web-first is either gone or silenced. Android has the worst support for web apps as first class apps of any of the major mobile OSes.

Re: Chrome OS update adds Google's hardware-accelerated Aura UI

#6

Post by chwahoo »

currywurst wrote: post #2

I really don't get why ChromeOS should exist .. wouldn't an Android tablet with a keyboard (e.g. Asus Transformer) be a much better choice?

I had a chance to speak with a Google engineer about this not long ago. They said that Chrome was meant to be cloud-centric, whereas Android focuses more on Apps. (A bit of an oversimplification, but generally accurate.)

My take: ChromeOS may actually be better for Google's interests in the long term. However Android's success has resulting in significantly more momentum currently. The release of Chrome on Android might be an effort to move Android more in line with Google's larger goals.

Re: Chrome OS update adds Google's hardware-accelerated Aura UI

#8

Post by keeguon »

wittekm wrote: post #7

Dumb question: so is this just a lightweight X11 WM or is it a brand new windowing system? Or just some sort of directfb hack-job?

Judging from the wikipedia page it says it's a new WM but looking here: http://git.chromium.org/gitweb/?p=chromiumos/platform/window... there's clearly some bits borrowed from x11.

Re: Chrome OS update adds Google's hardware-accelerated Aura UI

#10

Post by cududa »

currywurst wrote: post #2

I really don't get why ChromeOS should exist .. wouldn't an Android tablet with a keyboard (e.g. Asus Transformer) be a much better choice?

ChromeOS is based off Linux. Android and Linux are going to merge. Chrome is coming to Android. It's not hard to see imagine some interesting collision scenarios and user experiences.
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