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Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC

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Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC

#91

Post by vbezhenar »

KetoManx64 wrote: post #71
vbezhenar wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm asking for Android-based desktop. Windows is so bad, that I've lost any hope for it to recover. MacOS is not that bad, but it's tied to Apple hardware and I don't like it. Also it's not getting better either, new releases bring more bloat and features I didn't ask for. Linux is what I use, but I also lost hope for it to ever become polished experience. Just recent months they introduced another bug to GNOME which…

It's pretty openly known that GNOME is hostile to its own userbase and their preferences,, why continue to use it instead of KDE or any of the other 10 DE environments?

I don't want extensible software. KDE is terrible in that regards. They have miriads of options, that's too much for me. I want opinionated software. I don't like GNOME, but it's the lesser evil and I learned to deal with its issues.

Also I don't like that KDE does not have its native launcher. I need to install some SDDE stuff which works under Xorg or something like that and looks ugly. Pretty weird stuff all that. GNOME just have GDM which just works.

My ideal environment would be Windows 95-like WM with zero configuration options which just works out of the box the way I want. It doesn't exist, unfortunately. May be I should try to write is, as I complain about it so much. Just have no idea about scale of such a project.

There are no other 10 DE environments. GNOME and KDE are the only two mature ones. Rest are either obsolete, especially with Wayland conquering Linux desktop, or for weird use-cases, like tiling WMs. I'm used to traditional windows managers, I don't want tiling WMs.

Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC

#92

Post by vbezhenar »

WorldPeas wrote: post #79
vbezhenar wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm asking for Android-based desktop. Windows is so bad, that I've lost any hope for it to recover. MacOS is not that bad, but it's tied to Apple hardware and I don't like it. Also it's not getting better either, new releases bring more bloat and features I didn't ask for. Linux is what I use, but I also lost hope for it to ever become polished experience. Just recent months they introduced another bug to GNOME which…

My pessimism is that with their coming clamp-down on external sources for -installing- "sideloading" apps https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45736479 this os may be somewhere between macos and ipados in terms of freedom in the coming years. I have hope that Valve's operating systems and unified platforms will provide a way not only for macos/windows users to move on while retaining compatibility, but for the compan…

Home computers are inherently more open to sideloading. So I don't see a scenario where they would close it. But may be I'm spoiled by x86, wouldn't be surprised to find out that ARM computers would not be open to boot unlock and all that stuff.

Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC

#93

Post by IlikeKitties »

Klonoar wrote: post #31
coffeebeqn wrote: post #2

Linux is better in every conceivable way

Arguably not in security model.

They hated him because he spoke the truth. An up to date ChromeOS is extremly secure compared to the non-existant security model of the linux desktop. Only Secureblue or QubesOS come even close.

Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC

#94

Post by danpalmer »

Rohansi wrote: post #82
danpalmer wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How!? Mine is full of ads, and that's after buying a "Pro" copy of Windows, registry hacks, declining every ToS I can find, rejecting all the "free" trials, etc. Do you have an enterprise install managed on a Windows domain where your admin has disabled all this stuff by any chance?

Where? I don't see any other than the nagging to update settings after larger updates (couple times a year).

The installer has 3 free trials in it (photos sync, xbox, office 365), and then re-runs that part of the installer periodically.

The start menu shows sponsored articles in it IIRC, although this was something I turned off as soon as I could. It also pushes apps like Candy Crush.

The lock screen has ads literally "dotted" around, again pushing cloud services etc.

I keep being prompted to turn on Copilot, and essentially the only options are "Yes" or "Not yet". Opt-outs aren't respected.

I don't use Edge but the OS keeps advertising Edge, keeps telling me in various places and at various times that Edge is better and that Chrome is dangerous.

These are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head, but it's truly pervasive throughout the whole product. Even just looking through Settings it's not hard to find upsells.

Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC

#95

Post by WorldPeas »

vbezhenar wrote: post #92
WorldPeas wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My pessimism is that with their coming clamp-down on external sources for -installing- "sideloading" apps https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45736479 this os may be somewhere between macos and ipados in terms of freedom in the coming years. I have hope that Valve's operating systems and unified platforms will provide a way not only for macos/windows users to move on while retaining compatibility, but for the compan…

Home computers are inherently more open to sideloading. So I don't see a scenario where they would close it. But may be I'm spoiled by x86, wouldn't be surprised to find out that ARM computers would not be open to boot unlock and all that stuff.

