Tag: Chrome OS

Identifying the end-of-support date for your Chromebook

Article

Dell Chromebook 13 press image courtesy of Dell Inc.

You can find out the end-of-support date for that Chromebook or other Chrome OS computer

How to check a Chromebook auto-update expiration date before you buy – CNET

Resource

Auto Update Expiration date for most Chrome OS computer models (Google)

My Comments

Google has defined for your Chromebook or other Chrome OS based computer an end-of-support date where they will stop providing software updates to that computer. This date, known as the Auto Update Expiration date, is agreed by Google and the device manufacturer due to Google not being able to guarantee Chrome OS support for particular hardware setups after that date.

This is important if you are passing on a Chromebook to someone else or buying one on the secondhand market. As well, there is a common issue especially with Chrome OS devices where manufacturers, distributors and retailers get rid of excess inventory representing last-year’s models during the peak shopping seasons.

You may find that some systems, especially those that are part of a “managed” Enterprise or Education setup may have longer support lives as far as software-quality updates are concerned. But this kind of extended support may only apply while the machine is part of that setup which can be of concerned when a school or workplace sells its Chromebook fleet as part of a tech upgrade.

Google maintains an ongoing list of Chromebook, Chromebase and Chromebox models that are in circulation and are approved by them on this page. If you are dealing with a Dynabook-branded device, you will have to look for the Sharp brand because Toshiba had sold their personal computing business to Sharp under the Dynabook brand.

But if you have access to the Chromebook in question, you can check the AUE date for that particular machine.

  1. Open the Settings menu by clicking on the time then click on the gear-shaped Settings icon.
  2. On the left navigation panel which you may have to bring up by clicking the three-bar icon, you should see the “About Chrome OS” information. Click that option to see more details about the current version and other details of your Chrome OS setup on your Chromebook.
  3. The Additional Details area in that screen, which you may have to click on, will show the AUE date for your particular Chromebook.

In November 2020, Google has realised that the Chrome OS platform is a viable third force when it comes to the regular computer. Here, one of the changes they are offering is that Google will assure longer support lives for newer Chromebooks typically in the order of 7 or 8 years. But they should also look at ways to extend this date for earlier Chromebooks that are in current usage.

Chrome OS to gain a slew of new features for its 10th birthday

Google Chrome OS 10th Birthday artwork image courtesy of GoogleArticles

Top 6 New Chrome OS Features Coming in Build 89 (droid-life.com)

Google Is Bringing a Handoff Feature to Android and Chromebooks (gizmodo.com)

Google Chrome OS adds a Phone Hub, Nearby Share, and Tote files | PCWorld

Google working to solve Chromebook’s support problem – PC World Australia (idg.com.au)

From the horse’s mouth

Google

Get new features with automatic updates – Google Chromebooks

Chromebooks announces new features for 10th birthday (blog.google)

My Comments

Dell Chromebook 13 press image courtesy of Dell Inc.

The Chromebook platform is gaining more credibility as a computing platform and celebrates its 10th birthday

Google is celebrating the Chrome OS platform’s 10th birthday by investing in more features for that platform and for the Chromebooks and similar devices using that operating system.

As I have said before, the last year has seen a growth in takeup of the Chromebook as a regular computing device especially as COVID-19 and its associated stay-at-home orders have had us make more use of regular computers using desktop operating systems. Google took advantage of this by adding more functionality to Chrome OS in January 2021 thanks to it being valued as a desktop operating system, especially by families and the education sector.

Now they have laid on more features for Chrome OS with Build 89. One of these is to interlink your Android smartphone with your Chromebook. Here, this feature called Phone Hub offers the ability to mute or “ping” your phone from the Chromebook or enable the Android hotspot function. You have tbe ability to “hand-over” Websites you started browsing on your Android phone to you Chromebook’s display. It doesn’t seem to offer yet the ability to continue “chatting by SMS” from your Chromebook or move photos you took with your Android phone to your Chromebook yet, but it could be seen as a future direction for Phone Hub,

There is the ability to sync the list of Wi-Fi networks that you have set your Android phone or Chromebook up with so that both devices have the SSIDs and passwords for all these networks.

