A scorecard?

There used to be a time when you didn’t need a scorecard to determine what would run on your computer.

If you had a Windows computer, then you ran Windows programs.

If you had a Macintosh computer, then you ran Macintosh programs.

If you had a Linux computer, then you ran Linux programs.

Nice, neat, wrap it with a bow and call it a plan.

Then, for me, it got a little murky.  I had inherited a Macintosh computer but I really didn’t like the Macintosh software.  Sure, it had Microsoft Office on it, but the Macintosh version of the software lagged badly in comparison to the Windows version.  I did some digging and found that running a Virtual Machine let me run Windows on the computer.  After a bit of playing around, I got it to work.  There’s a difference between working and working well though.  Or, perhaps at the time, the software wasn’t the greatest.  I was happy in the knowledge that I could do it.  I had a Windows computer along side the Macintosh so it just turned out to be an academic exercise.

Later, when I started to make Ubuntu my favoured operating system, there still was a need every now and again to run a Windows piece of software.  Sure, I could reboot the computer and run in native Windows mode.  However, I had done some digging and found that Wine was a wonderful utility that did the trick for me.  After a while, it became hard to know what was what so my “scorecard” was a folder called “Windows software” so that I could differentiate Windows software from Linux software.  

Enter the tablet world.  We were back to first principles here.  The iPad runs iOS software and smart people get it from one place – the Apple App Store.  Android tablets are similar and smart people get their software from one place – the Google Play site.  Both iOS and Android have incredible applications just awaiting installation.  And, it that doesn’t fill the need, there’s always the web where some websites become applications.

While I’ve always differentiated the use between my computers and my iPad, it was Zoe who talked me into going to a computer store a couple of years ago and buying a bluetooth keyboard/case for it.  Now, I can use it like a regular computer albeit with a smaller keyboard.  It requires a bit of balancing to get the true “laptop” experience but works wonderfully when perched on a table.

One piece of technology that I haven’t used seriously is the Chromebook.  We borrow some from the Waterloo board for onsite registration devices for the BIT Conference and I got to get my hands on Jamie Casap’s Pixel while helping him set up for his keynote a few years ago.  Nice devices (Jamie’s was really nice) but why would I want a separate device when I could just run the Chrome browser on my computer?  

Then, as she said “curiouser and curiouser”.  

The Chromebook became a device that didn’t require continuous internet ability.  You could run some of its applications in standalone with no networking.  Now, this gets really interesting.  Just like a tablet with limited storage, you couldn’t download every application available.  But, for the discriminating user, downloading a selected set of Chrome applications makes a great deal of sense.  The operative point here is “Chrome applications”.  If you do a search on the Google Play store, you’ll realize that’s only a subset of all that’s available.  There’s also all those Android applications…

Then, I read this article this morning.  “A million Android apps are apparently coming to Chrome OS“.  It comes with more than just speculation, but a screen capture.

I suppose that we should have seen this coming.  Both Android and Chrome OS have Linux roots and I’m sure that there have been very smart people at Google thinking and working through this for some time now.  Imagine all of your favourite applications running on a laptop with a real keyboard and not an add-on.   The approach looks incredibly sound to me and the beneficiaries will be those who like to combine the best of the web with the best of the local applications.  It’s pretty exciting when you picture the possibilities, particularly in education where these devices are proving to be very affordable and very functional in the hands of students.  And it’s not just for schools with their tight budgets, but for homes with their budgets.  It is not only attractive for initial purchase and the functionality afforded but also when it comes time to upgrade.  If all this comes to fruition, it will make shelling out the big bucks for a traditional computer a tough decision.

Is anyone keeping score?

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