If you're not accustomed to it, arm computers have no BIOS/UEFI boot selection and usually require a custom bootloader to load a new OS. I remember many fun hobby projects of old with x86 where I could take an old x86 appliance and put in a clean linux disk to use the hardware however I wanted, nowadays your OS needs to be signed, and because the root is owned, the software can be limited to that what the OEM or OS company desires, much like what MS is trying to do with TPM2 and Win11. Of all the ARM phones I've seen, perhaps 10% support bootloader unlock, and that's only with a certain carrier, the problem is that it's not a unified platform, support has to be implemented per-device, so even if the bootloader is open, the OS may not be up to date (as many have noted with dodgy third party arm boards)

Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC

#96

Post by lmz »

potwinkle wrote: post #85
charcircuit wrote: post #14

I'm excited for this as it will allow desktops to get closer to the security of phones.

Security seems like a solved problem on desktop already? Secure Boot + LUKS + SELinux gives anyone a pretty airtight userspace. Microsoft/Apple have similarly secure set ups for their operating systems. Bitlocker by default (although there is a convenient backdoor for high-paying customers to protect against data loss and for law enforcement forensics) and Apple's Secure Enclave (only broken into by a certain five co…

Per app isolation vs single user account.

Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC

#97

Post by wild_egg »

vbezhenar wrote: post #91
KetoManx64 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's pretty openly known that GNOME is hostile to its own userbase and their preferences,, why continue to use it instead of KDE or any of the other 10 DE environments?

I don't want extensible software. KDE is terrible in that regards. They have miriads of options, that's too much for me. I want opinionated software. I don't like GNOME, but it's the lesser evil and I learned to deal with its issues. Also I don't like that KDE does not have its native launcher. I need to install some SDDE stuff which works under Xorg or something like that and looks ugly. Pretty weird stuff all that.…

XFCE is plenty mature and very stable

Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC

#98

Post by drpixie »

ProAm wrote: post #46

Is there any Android app that is worth using on a PC? Not being snarky, I cant see anything on Android being good enough for a desktop app that is used regularly. Most of the Android apps I use are the 'best of the worse' and I have to use them because there is no other options.

And it's been possible to run android on x86 for years. It's just that nobody wants to, except for app developers ... because you wouldn't/couldn't/shouldn't develop on a phone ;)

Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC

#99

Post by oofbey »

surajrmal wrote: post #72
0manrho wrote: post #34

If you, like me, were wondering why Google thinks it needs another operating system (ChromeOS, Android, Fuchsia - which is presumably dead (edit/turns out it's not/edit)) or where it fits in with the "stack": > ChromeOS and Aluminium Operating System (ALOS) Commercial devices across all form factors (e.g. laptops, detachables, tablets, and boxes) and tiers (e.g., Chromebook, Chromebook Plus, AL Entry, AL Mass Premium…

Aluminum and fuchsia are largely implementation details. The reasons these projects have value isn't necessary user facing, however they will have outcomes that enable products to be more useful with time. Maybe ai features are easier to ship, or it's less costly to maintain device support, or maybe they just save Google some money allowing for cheaper prices. Ultimately, they are closer to what's in the sausage than…

> The reasons these projects have value isn't necessary user facing

The value is what then? Promotion for the tech lead that convinced a bunch of other googlers that they should contribute to this OS project?

Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC

#100

Post by _carbyau_ »

hagbard_c wrote: post #42
p1mrx wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The name makes sense because Aluminium has an -ium suffix like Chromium. There's also no reason for the project name to agree with the US pronunciation of the element.

Well, it makes sense and it doesn't because it makes it sound like this is a 'lightweight' version of the Chromium-based products while the opposite seems to be true. Call it Osmium instead, that's got '-ium' and some weight to it just like this thing.

I appreciate your understanding of the Table Of Elements and their properties, but I don't think most people will care about the weight.

Maybe Osmium is/will-be an OS for their cloud clustering in future. IE something more heavyweight...

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