Android and Chrome OS now support Google’s “Nearby Shareacross-the-room data transfer so you could move that photo or PDF between your Android phone, Android tablet or Chromebook without using the Internet. The same goes for when another Android or Chrome OS user has that Weblink or photo they want to share with you and you want to see it on your Chromebook.

There is the ability for Chrome OS to remember the last five “copy-and-paste” Clipboard entries. This is taken advantage of if you press the “Everything” key (concentric rings or magnifying glass key) and the V key together to dump everything from the last five “cuts” or “copies” to your document.

The “Tote” bas been added to Chrome OS’s file manager’s default view to bring up frequently-used, new or “pinned” files. For Windows users, this is similar to the Quick Access screen which shows frequently-touched folders or files you have recently touched.

There is an option to have the context menu show up further relevant information about something you highlighted and right-clicked. This will allow you to bring up options like unit, currency or time-zone conversions, definitions or translations in the context menu.

Google has even worked on the lock screen further by allowing you to customise it further. This will include having it interactive in the context of media controls and similar functionality.

It is part of newer directions for Google’s Chrome OS desktop operating system. For example, there will be a direction for Google to offer meaningful functionality updates to Chromebook users every month. But I see issues with this approach where buggy conde can be rushed in to Chrome OS in order to get that PR-worthy feature in to the operating system.

Another issue is to make the Chrome OS platform a long-tailed desktop computing platform like what happens with Windows and MacOS. There were concerns about older Chromebooks missing out on Chrome OS updates due to arbitrary cut-off time periods like five years to eight years from manufacture. It was affecting people who purchased second-hand Chromebooks or were taking advantages of seasonal specials where manufacturers were offloading surplus prior-generation Chromebook inventory at cheap prices.

For subsequent Chrome OS builds, Google will revise the policies regarding end-of-support when dealing with older equipment. This may be about code availability for longer than 8 years from manufacturer or to cater towards Windows-like hardware / software independence when it comes to continual support for that platform.

Here, Google will work with computer manufacturers to answer this problem. For example, they have to ship Chromebooks with a realistic long support life and OEMs have to have Chrome OS equipment capable of having very long service lives like what is the norm with Windows for example. Google will even work out a way to push the latest code in to Chromebooks even at the browser level if not the operating-system level.

They also have a view to bring back other form factors like the Chromebase “all-in-one” and the three-piece “Chromebox” form factors.  Here, it is to prove that Chrome OS isn’t just about cut-price mass-market laptops anymore.

It shows that Google is seeing Chrome OS as a fully-fledged mass-market “open-frame” platform for regular desktop and laptop computers. What needs to still happen is for more software including rich powerful software like games to be written to run natively in this platform.

Google’s effort with Chrome OS and the Chromebook platform may see us heading to the days of the late 1980s when there were three dominant desktop/personal computing platform i.e. IBM-based computers with MS-DOS, the Apple Macintosh and the Commodore Amiga. But compared to that era, more hardware vendors will offer computers for both the Windows and Chrome OS platforms rather than platforms being based around hardware and software offered by a particular vendor.

Chrome OS to gain some credible features

Articles

Dell Chromebook 13 press image courtesy of Dell Inc.

These Chromebooks stand to benefit from WebAuthn Website authentication and improved lockscreens

Your Chromebook now doubles as a smart display – Android Authority

Chrome OS 88 offers a faster way to sign in to websites – by using your fingerprint or PIN code (chromeunboxed.com)

My Comments

The operating system that runs your Chromebook or Chromebox computer has now gained some more key capabilities. This is being seen as important as the Chromebook has gained importance for COVID-19 home-education computing needs.

One feature that is highlighted is the provision of a rich pre-login lock-screen for that platform. Windows 10 users have some sort of richness with their pre-login lock-screen where there is the opportunity for applications to show useable information on that screen.

