Chrome OS + Android Reported To Combine In 2017

[Brophen]

I would love to see Android made into a proper desktop OS by giving it ChromeOS' Aura UI, File Manager, Updates and security, and full Chrome Browser. I do want to see Chrome OS to keep its focus though

[techzilla]

GNU/Linux results more open systems, but Linux alone... well, it only goes so far in the system. Thus Android is for all intensive purposes closed for users, it's just open for developers. Google is very much interested in removing ChromeOS's GNU user land, and swaping it out for the more software business friendly close-able Android. Also judging from their closing source for the rest of android base components, they are going to have a complete closed source user land for chrome. They don’t want to repeat another Amazon in the chrome book sector, and they are damn serious about their markets.

[nomadewolf]

Hmmm, with the converged experience Windows offers, a converged experience from Android, KDE and Ubuntu working on mobile as well and Gnome making their interface touch friendly, I REALLY wonder what Apple is going to do. Apple has always had a clear segregation between touch/phone/tablet and laptop/pc. Will they stay where they are now or will they also have a go at convergence?

What I also wonders, is this merger of Chrome OS and Android ACTUALLY a merger? Or is it dumping Chrome OS and making Android a productivity OS (i.e. laptop/desktop) with potentially a few design influences from Chrome OS?

Whatever happens, we're going to see quite some interesting things in the years to come...

I think that UI convergence is crap. On that matter Apple is the best IMO (i own 0 Apple products BTW).
Platform/software convergence is the real deal for me. And M$ is the best on that matter.
What i think Google should do is a Linux distro which could run Android apps. The native packaging system of that distro should be the same as that of Android. And that's it, Google would dominate with that.

Chrome OS allows you to do about the same as a tablet/phone in a heavier, bulkier, not so portable device. If Chrome OS is to have a chance, it has to do more or move to more mobile devices.


Just my 2 bucks.

[unixfan2001]

OK, but now please explain me why 90% of the professionnal market is still on Windows 7.
IMO simply because W7 fits the job perfectly, unlike Windows 8+ which are just a compilation of retro compatibility and awkward tablet/smartphone compromises.

The "professional market" is still on Windows 7 because they usually move quite a bit slower than the end-user. That's why there are long-term support contracts.
Migrating thousands of client computers at the speed people migrate their single, privately owned machines is the very opposite of sane practice.

[Passso]

The "professional market" is still on Windows 7 because they usually move quite a bit slower than the end-user. That's why there are long-term support contracts.
Migrating thousands of client computers at the speed people migrate their single, privately owned machines is the very opposite of sane practice.

Well I can talk about it because this is my job
You are right for the good practice point : moving from an OS version to another just because it is newer is counter-productive in a business environment.
(The same facts apply on moving from Windows to Linux btw, which froze the situation to M$ advantage)

Anyway we tried Windows 8.1 on a few "IT enthousiasts" and all found that the compatiblity was OK but the desktop is a real mess on a daily basis. Ironically some of them already use 8.1 at home on different laptop/tablets...

[unixfan2001]

Well I can talk about it because this is my job
You are right for the good practice point : moving from an OS version to another just because it is newer is counter-productive in a business environment.
(The same facts apply on moving from Windows to Linux btw, which froze the situation to M$ advantage)

Anyway we tried Windows 8.1 on a few "IT enthousiasts" and all found that the compatiblity was OK but the desktop is a real mess on a daily basis. Ironically some of them already use 8.1 at home on different laptop/tablets...

At first I wasn't particularly enticed about Metro (or Modern, as it's called now) either. But it does grow on one. Since I'm, primarily, a Mac OS X/Ubuntu user, I don't really miss the Start button anyways.

From a developer's perspective, Modern is pretty decent. As a software engineer for a company that recently adopted dog-fooding, I'm working with it on a daily basis. While I wish some of the limitations (no WPF'esque bitmap effects like drop shadows is kind of screwed up, though I understand where Microsoft is coming from. The lack of a decent IPC mechanism is giving some of my colleagues a real headache though) were lifted, it's pretty great to see your app automatically switch from Desktop to Tablet mode.