Google officially bringing Android apps to Chromebooks

[lxskllr]

Because my 86 year old mother can't even master a double click on a mouse.

Oh, it's not all fun and games, but she does what she needs to do, and keeps the machine updated. It had been so long since I looked at it, I forgot the password, and had to ask her.

 

[ponyo]

There are couple of Android apps I would like to run on the Chromebooks like Kodi. It would be nice to be able to use it without having to run Crouton.

 

[Commodus]

That's what I don't get about lxskllr's argument. Android apps are not some simplistic, regressive addition that will take Chrome OS into the dark ages. There are some apps that you can't easily replicate (not yet, anyway) on the web, or which are better-suited to touchscreens than a website.

For that matter, there's a certain irony to an open source diehard decrying greater choice.

 

[lxskllr]

That's what I don't get about lxskllr's argument. Android apps are not some simplistic, regressive addition that will take Chrome OS into the dark ages. There are some apps that you can't easily replicate (not yet, anyway) on the web, or which are better-suited to touchscreens than a website.

For that matter, there's a certain irony to an open source diehard decrying greater choice.

I don't have a single program on my phone that isn't done better on my desktop.

I never "decried greater choice". I said I found it useless. I also don't like power being taken from the hands of users, and given to companies, but people are free to do what they want. I'm unaware of any regulations that require my approval for products. It would be nice though...

 

[Kaido]

I think this will take off for the 2-in-1 Chromebooks, where you can lift the touchscreen off the keyboard base to use it as a tablet. I was super crazy excited for the original iPad, then discovered I hated browsing with my fingers & greatly preferred a mouse, and eventually got a Chromebook & have loved it ever since. A quality 2-in-1 might be the right answer to balance between a Chromebook (web-surfing laptop mode) & an Android tablet.

 

[cronos]

Yea, cause consumer computers are so hard to use, right? My 84 year old mother uses Ubuntu with virtually zero problems. I had to fix a "problem" last week when she ran out of drive space. I neglected to account for accumulated kernels when she updated the machine herself, and I deleted ~7gb of kernel updates.

What would your mother use on Ubuntu on a regular basis that she couldn't do with a Chromebook, especially with access to Android apps? I would think that a senior citizen daily usage is exactly the type of use case where a Chromebook with Android apps is absolutely perfect.

Neat thing about that machine is it still works when the internet's out. Office works, music works, image editing works, and you can read your old emails. You also don't have crapps that are so stripped down, the solution to your problem is hunt down another crapp that fills the hole the last one misses.

This is a very interesting fact that I had not thought about before. Internet connection is ubiquitous in my life so I never even thought about a situation where there is no internet (or at least wifi access to my local media storage). Is a Chromebook completely useless without an internet connection now? I know it wouldn't be with access to Android apps coming. All those things you mentioned work just fine offline on an Android device.

 

[ponyo]

What would your mother use on Ubuntu on a regular basis that she couldn't do with a Chromebook, especially with access to Android apps? I would think that a senior citizen daily usage is exactly the type of use case where a Chromebook with Android apps is absolutely perfect.



This is a very interesting fact that I had not thought about before. Internet connection is ubiquitous in my life so I never even thought about a situation where there is no internet (or at least wifi access to my local media storage). Is a Chromebook completely useless without an internet connection now? I know it wouldn't be with access to Android apps coming. All those things you mentioned work just fine offline on an Android device.

Chromebook is pretty useless without Internet connection. Some apps work offline but most need Internet access. But there are ways around it. My Chromebook has built-in 4G cellular modem so I can use that if there's no WIFI. Also you can install Ubuntu or other flavor Linux via Crouton and simply switch back and forth between ChromeOS and Ubuntu by press of couple keys.

 

[cronos]

Chromebook is pretty useless without Internet connection. Some apps work offline but most need Internet access. But there are ways around it. My Chromebook has built-in 4G cellular modem so I can use that if there's no WIFI. Also you can install Ubuntu or other flavor Linux via Crouton and simply switch back and forth between ChromeOS and Ubuntu by press of couple keys.

Yeah before this news, I thought if I get the chance of getting a Chromebook I definitely would end up installing Linux on it. I was thinking with access to Play Store apps, I won't need to.

 

[teejee]

This is a very interesting fact that I had not thought about before. Internet connection is ubiquitous in my life so I never even thought about a situation where there is no internet (or at least wifi access to my local media storage). Is a Chromebook completely useless without an internet connection now? I know it wouldn't be with access to Android apps coming. All those things you mentioned work just fine offline on an Android device.

No, he probably haven't used a chromebook. You can do a lot of stuff without internet.
https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/3214688?hl=en