Chromium OS source released [LWN.net]

Chromium OS source released

Posted Nov 19, 2009 20:22 UTC (Thu) by MisterIO (guest, #36192)
Parent article: Chromium OS source released

Are the apps used through the browser stored on the hard disk? And if so, then what's the point? If not instead, then what happens if the net isn't working or the server that you need for a certain app isn't working?

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Chromium OS source released

Posted Nov 19, 2009 21:09 UTC (Thu) by Banis (guest, #59011) [Link] (7 responses)

Same thing that happens today. If gmail is not up, ya can't get to your gmail. The question to ask is, how often gmail is not up?

Chromium OS source released

Posted Nov 19, 2009 21:24 UTC (Thu) by MisterIO (guest, #36192) [Link] (4 responses)

There's a big difference between my e-mail and the rest of my system. Without my e-mail I can still happily work on my system. It's just as if, instead of going from cvs to git, people started going from git to cvs!

Chromium OS source released

Posted Nov 19, 2009 21:51 UTC (Thu) by adamgundy (subscriber, #5418) [Link] (3 responses)

it's an X-terminal, with one application (chrome browser).

for many people, that's exactly what they want - an 'internet' machine that lets you safely browse the web, send email, etc, with 'appliance' usability. if it's not working, hit the reset button. if 'the internet' is not working, most non-technical computer users regard their machine as a brick...

it's a big kick in the pants for software vendors to web-enable their apps, specifically the whole class of software that can't currently work (eg: games, video editors, anything that chews a lot of local resources). they're obviously putting a lot of effort into allowing those kind of programs to work as web apps - 'native client', 'webgl' (or whatever it's called this week). also worth noting the cryptic comment about a 'solution for ARM native client' - whether that's fat binaries or some sort of x86 emulation (damn, that'd be slow!)

Chromium OS source released

Posted Nov 20, 2009 6:15 UTC (Fri) by b7j0c (guest, #27559) [Link] (2 responses)

"if 'the internet' is not working, most non-technical computer users regard their machine as a brick..."

is there *anyone* outside of security-sensitive applications that use a standard consumer computer WITHOUT a network connection??

its 2009. a pc with no network IS a brick

Chromium OS source released

Posted Nov 23, 2009 13:57 UTC (Mon) by AAP (guest, #721) [Link] (1 responses)

Awhile back, I was using a computer without internet. Yes, there was a lot I couldn't do, but I could still access and update my documents and keep track of my Quicken bills, even though I couldn't send them until I got the internet back. Without a computer with a local HD, I would have had to use (ugh) pen & paper to keep track of things.

Chromium OS source released

Posted Nov 23, 2009 15:33 UTC (Mon) by kragil (guest, #34373) [Link]

Well, the idea is that all Google web apps will work offline with Gears/HTML5.

So you would just need new web apps .. and Google is betting that those are forthcoming.

Chromium OS source released

Posted Nov 19, 2009 21:34 UTC (Thu) by Per_Bothner (subscriber, #7375) [Link]

Er - you can get to your gmail if gmail is not up. Click Setting -> Labs -> Offline. This is what Google Gears is about.

Chromium OS source released

Posted Nov 19, 2009 22:30 UTC (Thu) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link]

Uhm. You can.

It's called 'Google Gears' and 'GMail Offline.

Gears will be installed

Posted Nov 20, 2009 10:47 UTC (Fri) by forthy (guest, #1525) [Link] (1 responses)

Google already has something for offline use of Gmail and other Google apps, it's called Gears. It turns the web into a distributed file system with database-like properties (SQlite), and that's actually the right idea.

IMHO, the internet needs a complete architectural overhaul from bottom to top, and the things Google is doing (Gears, SPDY) are somewhat right on track on their level (that's fixing flaws in HTTP). And when you think the browser is not up to some task (like VoIP, or providing a good GUI for the app), well, that can be changed, too.

Gears will be installed

Posted Nov 23, 2009 9:04 UTC (Mon) by GregMartyn (guest, #52300) [Link]

Hardware interaction is the weakest link right now in the web app world.

Chromium OS source released

Posted Nov 23, 2009 9:02 UTC (Mon) by GregMartyn (guest, #52300) [Link] (1 responses)

For offline web app usage, see Google Gears: http://gears.google.com/

Chromium OS source released

Posted Nov 23, 2009 9:03 UTC (Mon) by GregMartyn (guest, #52300) [Link]

bah.. beaten to it by several people.