Now Google has added this functionality by taking cues from their Assistant-powered Smart Displays by showing information like local weather or attractive visual works. You can use the Personalisation option to determine which images will appear on the lock screen, be they images from Google Photos or an art collection that is offered through that platform.

There is some interactivity beyond descending to the login screen in the form of music-player transport controls, something that would be convenient if you are using the Spotify world-wide cyber-jukebox on your Chromebook.

But once you log in to your Chromebook, you can have it provide simplified login with Websites that implement WebAuthn simple-yet-secure login. Here, you need to go to “People” then select “Security & Sign-In” to enable device-based PIN entry that is available on all Chromebooks or use of the fingerprint reader in your suitably-equipped Chromebook. Here, most of the other desktop and mobile operating systems and browsers have support for WebAuthn in some form for their current versions.

The question with Chrome OS is what kind of work will be taken to make this operating system less of an “Android tablet in a laptop housing” or an early-1950s British or European “people’s car” but something that satisfies current expectations for work, home, study and play.

COVID-19 brings back interest in the regular computer

Articles

Lenovo Legion Slim 7i gaming laptop press image courtesy of Lenovo

The Lenovo Legion Slim 7i gaming laptop representing the kind of investment taking place for regular computers in this era

The PC is suddenly cool again … for now | CNBC

The pandemic has made it harder to buy a new laptop | The Verge

My Comments

Due to us having to stay home more due to the COVID-19 coronavirus plague, we have had to rely on online services for our work, education and social life.

What this has meant is a stronger interest in the use of desktop and laptop regular computers that have more powerful silicon and run desktop operating systems. These purchases are justified more due to increased usage of these systems and a longer lifespan that they typically have. Let’s not forget that these computers typically have or are able to be connected to larger screens and better input devices suited for long usage sessions.  As well, the money that people have saved by not going out or travelling is financing the purchase of these systems.

Short supply early in the pandemic

This high demand for newer computers has caused problems in the supply of these computers due to factories in China that supply parts or subassemblies for these systems shutting down during the first few months of this pandemic. Another factor that slowed down the supply of thee computers was the logistics associated with their parts being limited due to various restrictions on the transport modes and ports / airports to limit the spread of the virus. But once it became a known quantity and factories were able to adapt to the bug in a prophylactic manner, the backlog of computer orders was able to be fulfilled by the major vendors.

The steady rise of Chrome OS as a viable alternative

Google’s Chrome OS is coming to the fore in this context due to schools and workplaces implementing Chromebooks as a viable computing platform. This is due to it having a limited third-party software base, although it can run Android software, and its support for a secure computing environment. But even these machines are becoming more capable with them acquiring faster silicon and more memory.

But could this mean that more software providers, especially games studios, will have to write software for the Chromebook? Similarly will there be requirements to create software development environments that target many platforms including Chrome OS at once?

Laptops still hold their ground with ever-increasing computing power

There is a strong interest in the portable form factors like laptops because of their innate flexibility. As I have mentioned before when raising the issue of whether to buy a desktop or laptop computer in this era, this could suit household members who don’t have a dedicated workspace and end up using the dining table; people who prefer to use the computer to suit seasonal needs like outside or by the fire.

It is leading towards a significant trend for increased computing power in these computers, especially the ultraportable units like Ultrabooks or MacBook Air units. Around September, this meant the arrival of Intel’s Tiger Lake silicon with the Xe graphics infrastructure. Here the Xe integrated graphics processors were on a par with low-tier mobile dedicated graphics processors and could offer elementary games-grade graphics performance with a Full HD screen.

For example Intel have just premiered at CES 2021 the Tiger Lake H35 silicon which is their attempt to bring on gaming-grade performance to Ultrabooks. This is in addition to opening up Chrome OS to Tiger Lake performance silicon.

