Welcome to The Long View—where we peruse the news of the week and strip it to the essentials. Let’s work out what really matters.
This week: Can the Linux desktop installed base ever break the mythical 10% barrier? Google has been refactoring ChromeOS, and GNOME is working on new window manager ideas.
1. Lacros Gets Real in ChromeOS 116
First up this week: Google finally splits ChromeOS into Chrome and the OS. This is the Lacros project (née LaCrOS), which lets ChromeOS ship with only a standard Linux version of the Chrome browser.
Analysis: Five years in the making
There are some immediate benefits, but perhaps it’s what comes next that’s more interesting. In any case, the refactoring effort shows Google is serious about its Linux flavor.
Hadlee Simons: Google could take the ‘Chrome’ out of ‘Chrome OS’ very soon
“Updated independently of ChromeOS”
We’ve known for the past few years now that Google was working to decouple the Chrome web browser from ChromeOS itself. … Lacros would see Google ditch the integrated Chrome browser in favor of a standalone Linux-based Chrome browser. … There are a few reasons why this is a big deal:
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[It] would allow the Chrome browser to be updated independently of ChromeOS … so the new approach would allow for faster browser updates. [And it] could theoretically have positive security implications: … The new approach means that the browser can still be updated to patch flaws and introduce new features, even if you’re stuck on an old ChromeOS version.
Kevin C. Tofel broke the story: ChromeOS 116 may begin the Lacros browser push
“Decoupled from ChromeOS”
After covering Google’s effort to separate the Chrome browser from ChromeOS for over two years, it appears more of you will get to experience it. The project is called Lacros, and it uses the Linux browser for ChromeOS instead of the integrated browser.
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Prior to this, I’d been primarily using Lacros on my regular Chromebook [but] I had two browsers: Chrome and Lacros. … Once I enabled … chrome://flags#lacros-only … I now have just one browser: … The standalone Linux version of Chrome … Lacros.
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Maybe, just maybe … the Chromebook automatic expiration dates could be extended for older devices. … As the browser is decoupled from ChromeOS, the integration work to update either Chrome, ChromeOS, or both, is reduced.
That’s more important than it might seem. As fivre explains:
They have an infuriating update schedule where it seems like there are updates daily, and they always require a full system reboot. They apparently can’t be consolidated either, so half the time I’ll reboot to apply one and immediately get a notification of another. [Lacros] presumably allows them to ease that a bit and apply some updates with the system still running.
But isn’t ChromeOS just for young students? thadec brings data:
False. Lots of companies use them as kiosks [or] as end user devices. And after Google added Android apps and Linux, consumers began buying them. In 2021, 37 million Chromebooks were bought … that is more than the 18 million Macs that Apple sold.
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ChromeOS certainly qualifies as … a successful product. … Google has been working on [Lacros] for 2 years … to sunset the original “just a browser” thing for a cloud-based operating system and embrace Linux.
Three of those companies are represented by Gregory Scott, who needs a paper bag:
I’m 100% in on ChromeOS. … Three of my companies live 100% in Google’s ChromeOS/Workspace infrastructure. Reading the headline on this nearly made me hyperventilate—LOL.
Excelcia sees the light:
A web browser as an OS was a dumb idea. … Thirty years ago they told us that OLE would remove the difference between one application and another. … That never materialized [but led to] ActiveX. … What a dumb idea that was. Then came … PHP—it’s inevitable now—everything will become a web app.
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But then something strange happened. People found that they liked interacting with apps better than interacting with web pages. … So yes, separating out the browser from ChromeOS wasn’t just likely, it was inevitable. Because you can’t build an OS around a ****ing browser.
How well will it work? iamakii is happy so far:
I’m using Lacros now in 116 beta. So far the experience is okay. I have not experienced any issue or crashing. … The update was fast … and all of my installed PWAs and extensions are working properly.
2. GNOME Rethinks Window Management
For desktop Linux to go mainstream, it needs an easier UI. Otherwise, why would anyone move from a phone to a proper desktop? What’s natural for you and me is deeply confusing for others.
Analysis: And not a moment too soon
Our window management tropes are rooted in the 1970’s state of the art and only incrementally improved. Fifty years of stagnation is a barrier to new users who know only iOS or Android.
Marius Nestor: GNOME Devs Are Working on a New Window Management System
“User research”
A new window management system [will] replace GNOME’s traditional windowing system in a future release. … To address some of the issues the majority of people face and also make GNOME’s windowing system more user-friendly for people who are new to computing, the GNOME devs are currently planning a new window management system that uses a mosaic behavior.
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In addition, the new windowing system … will allow you to manually tile windows while the rest of the windows are left in a smaller mosaic layout. … Tiling won’t be limited to just two windows side by side as the space occupied by a tiled window can be split to make room for another window over or under it.
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For this new windowing system to become a reality, the GNOME devs would have to do a lot of user research and test numerous scenarios. … As you can imagine, this could take months or even years, so if you want to get involved and help them do it faster, please reach out to the GNOME team.
Horse’s mouth? Tobias Bernard:
“Novel approach”
Window management: … Even after 50 years, nobody’s fully cracked it. … The basic primitives have not changed since the 70s. … As a result, the issues have never gone away. … This is especially apparent when you do user research with people who are new to computing, including children and older people.
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Tiling … works well in some cases. [But] it falls short as a general replacement. … If we do add a new kind of window management to GNOME, it needs to be good enough to be the default.
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Our current concept imagines … mosaic is the default behavior: … As you open more windows, the existing windows move aside to make room for the new ones. … It’s a novel approach to window management without much prior art. … There’s no timeline or roadmap at this stage, but it’s definitely 46+ material.
But couchslug isn’t happy with the design center of “children and older people”:
Linux is not Windows. Let the professionals who use it have maximum choice, then get out of their way.
Yet grokker groks it:
I love this idea. It has the right balance between disruption and continuity. I can see an improvement of the user experience. No one but Gnome is trying new approaches on the desktop UX (Windows or MacOS have been stalled for years). I’m eager to try the alphas.
The Moral of the Story:
People of accomplishment rarely sit back and let things happen to them
—Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci
You have been reading The Long View by Richi Jennings. You can contact him at @RiCHi, @richij or [email protected].
Image: NEOM (via Unsplash; leveled and cropped)
