Google Relaunches Cameyo To Entice Businesses From Windows To ChromeOS (theverge.com) 27
After acquiring software virtualization company Cameyo last year, Google has relaunched a version of the service that makes it easier for Windows-based organizations to migrate over to ChromeOS. From a report: Now called "Cameyo by Google," the Virtual App Delivery (VAD) solution allows users to run legacy Windows apps in the Chrome browser or as web apps, preventing organizations from being tied to Microsoft's operating system. Google says the new Cameyo experience is more efficient than switching between separate virtual desktop environments, allowing users to stream the specific apps they need instead of virtualizing the entire desktop. That allows Windows-based programs like Excel and AutoCAD to run side-by-side with Chrome and other web apps, giving businesses the flexibility to use a mix of Microsoft and Google services.
Could be a game-changer (Score:2)
If people can run legacy Windows apps without Windows, they will gladly move to a new platform simply to be free of Antimalware Service Executable and the constant useless updates.
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I certainly would agree with that direction, however this has been an option for an eternity and broadly hasn't moved the needle for Windows market share.
Once upon a time VirtualBox made an effort for this to work as a feature, and eventually dropped it in favor of just using Windows RDP to the same end. Doing it via a browser may be somewhat more convenient, but not fundamentally more accessible than RDP...
After watching a demo, I'd say this is in fact a step back from 'seamless' RDP, since you just get a
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People can run legacy Windows apps without Windows with WINE, still they are reluctant to move to a new platform.
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If people can run legacy Windows apps without Windows, they will gladly move to a new platform simply to be free of Antimalware Service Executable and the constant useless updates.
And that is, at best, a move from the fire into the frying pan. You'll get cooked more slowly, but you'll still be "done" by the end of the process.
Trading Microsoft for Google is merely a lateral move. Your privacy is still being raped, your control can be taken away in a heartbeat, if your data connection goes down you're mostly dead in the water, and the "deal" can be altered at any time.
The problems with fighting an addiction by substituting what is currently a kinder-but-gentler drug are well known. Th
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If people can run legacy Windows apps without Windows, they will gladly move to a new platform simply to be free of Antimalware Service Executable and the constant useless updates.
That's the fun part though: You can't. At least not with this solution. This is just thin client computing. They run windows servers in their DC, your IT installs your apps, configures everything like what app icons to present to what users, and you login to a web portal. Yes, the endpoint doesn't need to be Windows (Although MS still gets a cut from it since you need a RDS CAL) but you still need Windows on the back-end. Citrix has being doing this for decades now. You can see the architecture on their si
So what about active directory? (Score:3)
Like with my company I've got single sign on for tons of apps and they seamlessly integrate with multifactor authentication apps.
That's all just kind of built into active directory and it's all plug and play and just kind of works (as much as anything works with modern computing).
As much as Windows 11 sucks because it's so incredibly user hostile you still need the administrators to be able to cheaply and easily set up all the permissions and logins and all that. Otherwise it's a cost of administering the devices goes up it defeats the purpose of saving money by buying non Microsoft software and hardware.
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Except it is a whole desktop, but with ability to request an app to maximize... It's kind of embarassingly bare bones for this level of claiming it makes ChromeOS just do Windows...
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Chrome OS is also single sign on, with a Google login instead of a Microsoft one. So if a company is looking to wean itself off Outlook/O365/Win11/Teams for Google equivalents then that might be an attractive option for the bean counters.
Work gave me a 'new' reconditioned laptop 6 weeks ago. It is *slow* due to all the monitoring crapware they add to the factory image to keep Windows 11 secure and corporate; I can imagine Chrome OS running faster on cheaper hardware. FWIW we do already have software running
Going for gold... (Score:2)
...in the olympics of bad ideas
Run Windows apps in a browser?
This might work for trivial stuff, but I can't imaging running serious software like this and having it run even close to acceptably
High end CAD? Video editing? Digital audio workstation? Scientific simulation? in a browser?
This is silly beyond belief
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Problem with that is thinking it's vaguely new... This has been possible pretty much all along. The Cameyo demos I saw seemed underwhelming compared to almost every alternative I've seen...
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Fair point, I forget how utterly stupid businesses, particularly large businesses can get about boneheaded requirements that they mandate but do not use or do need, but could better solve it in a separate path rather than mandating it on what should be the 'wrong' product category.
Particularly surprising to forget since I'm basically continuously exposed to that in my job, but guess it eventually faded into the background of me not thinking explicitly about it anymore..
ChromeOS is not for highend hardware or any thing (Score:2)
ChromeOS is not for highend hardware or any thing that needs special drives.
I hope you link being stuck with on board video
According to Chrome OS Flex support:
Known issue
Desktops with integrated Intel GPUs and an added discrete GPU in an expansion slot might not be able to output video from the expansion slot’s video output ports.
Workaround
On devices with multiple GPUs, use integrated video output ports.
Known issue
Devices using Nvidia GPUs are likely to be unstable and exhibit display flickering when
I don;\'t know which is worse (Score:2)
The apps aren't "literally" running in Chrome (Score:3)
Spectre doesn't know that (Score:1)
hard no. (Score:2)
google doesn’t have a reputation for supporting many products past their launch. and who knows how long this solution will last once google loses interest? i see just another project in the Google Graveyard. pass.
Spongy virtualization in the cloud (Score:2)
ChromeOS needs an way to load drivers into the ima (Score:2)
ChromeOS needs an way to load drivers into the image / not be so hardware locked images that cut hardware way to soon!
Still need an server running the apps right? (Score:2)
Still need an server running the apps right?
Change-over issues (Score:2)
- The Microsoft tax is built into a lot of hardware. For already-purchased devices, this isn't an issue. For new devices: Is it cheaper to avoid the tax?
- Installing the new OS on all that hardware and configuring applications. Is it possible to create a custom image that can be cloned to multiple devices?
- Training users: Since most work is already performed via cloud apps, this may be a sunk cost.