This has come about because the computer industry has found that over the past year that it is increasingly justifiable to invest in regular-computer platforms. That is thanks to these units being able to last and be relevant for the long term. It also has been underscored over the past ten years with laptops, all-in-ones and low-profile desktop computers being found to exhibit real computing power for primary workday use.

Continual post-pandemic interest in the regular computer

There is doubt whether the demand for regular computers will last long as more of us return to work or school. It may not be an issue for laptop users if your workplace or educational institution implements “bring-your-own-device” policies or they have bought the device for you to use during your tenure with them, and you are able to take your computer between there and back.

Similarly, some pundits may be seeing the increased and continual interest in remote working with this maintaining a need for the regular computer. This may be enforced by offices being required to work at reduced capacity to avoid the risk of contagion until we are sure this pandemic is totally under control. It is also along with businesses looking towards downsizing their office premises or moving away from inner-urban areas due to the reduced need for on-site staff.

Here, this could evolve towards the use of local “third places” like libraries and cafes as alternative workspaces with, perhaps, interest in local flexible shared-working facilities. Similarly, hotels are seeing renewed interest in offering their guestrooms for day use and pitching this towards remote workers. These will continue to exist as an alternative to working from home, especially where one wants to avoid home distractions.

This may be also augmented by a desire to “move away from the city” and only visit there for regular but infrequent workplace meetups, as those pundits in the real-estate game are underscoring. Here, you would have to have a decent Internet connection and a decent computer at your new country house to be able to work from there.

Conclusion

Again these will be about maintaining interest in the regular computer, especially laptop computers.

This is due to them being conducive for long working sessions thanks to properly-sized hardware keyboards and larger screens that these computers have. As well, most of these units will also appeal for use beyond work like playing powerful rich games, doing further learning or supporting entertainment needs.

Here, the laptop will maintain its space for those of us who like flexible working whether at or away from home.

Nearby Share to be coming very shortly to an Android device near you

Articles

Transfer data between two smartphones

Wirelessly transferring data between two devices in the same space – now for Android

Google Officially Launches Nearby Sharing | DroidLife

Android’s ‘Nearby Share’ file sharing feature is finally launching | The Verge

From the horse’s mouth

Google

Instantly share files with people around you with Nearby Share (Blog Post)

Support Page

Video – Tap or click to play on YouTube

My Comments

Google has been doing work on its own across-the-room data-transfer technology, now known as Nearby Share. It is the Android platform’s answer to Apple’s AirDrop feature that many iOS users are using to “beam” photos to other users.

There have been previous attempts on the Android platform to offer this feature like Bluetooth Object Push Profile and NFC-based technologies like Android Beam.

But this will work in a true-wireless approach with support for Bluetooth, WebRTC and peer-to-peer Wi-Fi technologies. That means it isn’t dependent on a functioning Internet connection for it to run.

Your Android phone or tablet will need to have Android 6.0 or newer and the functionality will be delivered as part of the Google Play Services update. This means that it is updated independently of the operating system codebase, thus answering the problem associated with a lot of Android devices where manufacturers and carriers won’t support the device two years after it is launched.

This feature will have privacy-focused options like anonymous transfer and the ability for users to limit their discovery to only their contacts or only to selected contacts. As well, recipients don’t see the actual material about to be transferred so they don’t get shocked by someone pushing out unwanted material.

A good approach to handling AirDrop, Google Nearby Share and similar across-the-room data-transfer setups in a safe manner is to keep your devices undiscoverable to others. Then, when you have confirmed face-to-face that you are intending to use this function, then you make your device discoverable in order to receive the content.

It is available for ChromeOS but will be arriving as part of other platform primarily through software that Google develops for that platform. But there needs to be further work on having true federation for these across-the-room data-transfer protocols in a manner that doesn’t necessitate the installation of extra application software.

For Android users, Google Nearby Share is a step in the right direction to having across-the-room data transfer happening on that platform.

