Software : VMware partners with Google to put Windows apps on Chromebooks |
| VMware partners with Google to put Windows apps on Chromebooks Posted:  One of the biggest flaws with Chromebooks, the inability to run Windows applications, is about to be fixed thanks to VMware's virtual Windows experience. The new VMware Horizon DaaS (Desktop as a Service), developed in partnership with Google, lets users run legacy applications from Windows via the cloud. It was detailed in a blog post on Google's Enterprise site. The virtual desktop is powered by VMware's Blast HTML5 technology. Users will be able to choose between a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure or Remote Desktop Services. ChromeboostGoogle is continuing its push to make Chromebooks a major force to reckon with. Chromebooks accounted for 21 per cent of US commercial laptop sales in 2013, according to NPD. The impact of access to Windows applications is huge. Chromebooks already have an advantage in terms of affordability, speed, and security. Windows software offered over the cloud will make these laptops a more attractive choice not just for consumers, but for budget-minded businesses. The new product will initially be offered as an on-premise service, but will later be delivered as a managed subscription DaaS solution. |
| Android apps on Windows? Microsoft might let it happen Posted:  Microsoft may have a solution in the works for its Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 app deficit, but some inside the company reportedly aren't on board yet. It's simple: Microsoft's desktop, tablet and smartphone operating systems lack the bustling app ecosystem of a platform like, say, Android - so why not enable Android apps to run on Windows and Windows Phone devices? That's exactly what the company is considering, according to The Verge, which spoke with "sources familiar with Microsoft's plans." But these sources report that Microsoft executives are torn, with some of the mindset that the long-term risks might outweigh the benefits. Besides, as The Verge points out, this has been tried before - by BlackBerry - and it didn't work then. Why would it now? Forking Android overOf course, Microsoft is not BlackBerry. That much is obvious. And if Microsoft is really letting Nokia, which it bought in 2013, go ahead with the Finnish phone maker's "Normandy" Android device, then the Windows company is clearly not totally repulsed by the idea of using Android for its own means. Of course, the most recent report suggests that the Nokia Android phone will ship without many of the Google apps and services typically found on Android devices - including the Google Play Store itself - in favor of Nokia- and Microsoft-built alternatives. But The Verge's sources say Microsoft doesn't want to deal with the hassle of creating its own "fork" of Android, and that simply enabling Android apps to run on Windows might be an easier solution in the short term. To that end the site suggests Microsoft might work with BlueStacks, a company that for years has been enable Android apps to run on Windows devices. Whatever happens, it seems Microsoft is at least considering taking drastic measures to solve its app deficit, which may be a sign of just how desperate things have become for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.
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