Android's Full Desktop Mode Surfaces in Accidental Chromium Leak 24
A bug report filed on the Chromium Issue Tracker inadvertently exposed Google's desktop Android interface for the first time, revealing a system codenamed "Aluminum OS" running on existing Chromebook hardware. The report, ostensibly about Chrome Incognito tabs, included screen captures from an HP Elite Dragonfly 13.5 Chromebook running Android 16.
The status bar has been redesigned for large screens -- taller than the tablet version, displaying time with seconds, date, battery, Wi-Fi, a notification bell, keyboard language indicator and a Gemini icon. The taskbar remains identical to the current implementation, though the mouse cursor now features a subtle tail. Chrome's interface includes an Extensions button, a feature currently exclusive to the desktop browser. Window controls mirror ChromeOS, placing minimize, fullscreen, and close buttons at the top-right.
The status bar has been redesigned for large screens -- taller than the tablet version, displaying time with seconds, date, battery, Wi-Fi, a notification bell, keyboard language indicator and a Gemini icon. The taskbar remains identical to the current implementation, though the mouse cursor now features a subtle tail. Chrome's interface includes an Extensions button, a feature currently exclusive to the desktop browser. Window controls mirror ChromeOS, placing minimize, fullscreen, and close buttons at the top-right.
Ughh.. (Score:3)
In a world with very good window managers/compositors, they manage to have the crappiest freshman level window management.
Even Microsoft window management is better than Chrome's, and this seems to just carry forward that tradition of not even bothering to use a capable pre-existing solution and crap out a low quality one.
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They can't use any of the existing WMs or compositors because they have their own display engine. But you're right, it's sad to see them fail so hard when they could just copy something that doesn't suck
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It looks like they copied something that does suck. All the behavior looks like Windows 11 but with the menu at the top of the display instead of the bottom.
I'd assume that is absolutely deliberate too. I am sure goal is cannibalize the portable Windows market, further.
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Kind of beside the point, this is about Android starting to cater to larger displays, keyboards and mice.
Windows 10 Mobile I think was a thing, but I think everyone already knew it was dead by the time it happened.
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MS 'Continuum' lives on here - underutilised processing power in your pocket that becomes accessible when you dock it. Lumia didn't survive the app duopoly.
This seems like a more genuine attempt for Chromebooks to compete with iPad Pro. Get the Google employees actually dog-fooding on these machines and solving long-term neglected usability issues.
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Yeah, it looks fine. Maybe the window borders could do with a bit more definition, but it's pre-release and they do seem to intend you to use it as a tiling window manager for the most part.
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Mostly based on other ChromeOS and some Android desktop mode experience, and a big example is lack of tiling beyond just left-right split.
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Indeed. Those that ignore what is already out there and works well, will forever implement crappy "solutions". Personal arrogance, "Not Invented Here Syndrome" and flat-out incompetence.
To do tech well, you need to stand on the shoulders of giants. That starts with knowing what they did and where they succeeded (and failed).
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Feel free to file this under off topic :-)
... and this seems to just carry forward that tradition of not even bothering to use a capable pre-existing solution and crap out a low quality one.
<ranting>Sadly, I'd say the same about nearly every Linux WM these days. They all neutered what is by far my favorite feature of XWindows - when using multiple monitors, the option to have each maintain their own set of virtual desktops screens. I can have: ... etc ...
* head1-on-screen1, head2-on-screen1
* head1-on-screen1, head2-on-screen2
* head1-on-screen2, head2-on-screen1
I despise switching desktop on one monitor and having all my monitors switch desktops
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That sounds actually really good, never actually tried it myself though. Sadly kwin doesn't go that far...
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FWIW, if anyone does try it...
The old school way was via separate X heads. Each head (monitor) runs a separate instance of a window manager. On the first monitor, $DISPLAY=:0.0; On the second, $DISPLAY=:0.1, etc.. Applications launched on one head could NOT be dragged over to the other screen - that was the big limitation that, IMO, lead to the implementation of Xinerama and it's ilk (the things that tie multiple monitors into a single $DISPLAY=:0.0). This *should* still be possible, but I'm not sure what a
'Aluminium OS' (Score:2)
Yes, using the international English spelling within the codename.
"inadvertently"? (Score:2)
Whenever I see "inadvertent" leaks of new UIs, functionality, etc., I can't help thinking that they might be purposeful trial balloons. I'm sure companies want to see the people's surprised reactions, as opposed to the responses from those who have been waiting for the release of a new version.
The year of Android on the desktop? (Score:2)
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There is plasma mobile. But if you look at which devices it supports, you suddenly notice how "open" the Android ecosystem really is. Without proprietary blobs (that are of course Android specific) most things won't work. Mobile devices are just not built like computers, the manufacturers only support what they want the user to run on it and tolerating Custom ROMs is goodwill and not guaranteed. Booting something different from Android is on most devices nearly impossible.
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FWIW, what you mention is not what porting Gnome or KDE to Android would be. Plasma mobile exists as you noted, but it could ALSO be ported to run atop Android and make use of those binary blobs and such.
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Maybe this can make for a nice UI, but it doesn't help getting an independent OS.
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Maybe this can make for a nice UI, but it doesn't help getting an independent OS.
Really? Cause replacing whatever-googles-new-UI-is-called with a port of KDE or Gnome would advance the platform in the direction of being an independent OS, would it not? That said, I suspect their UI is likely to be open sourced anyway. The closed bits, like firmware and binary blob drivers, are certainly an issue, but somewhat separate from the UI and OS.
Crappy? (Score:2)
Would not bother me at all if Aluminum ditched X for Wayland. X11 is an interesting kludge that has been 'made to work' over the years. Mostly by taking advantage of various lax permissions, poorly defined functions, and tolerance of workarounds because, frankly, X did not want to be bothered with fixing much if it could avoid it. That's a good strategy for games and toys, bad strategy for industry standards.
I, for one, welcome our new window manager and compositor overlords.
Will this replace Chromium OS? (Score:2)
This could be a useful trend if it
At least that way, more of the apps available on Android on phones and tablets will be available for desktops running it. That could reduce some of the demands on current PCs, such as TPM 2.0 for Windows 11. It may not solve the AI slop, given that Google is about as aggressive as Microslop in pushing it
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Linux distributions are so close to benefit from the disaster of Windows 11 and you wish for the Google monopoly to extend to PCs?
Samsung DEX (Score:2)
How does this compare with Samsung DEX that has been on Android for years to provide a desktop experience? I played with it a bit when work started requiring us to be in-office but without assigned cubes and static equipment, as I could, at least in theory, do everything I needed with a keyboard, mouse, screen and my phone driving it all with a VNC app to do my real work on a Linux server.
I rather liked it, but it had some glitches where it wouldn't always recognize the monitor from the docking station, an