Why I refer to desktop and laptop computers as “regular” computers

Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming laptop

Why I refer to computers like this as “regular” computers

Through this Website, I refer to the desktop and laptop computers that run Windows 10 PC, macOS, desktop Linux or Chrome OS as regular computers and refer to these operating systems as regular-computer operating systems. This is in a manner to distinguish them from the smartphones or tablets that run iOS, Android or similar mobile-platform operating systems, or devices like Smart TVs, games consoles or vehicle infotainment systems that run a dedicated operating system.

It is based on the fact that these desktop and laptop computers have their design roots in the original personal computers that were built and sold from the late 1970s. Here, the goals were to concentrate all of your computing power to a box that existed at your workspace while you were using it with the system able to do whatever task you wanted it to do once you loaded the appropriate program.

Another factor that is also underscored is the way that the “regular” computer can be optimised to suit one’s computing needs more easily through the use of an operating system designed to be highly configurable from the outset. This includes the ability to choose computers with the right amount of performance for what you want to use them for, the ability to connect devices to them so they can answer your needs better or even modify them to suit newer needs.

It was compared to the previous idea of computing which was centred around large mainframes kept in special computer rooms and users interacting with them using “green-screen” VDU terminals. As well, they have been seen since that period as the example of what desktop or personal computing was about.

It is compared to the mobile-platform devices that had their design roots in the handheld mobile phones and PDAs that came through in the 1990s. Here, it was about a battery-operated device you could hold in your hand and carry personal information with you or use as a communications device.

It is also compared to the likes of games consoles, Smart TVs, set-top boxes and vehicle infotainment systems that are designed around a particular goal. These implement a particular operating system or variant of a desktop operating system highly shoehorned for high-reliability “always-alive” operation in their chosen primary task.

The reason I use the term “regular computer” rather than “personal computer” for this class of traditional computer design is because there may be an argument that the mobile-platform devices like today’s smartphones are more of a personal computer than the traditional devices. There is also the fact that businesses have purchased these computers and implemented them as the workspace-based all-in-one solution for your office tasks since the late 1980s.

Here, it is to distinguish these desktop and laptop computers, including the tablets and 2-in-1s, that are using the traditional computing architecture and running the likes of Windows, macOS or desktop Linux from the other classes of personal-computing devices that have become more popular.

Google to bring Chrome and Android as a third major computing-platform force

Article

Dell Chromebook 13 press image courtesy of Dell Inc.

Could these Chromebooks be the third force in personal computing

Here Are the Security Implications of Android Apps Coming to Chromebooks | Supersite For Windows

My Comments

Could the Google operating systems be the third mainstream computing force?

Google’s Chrome OS operating system has initially been pitched as a low-cost Web-browsing cloud-computing platform with not much in the way of applications or games written for that platform. Typically this ended up with the platform ending up in the cost-conscious K-12 education market, most likely computers used in the classroom and in a similar vein to how Acorn had various computer systems pitched towards the UK’s education market.

Sports scoreboard app

.. like these Android phones

But lately there have been some efforts to have Android apps and games run on the Android mobile-computing platform work with the Chrome OS platform so that the game I play, the Evernote front-end I use or the sports scoreboard app I keep tabs on that football match with on the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 could be easily be run on a Chromebook. Here, Google is encouraging the development of apps that implement responsive layouts and the ability to work with a traditional keyboard and pointing device which may not require much effort for most app types.

One of the core issues that has always concerned computer use has been data security including proper program behaviour. Here, Google will implement the same kind of sandboxing that was used on Android apps sold through the Google Play app store also for Chrome OS. This will be more so as Android apps will be able to run on Chromebooks in a “just-works” manner, something that will appear initially on the Chromebook Flip but is to appear on a subsequent version of the Chrome OS.

Google will also follow Microsoft’s and Apple’s lead towards a monthly software-update cycle for both Android and Chrome. This will include them taking over the software maintenance process so that OEMs and mobile carriers can’t control the process to push through their bloatware and branding. The OEMs and mobile carriers are wanting to still cry out for their launchers and apps but it may have to be about separately delivering them such as running them as Play Store apps so that an operating-system update isn’t contingent on the update working properly with their apps.

