Yea! Finally an answer to the big brother Windows 11!
But isn't Google just as bad at spying on us? It's just trading one big brother for an another.
Oh yeah... didn't think of that.
Hey haven't you ever just ever considered using Linux?Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC
211–220 of 321 posts
Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC
#212Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't really get your point. The accessibility story can surely be improved, but it's absolutely 100% better on Android, than what we have on GNU/Linux today, so at the end of the day it's just one more choice for end-users. And keyboard and the like will also get a chance to get fixed if more people are interested in the platform.
Accessibility is not the additional feature that can be improved later. If it's not there when you sell the product, you can be fined.
Accessibility is often neglected anyway. It's just the sad truth
Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC
#213Is 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.
Google's services tend to be better on android than on the web. Gmail for instance has multi-account support with a unified inbox. You could get a third party client to do it, but I don't know any really good ones TBH, so getting the android app on desktop/tablets is kinda nice. Photos is also significantly better on android.
Social apps, messaging apps, parking/dedicated payment apps also tend to have miserable web support.
Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC
#214If 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…
Let's be honest, nobody is asking for android based desktops, google just wants to normalize rent seeking 30% of all software sales.
> google just wants to normalize rent seeking 30% of all software sales
Most Android applications are free. Furthermore, Google allow you to install a separate store where you can buy from, allowing you to not have to pay those 30%, or to pay them to someone else other than Google.
And if anyone is trying to normalise 30% rent seeking on desktops, it's the incumbents already directing you towards their store (Microsoft, Apple).
Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC
#215No one tech-savvy wants this. We are already sick of Google's Android lockdowns on mobile phones, and now coming after laptops and desktops? What's that going to be like? Will developers have to beg to have control over devices they own? Will we be locked down on the store and have to manually install "unverified" software? Will I be able to take screenshots at will on MY computer, or get a black screen because Googl…
> Will I be able to take screenshots at will on MY computer, or get a black screen because Google decides so? It's not Google, it's the application vendor that decides so. And as annoying as I find it when I want to screenshot something from my bank app, the reasons behind that feature being available are pretty good. > Given what Google has done on the mobile space You seem to be missing the nuance that as annoying…
"it's application vendors who hanged the users, google just gave them the rope" isn't the good excuse you think it is
Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC
#216Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is it unreasonable to ask "why not"? I like the state of Android's (as packaged by GrapheneOS) settings UI much better than any other settings system, period. It's all in one place - I can't think of a single thing I would want to configure that isn't found in that one dialog. It doesn't always make sense, but it's searchable, and the search works.
Just imagine configuring nginx or apache with UI.
Come on, we're talking about system settings on future ChromeBooks. Of course I don't want a GUI for writing nginx config files.
Android is very good at exposing things like
* "which service may know the device location?"
* "which app accessed the microphone 2 minutes ago?"
* "which apps burn the most battery?"
All of those make sense on ChormeBooks, and all of those are difficult with Linux.
Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC
#217Google you're a NA company, we say "aluminum".
Also an OS built around an "AI core" sounds like a privacy nightmare.
Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC
#218Is 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.
Based on my experience using DeX, no. Most never considered "desktop" as a use case, so their UI is terrible on a 27 inch screen, and keyboard navigation is either non-existent or very awkward. Oh, maybe the browser, so we are back to ChromeOS.
To nuance a bit, sure most application aren't designed to be blown up to 27", but then they don't need to. Tiling two or three applications side by side already gives a decent sizing, and it will probably come down to the window manager to make it an good proposition. After all, we also don't use every app fullscreen on desktops, it doesn't need to be mandatory.
Chrome OS was already supporting windowed android apps, I'm typing this on the experimental desktop mode for Pixel phones, and it's not ready for prime time but it's usable enough. I could totally see a refined version of it.
What Google will do with the linux subsystem that was available on ChromeOS is the more interesting part IMHO. Do they just ignore that part or do we get something equivalent.
Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC
#219Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Will I be able to take screenshots at will on MY computer, or get a black screen because Google decides so? It's not Google, it's the application vendor that decides so. And as annoying as I find it when I want to screenshot something from my bank app, the reasons behind that feature being available are pretty good. > Given what Google has done on the mobile space You seem to be missing the nuance that as annoying…
"it's application vendors who hanged the users, google just gave them the rope" isn't the good excuse you think it is
Are we really comparing bank applications forbidding screenshots and controls of their apps to lower the risk of certain types of exploits/attacks with hanging people?
Re: Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC
#220Does anybody think Aluminium as a brand name is a good choice? Especially considering the intended expansion towards the premium market. To me it sounds cheap, second-rate, ersatz. What you use if you cannot afford a better metal. Chrome is shiny, aluminium surfaces soon get dim again after any polishing attempt.
You don't even need to go that far to think its a bad name. The anglosphere can't even agree on the pronunciation and spelling. Malicious actors will certainly take advantage of this as well.
Looking forward to hearing my British colleagues calling it "Al-yoo-MIN-ee-um" OS, but I'm failing to see how evil hackers are going to exploit that.