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      The “Windows App” for Mac, iOS, and browsers is a fancy remote desktop, for now

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 16 November - 17:42 · 1 minute

    Windows app with apps and multiple desktops

    Enlarge / If you have a bunch of Windows systems, Microsoft now has an app for that. It's called "Windows App." Microsoft just has a certain way with naming things. (credit: Microsoft)

    It feels strange to say it, but it's true: There is an app called, simply, "Windows." It's available for early testing on Mac, iOS and iPad, the web, Windows, and eventually Android, and it's made by Microsoft. The fact that it exists, with such a strong and simple name, says something larger than the rather plain and starting-stage app it is now.

    "Windows App," as named by Microsoft in a rare bit of minimalism, is essentially a convenient remote desktop connection to a Windows OS on a physical system, an Azure virtual desktop, a Dev Box, or elsewhere. There are some other tricks you can pull off, too, like using your local device's webcam, speakers, and printer connections with your remote Windows system. But you can easily read a "Windows app" for multiple platforms, including web browsers generally, as being the next step in Microsoft's slow march toward making a virtual Windows OS something that seems convenient for everybody, whether on a business or personal account.

    At the moment, you need a work or school account with Microsoft to use most of the features beyond a traditional remote desktop connection. To use a remote desktop connection, the Windows instance you're connecting to must be running a Pro edition, as Home lacks the ability to host a remote desktop connection. There are, of course, many ways to connect to a remote PC from nearly any device, including RealVNC and others.

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      DeXBook : le PC portable secret de Samsung a de quoi surprendre

      news.movim.eu / JournalDuGeek · Tuesday, 23 May, 2023 - 13:02

    samsung-galaxy-chromebook-158x105.jpg Samsung Galaxy Chromebook

    Présent sur le segment des ordinateurs portables, Samsung travaillerait sur un concept étonnant. Le « DeXBook » veut réunir le meilleur de Chrome OS et de Samsung DeX.

    DeXBook : le PC portable secret de Samsung a de quoi surprendre

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      Zero trust for Zoom calls: ChromeOS getting universal microphone/camera toggles

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Tuesday, 25 April, 2023 - 17:02 · 1 minute

    Rather than app-by-app permissions that are set once, ChromeOS will soon offer universal mic and camera toggles that should help prevent accidental exposure of messy bedrooms, running children, penguins, and other objects.

    Enlarge / Rather than app-by-app permissions that are set once, ChromeOS will soon offer universal mic and camera toggles that should help prevent accidental exposure of messy bedrooms, running children, penguins, and other objects. (credit: Google)

    Chromebooks will become a better place to take a video call or audio huddle soon, as Google is giving all users the ability to universally control access to their video cameras and microphones.

    As part of a wider announcement of business data and security improvements , Tony Ureche, head of security, identity, and privacy for ChromeOS, writes that Chromebooks will get a space in Settings for toggling camera and microphone access. If an app tries to access either device upon launching or after a button tap, you'll get a notice saying, "Your mic is muted by your system settings," with a prompt to click the button to learn more (at least in Google Meet). The setting is coming "later this year."

    Having a default-off option for Chromebooks adds security to an already fairly secure platform, both by obscurity and design. It's also helpful for users, as it's a good idea to have to affirmatively enable a camera every time it wants to turn on rather than remembering whether or not you previously gave permission to Zoom, Meet, Slack, Skype, Teams, GoToMeeting, WebEx, Discord, or other apps.

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      ChromeOS Flex : Google donne une deuxième vie à vos vieux PC et Mac

      news.movim.eu / JournalDuGeek · Friday, 15 July, 2022 - 12:30

    meet-chomeos-158x105.jpg ChromeOS

    Google est prêt à offrir une seconde chance à votre vieux PC Windows ou Mac (macOS). La firme vient de rendre disponible ChromeOS Flex au plus grand monde ; certifiant au passage plus de 400 machines.

    ChromeOS Flex : Google donne une deuxième vie à vos vieux PC et Mac

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      Google says you can now turn these 400 Macs, PCs into reliable Chromebooks

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 14 July, 2022 - 13:00

    Google Chrome OS Flex.

    Enlarge / Google Chrome OS Flex. (credit: Google )

    Google today announced in a blog post that ChromeOS Flex, a version of its Chromebook operating system suitable for most hardware, has moved from early access to general availability. It also said it certified "over 400" devices, including systems from Apple, Dell, and HP, to run the OS smoothly and stably.

    Google announced ChromeOS Flex in February, building upon its 2020 acquisition of CloudReady (CloudReady becomes ChromeOS Flex now that the latter is stable). Cloud OS Flex is downloadable to a USB drive for free, allowing you to install it on a Mac or Windows PC.