They will also be efforts to “clean up” the Play Store to get rid of dangerous apps and have it in a similar standard to the Microsoft Store and iTunes App Store – a “rubbish-free” app store. Corporate and educational IT admins will rejoice about the ability not to have the Google Play Store appear in their Chromebook or Android deployments or restrict their deployments to a whitelist of approved apps.

This is very similar to desktop computing in the late 1980s where there were three main forces for popular desktop-computing platforms i.e. the IBM platform running MS-DOS offered by many different manufacturers, the Apple Macintosh platform. and the Commodore Amiga platform. The different platforms coexisted for a while then because of their particular attributes and specialities such as graphics and multimedia.

The big question to raise for Chrome OS is whether it will be brought up to the same level of performance and flexibility as Windows or MacOS or will this platform be kept as an entry-level baseline computing platform?

Your Chromebook can now work with your SMB-capable NAS

Article

WD MyCloud EX2 dual-disk NAS

These NAS units can now work with your Chromebook thanks to a Google SMB/CIFS file-system hook

Chromebooks can now seamlessly access Windows network file shares | PC World

Download link (Chrome OS)

My Comments

An issue you may find with the newer Chrome OS is that you could become stranded when it comes to gaining access to files. This may place limitations on your Chromebook’s utility value and you may find it serving as a glorified tablet.

Now you can download a Google-created app which serves primarily as a “hook” between Chrome OS and the SMB/CIFS network file exchange protocol implemented in just about all of the desktop operating systems for file sharing and in every network-attached storage device on the market.

This app takes advantage of an API made available for the Chrome OS platform that allows people to create software that links this platform with various file-storage systems and has been published as an open-source program, due to it being based on the Samba SMB/CIFS software used in every NAS. This could open up paths for creating various “hooks” for operating systems and computing platforms that make them work with these NAS units.

The article raised the issue of Dropbox and Microsoft writing native “hooks” for their cloud storage systems rather than users of these systems using flaky software to have their Chromebook work with Dropbox or OneDrive.

Google brings a natural-language personal assistant to ChromeOS

Article

OK Google - Google Now - on your Chromebook at last

OK Google – Google Now – on your Chromebook at last

Turn On “OK Google” In Chrome OS To Start Talking To Your Chromebook | Gizmodo

My Comments

First it was Windows, now it is ChromeOS. This is about integrating a natural-language personal-assistant program in to a desktop operating system so you have the same kind of functionality that the mobile platforms are offering on your regular computer.

With ChromeOS, Google had integrated this functionality as part of the Google Search website once you enable it in the Chrome menu. It can be used in the New Tab page and in the Launcher (magnifying glass icon) in this operating system. Google also baked this functionality in to the latest iteration of the Chrome browser for other operating systems.

The question is whether these natural-language personal assistants will just earn their keep on smartphones or whether people will use them at the desktop and for which applications. Similarly, it will be interesting to know whether an operating-system vendor will use API hooks to extend the functionality of these assistants with other applications.

The current direction for computing versus the Post-PC direction

Article

So What Ever Happened To Post-PC? | Gizmodo

My Comments

What was the “Post-PC” vision?

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 press picture courtesy of Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 – an up-and-coming Android smartphone

The 2000s era saw the use of larger computers for regular Windows-based or Macintosh-based computing. Steve Jobs who was Apple’s visionary leader talked of the “Post-PC” era with computing centred around mobile devices such as the iPad and iPhone and “cloud+app” services which benefited from data held at one or more data centres and accessed using a lean client-side app running on the mobile device.

Current trends

Mobile-platform tablets

But current trends are leading towards mobile-platform devices like the recent iPads and Android tablets having the increased capability, and running more of the native apps with increased local functionality. Some of these apps can even run under their own steam without the need to regularly gain access to data.

