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Controversial Opinion : Android on ChromeOS is not as important as it used to be

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In 2016, Google made an announcement that ChromeOS will be getting the ability to run Android applications; furthermore, Google also announced that they will be bringing the Google Play Store to all future ChromeOS devices. This announcement was pivotal to ChromeOS as it finally brought some features we take for granted in 2024, such as a massive library of offline applications, games, VPNs and streaming media, to ChromeOS for the first time. For the longest time, I personally loaded my Chromebooks with as many Android Applications as I could; however, that time has long past. Lately, I find myself using a shrinking list of Android Applications on a regular basis, and with a few exceptions, I no longer see much of a need for Android on ChromeOS anymore. 

The Shortcomings of ChromeOS in 2023

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Every few years, I try to take some time to write an article about the shortcomings of ChromeOS and offer advice to the developers on the ChromiumOS team to consider when implementing new features on ChromeOS. Admittedly, I fully intended this to be a yearly publication; however, I do tend to fall victim to procrastination. This article is not intended to demonstrate that ChromeOS is somehow a sub-par operating system that people should not use; it's quite the opposite, as I feel that if the ChromiumOS team were to adopt these features, it could compel more users to adopt ChromeOS as their primary operating system. 

Warning : Be careful when purchasing a ChromeOS device during a Black Friday Sale

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Black Friday sales are notorious for offering incredible deals on various tech products, including Chromebooks. While these deals may seem tempting, it's crucial to exercise caution when purchasing a ChromeOS device during this time. Many of these devices may have been sitting on the shelves for several years, potentially falling outside the window where Google provides OTA (Over-The-Air)/Auto-Update Expiration (AUE) updates.

Why I am Quickly Losing Trust and Faith in Google

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As a long-time Google fan, it pains me to say this, but I am starting to lose trust in some of Google's product decisions. I want to be clear - I still love Android, ChromeOS, Chrome, and many other Google offerings. Google takes user privacy and security very seriously. However, over the years, Google has developed a pattern of releasing several innovative products that showed a remarkable amount of potential, ultimately getting me hooked as a loyal user, and then eventually killing them off.

Google Extends ChromeOS Device Automatic Updates to 10 Years!

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We've all heard the criticism and seen countless photos from schoool administrators showing piles of chromebooks collecting dust - Chromebooks only get a few years of software updates before they are abandoned and sent to a e-waste landfill or sold off for scrap. It looks like Google is finally looking to change that perception with a major announcement that will see Chrome OS devices supported for over a decade.

The Shortcomings of ChromeOS in 2020

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It should not come as a shock that I am a huge fan of ChromeOS/ChromiumOS and while I am clearly a fan, I am also very critical of the operating system and want to see it evolve. A bit over 3 years ago, I wrote a article on my website outlining some of the major shortcomings with ChromeOS in 2017 and I am happy to say that ChromeOS has come a very long way. A lot of new and impressive features have come to ChromeOS since my post including proper SD card support for Android, upgrading the dated Android 6.0 and various other improvements that were not on my radar such as Linux application support. ChromeOS is a great operating system that has been a daily driver of mine for a long time but there are still several major shortcomings that I would love to see resolved in future releases of ChromeOS.

Microsoft’s History of Attacking Google – Only To Give Up And Conform

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Microsoft used to have a internal mantra known as “Embrace, Extend, Extinguish” that helped to ensure that they always maintained market dominance. This was the driving force behind Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft’s Microsoft Java Virtual Machine, Microsoft Virtual PC and countless other products. This strategy essentially had Microsoft embracing promising new technologies and extending the features of the technology (often by adding exclusive features that work best on Windows) and then using their newfound market dominance to destroy the competing products. Aside from a few legal battles, this strategy often proved very successful for Microsoft however for some unknown reason, Microsoft decided to take a different approach with Google’s line of products – “Troll, Smear and Embrace”. I have compiled a list of my top 3 examples.

ARC VPN Support for Crostini Landing in Next Release of ChromeOS

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The fact that it was not possible to route traffic on a Crostini container over a VPN has been one of the most annoying bugs for developers who wish to use their Chromebooks to work in a corporate environment. Google has been working on a fix since I reported it over a year ago. The community of Chromebook owners were saddened to report that the fix was pushed back to M76 about 2 weeks ago. It looks like Google is going to squeeze it into M75, specifically in build 12104.0.0 which may hit the developer channel any day now.

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PSA – All Google Home Units Having Issues This Morning

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Update : Resolved (At least for me)

If you are like me and use your Trusty Google Home as a alarm to wake up every morning, you may be a bit late to work today as all Google Home Minis, Google Home and Google Home Max units are currently having major issues today. Most of my units are giving a generic “Something went wrong” error when saying “Ok Google” and others are acting as if it was factory reset. Here is a video of one of mine