Hands on: What it's actually like to use Windows apps on Chrome OS
Hi. I'm writing this in the Microsoft Word app for Windows...on a Chromebook. I've got Microsoft Edge open, too, all within the standardChrome OSinterface — complete with my usual set of web apps, Android apps, and even Linux apps in the mix.
Worlds are colliding, in other words. And if my first official taste of this wild new reality tells me anything, it's that the traditional boundaries we tend to think about with platforms and operating systems no longer apply. At least, not when you're using a Chromebook.
Let me back up a sec and set the stage for my surreal little experiment here: Back in June, Google announced it was working with a company called Parallels to bring Windows app support into the Chrome OS environment. The magic works via a virtual machine that's installed on the Chromebook and then made to run locally on the device, which means you can use virtually any Windows program as if it were a local app — whether you're online with an active internet connection or not.
For the moment, at least, this whole thing is designed exclusively with the enterprise in mind: The Parallels Windows-on-Chrome-OS setup is available only on specific, approved hardware — high-end systems, basically, with an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, at least 16GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage recommended — and only in company-wide configurations. It comes at a cost, too: a cool 70 bucks per user per year.
And lemme tell ya: Having had the chance to use it extensively this week, I think this is gonna be a pretty intriguing option and one that has the potential to exponentially expand Chrome OS's appeal.
Welcome to the world of Windows...on Chrome OS
First things first, let's get one thing out of the way: Running Windows apps on a Chromebook in this new Parallels-provided setup isn't exactly like running a regular, native program on your device. The nature of the whole "virtual machine" thing means you end up running Windows itself within an app-like window. And it's within that window that you then find, open, and use the traditional Windows software.
The Windows desktop, within Chrome OS (whoaaaa...).
Suffice it to say, that makes things inherently a little...awkward. It's easy to see why: You ultimately have a second desktop within your regular Chrome OS desktop. It feels like you're using Chrome Remote Desktop or another similar sort of remote-access tool, but while the experience itself is somewhat similar to that on the surface, this Windows installation is actually on the Chromebook itself and not just streaming to you via a standalone Windows computer.
Even so, it's kind of odd — because it is a second desktop and effectively a separate operating system running inside your primary operating system. (Paging M.C. Escher...) That means you end up seeing Windows boot up whenever you first open the system:
No comments:
Post a Comment