Regular-platform computers being more compact, powerful and portable

9mm fanless tablet concept with regular computing power - Press image courtesy of Intel

9mm fanless tablet concept with regular computing power

The regular-computer scene is heading towards equipment that is more compact, powerful and portable such as an increased variety of portable form-factors like the Ultraboooks and the convertibles or detachables. Even the desktop computers are becoming more compact with baseline equipment that is the size of a large book or an increasing number of “all-in-one” computers where the computing power is located in the monitor like the iMac.

Gaming laptops and mobile workstations

Some manufacturers have released laptop computers that are best described as either “gaming laptops” or “mobile workstations”. These have been highly optimised for performance and highly-responsive graphics that is required of highly-advanced graphics software or “full-on” games. Previously, this class of performance was only relegated to desktop computers but is showing up in the portable class of computers.

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro convertible notebook - as a tent card

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro convertible as a tablet

It is augmented with steps being taken to improve quality control when it comes to writing games for regular-computing platforms. This was because of issues relating to games studios turning out inefficiently-coded games that needed more to run or Apple and Microsoft not becoming proper gatekeepers for quality-control logos that affect game software.

A return to the late-1980s multiple-platform computing era

What was the late-1980s multiple-platform computing era?

The late 1980s microcomputing era saw the presence of multiple computer platforms in wide circulation: DOS/Windows/OS2 (IBM Compatible), Apple Macintosh, Commodore Amiga, Apple II and Atari ST. Different people preferred the different platforms for particular applications like having DOS/Windows for business-information-handling, the Apple Macintosh for desktop-publishing and the Commodore Amiga for gaming, desktop-video or interactive-user-interface design.

The multiple platforms that exist nowadays
Dell Precision M2800 Mobile Workstation courtesy of Dell USA

Dell Precision M2800 – an example of a mobile workstation

Now, we are starting to see the same number of regular and mobile computing platforms in circulation: Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, Linux, Google Chrome OS, Apple iOS, and Google Android. The mobile platforms, especially Google Android, are being implemented in a desktop-style user environment with, for example, Philips releasing monitors that can run as standalone Android computers. Similarly, the Apple iOS and Android tablet platforms are appealing as platforms for baseline secondary computing tasks through people equipping tablets with USB or Bluetooth keyboards.

As for the hardware, we are seeing equipment that is based on the Intel x86/x64 microarchitecture or the ARM RISC microarchitecture with some specimens of both microarchitectures moving towards 64-bit variants of that microarchitecture. Some of these platforms are even showing up with hardware that has impressive graphics and gaming prowess such as the NVIDIA Tegra processors and the newer Apple processors for the mobile platforms along with Intel and AMD integrated-graphics systems that can stomach intense graphics work for the regular computing platforms.

Philips S221C4AFD Smart All-In-One Monitor - press image courtesy of Philips

Philips Android-driven monitor

It is becoming increasingly common for households to become less “pure-play” when it comes to choosing the platform they use for their computing devices. For example, I have seen an increasing number of households use a Windows-based desktop or laptop along with an iPad and either an iPhone and/or an Android smartphone.

Business computing is facing this reality with having to implement “BYOD” (Bring Your Own Device) information-technology solutions and utilise “mobile-device-management” solutions and “corporate app stores” to assure that these devices are working to spec for secure computing in the workplace. It is also a challenge that is facing schools, airlines, hotels and others who are providing computer resources for the general public.

I do see it as a pity that Apple doesn’t seem to play properly and smoothly with other platforms, rather users either load up their Apple devices with apps that “bridge the gap” by offering DLNA functionality for example, or work around the various incompatibilities by using cloud services for example. Similarly, peripheral designers have to make sure their devices do pair properly with the Apple devices along with the Windows or Android devices that may support advanced paring techniques like NFC.

Conclusion

It is so easy for one computer visionary to determine what is to be the “status quo” but as the industry evolves with different computer devices and platforms and makes these devices and platforms more capable, it is hard to really determine what is to happen for consumer and business IT.