OUR DIFFERENCES
When you develop a computer and a new operating system, consumers would not be asking what price, but how to use it. This has been the problem with Linux, and now it is also the problem with Chromebooks. However, Google and Chromebook manufacturers have solved that problem with all Chromebooks released in 2017 now being able to download and run Android apps. This immediately creates a deep reservoir of apps for Chromebook users to choose from. The Ecosystem Nowadays when you buy a gadget, you are also buying into an ecosystem. This is true of DSLR cameras, as well as action cameras. DSLR ecosystems compose the body, the lens, and other accessories. Usually, lenses are monogamous for a given body or brand. Accessories are compatible with most other cameras. If you have a Canon, you cannot buy a Nikon lens and use it as is with the camera. You might have to buy an adapter first. For action cameras, GoPro accessories are made to fit GoPro. If you do not have a GoPro action camera, you might not be able to tap into accessories to extend your action camera use. The same is truer in computers. A different operating system is on its own until applications and software are widely available. Although there are now more cloud-based, or browser-based software, limited native software support can cripple any chances of growth for an OS user base. This has been the primary reason for Linux being a minority operating system. It may perform better than Windows, but without a wide availability of software, it was not able to approach the growth and numbers of Windows and Apple. Creating a Viable Ecosystem The Chromebooks have also reached that point where users realize that there are no programs available to do the work they needed to do. They have been hindered by the lack of developers. This is a shame considering that unlike early Linux users, Chromebooks were not supposed to be developers or computer savvy. With the recent development where Chromebook users can now use Android apps, they can now tap into a large number of apps to rival that of the Apple App Store. This should not even have been a problem in the first place. Chromebooks were supposed to be able to run the Android programs. Chromebooks run on the premise that the browser is the platform. With this in mind, there are a lot of Chrome compatible apps on the Google Play store. Some of these are free, and all of them have been tested to run on Chrome. Not being able to use these programs has hampered the growth of the user base for Chromebooks. Cheap and Affordable, but No Apps to Run Even if you have the best operating system, even if it is free, if it does not have enough programs to choose from, nobody would want to buy it. That is a real problem because, without programs to run, it becomes a door stop. The computer stops being a computer. It is much like saying a gaming computer which encounters a failure with the graphics card. It stops being a gaming computer and just becomes another ordinary computer, albeit more expensive. The functionality of a computer is what makes it a computer. It is not the hardware or the operating system. Furthermore, without a killer app, there is no use buying a device. On the Apple II, the killer app was VisiCalc. On the PC running MS-DOS, it was Lotus 1-2-3. Chromebooks do not have that killer app which differentiates it from other computers. In fact, since is not supposed to be a performance machine, there is hesitation from users on buying it. The great thing about the Chromebook is that it is a viable alternative to Windows. It has a free OS. Also, it has free apps. This time around, it is courtesy of the Android apps. Future of Free OS A lot of people look up to Chromebooks as a possible way to teach children computing. These machines do not have the bloatware of Windows. These are practically stripped down computers which can be manufactured at a low price point. The apps which would be running on it, now that Android apps are open, would be a big help. Android apps scale well as these were designed to run on smaller and limited hardware. The Chromebooks would be a lot of space to run these apps. For developing countries, as well as for depressed communities, the use of computers for teaching purposes is a big help to bridge the digital divide. For small companies with no budget, the use of a Chromebook would also help the bottom line. If the only things that needed to be done were a spreadsheet and a word processor, these do not need to be done on a native app. A browser-based program or a cloud-based program would do as well. The only thing missing is the internet connection. Nowadays, research is mainly done on the internet. Even if this was a very thin connection via 3G or LTE, these searches could be done while in an area with a broadband connection, and then read offline. In much the same manner, work could be done offline, and then uploaded when there is an internet connection. Chromebooks are fun to have once you have them connected to the net, and with available apps.