    The most obvious use for ChromeOS Flex is to bring new life to a dated machine that may be too old to get software updates for its native OS. Our ChromeOS Flex beta review found the OS to be an interesting alternative for people content with doing most of their computing in a browser and for getting a budget-level Chromebook experience from an 8-to 9-year-old system.

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      Google tests battery-conserving feature perfect for hoarding tabs

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Friday, 8 July, 2022 - 15:56

    Chromebook logo on a laptop

    Enlarge (credit: Scharon Harding)

    Google is testing a method to boost the battery life of Chromebooks by changing how they work with the Chrome web browser. It's shaping up to be a potentially attractive update for users who leave a lot of tabs open on their Chromebooks.

    Google Chrome currently cuts the CPU time and throttles the CPU load for any tab you haven't touched or looked at for five minutes. Google calls this " intensive throttling of JavaScript timer wake up, " and it's supposed to help conserve system battery life. The feature also makes the page wake up once every 60 seconds to check if you're actively using the tab again.

    It seems Google is interested in pushing the idea even further, at least for Chromebook users. About Chromebooks this week spotted a new flag in Chrome OS 105, currently being tested in the dev channel, that changes this five-minute period to 10 seconds.

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      Chrome OS update automatically brings photos from Android to your Chromebook

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Friday, 24 June, 2022 - 17:00

    Chrome OS update automatically brings photos from Android to your Chromebook

    Enlarge (credit: Acer )

    Google announced Chrome 103 on Thursday, making it easier to share photos from Android to your Chromebook. The company also said an update that will simplify Bluetooth connections is on the way.

    As detailed in a blog post by Alexander Kuscher, director of Chrome OS Software at Google, the update builds on the Phone Hub app released to Chrome OS last year. It works with smartphones running Android 5.1 and later and lets you view the phone's text messages and battery life and bring over tabs from your mobile Chrome browser to your Chromebook's browser.

    In Chrome 103, photos you take on your Android Phone will automatically show up in the Phone Hub under a new "Recent photos" section.

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      Chromebooks work toward more versatile window snapping

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Monday, 13 June, 2022 - 16:13

    Chromebooks work toward more versatile window snapping 

    Enlarge (credit: Getty )

    Google is working to make the use of multiple windows in Chrome OS a bit more flexible. While Chromebooks are currently limited to two windows, each taking up 50 percent of the screen, it appears users will soon have the option to have one window occupy two-thirds of the screen while the second window uses the remaining third.

    As first spotted by the Chrome Story blog and noted by Chrome Unboxed on Sunday, a code change in the Chromium Gerrit points to a developing feature meant to "add partial split." This is just an experimental flag, so its release, while likely, isn't guaranteed.

    The feature as currently being developed would reportedly still limit Chrome OS users to viewing two windows on a Chromebook screen but add greater flexibility. Potential use cases include using the smaller window for a social media feed or using one window for pulling information from and another for taking notes and writing on.

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      World’s Most Used Desktop Operating Systems: Chrome OS Beats macOS

      pubsub.do.nohost.me / FossBytes · Monday, 22 February, 2021 - 13:57 · 1 minute

    Chrome OS 2nd most used desktop OS

    The race to become the world’s most used desktop operating system isn’t going to end anytime soon. The competition is getting harder as we speak and now a major contender has been replaced by a relatively new OS.

    We are talking about Google’s Chrome OS beating Apple’s macOS for the 2nd position on the list of the most used desktop operating systems in the world.

    Chrome OS Surpasses macOS

    Desktop OS global market share

    According to the data released by IDC , Chrome OS owns the second highest market share globally in 2020, grabbing a 10.8% chunk of the pie, up from 6.4% in 2019. On the other hand, macOS has grabbed a 7.5% market share, up from 6.7% in 2019.

    Of course, Microsoft’s Windows 10 remains the undefeated winner with a total market share of 80.5% (down from 85.4% in 2019), while other remaining operating systems including Linux distros constitute a total of 1.2%.

    Why we are seeing more of Chrome OS?

    Generally, we don’t find many Chrome OS devices running around. While there aren’t many options to consider, one reason is that Google’s focus in promoting Chrome OS mostly revolves around education and business customers.

    For that reason, the search giant has partnered with Parallels Desktop to bring Windows apps to Chromebooks for enterprise customers first, much-needed compatibility that will lure more users.

    Google offering low-cost Chromebooks with a lightweight OS, great battery life, Google services, and focus on progressive web apps is certainly a perfect catch. Especially for those who are looking at similarly-priced Windows laptops. Many schools all over the world went online and many people started working from home, boosting overall PC sales after a dry spell during the start of 2020.

    So, Google has been able to crunch some numbers during the pandemic, adding to its graph that has increased in the last couple of years. Not to mention, these numbers are feeding upon the success of Microsoft’s Windows as macOS also saw an upward graph from 2019.

    via Ars Technica

    The post World’s Most Used Desktop Operating Systems: Chrome OS Beats macOS appeared first on Fossbytes .