It looks like Microsoft’s lightweight operating system won’t appear at Build 2019

Windows Live is a version of Windows that has been designed to run on low-powered devices, and while many people are looking forward to seeing if this lightweight operating system is able to compete with Google’s ChromeOS and Chromebook devices, it looks like we’ll have to wait to get an official glimpse of the software.

A recent tweet by Tom Warren of The Verge suggests that neither Windows Lite, nor Core OS, the modular operating system Microsoft is also working on, will appear at Microsoft’s Build 2019 event, which takes place from May 6 to May 8 in Seattle, Washington.

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Here’s what Lite OS could look like

Many people were hoping that Microsoft would take the opportunity to showcase Windows Lite and Core OS at Build 2019, as while we’ve been hearing rumors about the new software, we’ve not seen anything official.

However, if Warren is correct, it looks like there’ll be no sign of them at the upcoming event.

Missing in action

Build 2019 is an ideal opportunity for Microsoft to show off its new operating systems, as it’s a software-centric event that’s aimed at developers. If Microsoft is keen to acquire apps specifically designed for Windows Lite and Core OS, then it will want to get those operating systems in front of developers as soon as possible.

Microsoft won’t be talking about Windows Lite or Core OS at Build keynotes. An event later this year would make sense for that, if it’s ready in time

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) April 27, 2019

By missing Build 2019, it suggests that neither operating system is quite ready for prime time. While Microsoft will no doubt want to show off Windows Lite and Core OS soon, it won’t want to show it off too early, as an unfinished – and bug-filled – showing could damage the perception of the operating systems before they are released.

There are hints that the delay in showing Windows Lite could also be down to Microsoft adding its new Chromium-based Edge web browser as well.

Warren suggests that the operating systems might be shown off later this year at their own event, which would give Microsoft a chance to polish the software.

However, it means we won’t see a release of Windows Lite any time soon, which is good news for Google, as its rival lightweight operating system, ChromeOS, continues to dominate when it comes to low-powered devices – especially in the education sector.




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More space to work on

A video has emerged that demonstrates virtual desktops being used on Chrome OS, which suggests that Google is looking to incorporate the feature into its operating system for Chromebooks.

The feature, which will apparently be called ‘virtual desks’ was found in a video spotted by Android Police, and was included in the Chromium Gerrit commit, which suggests that developers are actively working on implementing the feature.

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The video, which you can view below, gives us a brief glimpse of how the virtual desks feature would work when creating new virtual desktops. The commit also explains that the feature will have thumbnail snapshots of all your desktops, making it easy to switch between desktops.

Hot virtual desking

Virtual desktops are a very useful feature found in Windows 10 and macOS, so adding the feature to Chrome OS will allow Google’s lightweight operating system to better compete with its more established competitors.

Virtual desktops allow you to create and manage multiple desktops on a single machine, which can make it easier for you to organize windows, applications and more.

The inclusion of this productivity-boosting feature will be welcome for anyone who finds working on a Chromebook (or a Chrome OS-powered Chromebox PC) a bit cramped and will help make Chrome OS an even more feature-rich operating system. Let’s hope this feature makes it into Chrome OS soon.



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Google wants to disrupt with its stateless, cloud-focused desktop operating system. But it needs to become much more viral with exploitative apps if it expects it to succeed beyond just being a niche platform for education and light computing tasks.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who noticed that, during Google's presser unveiling of the Pixel 3 and Pixel Slate, the word "Android" wasn't mentioned a single time.

Who's Google turning into now? Amazon? The open-source OS that shall not be named?

WHY IS GOOGLE NOT USING THE 'ANDROID' NAME?

There may be a number of reasons for this: As a brand name, Google already appears to be phasing out Android, as it pertains to platforms (with Android Wear becoming Wear OS), and dropping the moniker from a number of its own apps, such as with Pay and Messages, preferring to just use the name Google as the main brand for many of its applications and services.

There are also a number of legal issues being worked out, and it is a possible major liability for the company in its litigation with Oracle.

We also know Google is working on a successor to Android, called Fuchsia. But it could be several years away before we even see functional beta versions of it.

But, for now, we have Android and its various APIs as the main programmatic target for apps running on its two main platforms: Android Pie and Chrome OS.

REQUIRING SMALL DEVELOPERS TO BUY CHROMEBOOKS IS A BAD IDEA

Android has a fairly robust and very mature SDK, Android Studio, which provides a comprehensive IDE and a device emulator on Windows, Mac, and Linux so that apps can be tested and debugged before deploying to a target device.

No such SDK equivalent or installable runtime environment exists for Chrome OS -- which runs Android applications. If you want to develop for Chrome OS, you need to build Chromium OS from source and try to install it on generic PC hardware or a VM.

Like AOSP, it does not include the Google Play Store or Android runtime pieces, as they have to be licensed, so it's kind of useless -- unless you are a hardware OEM like Asus or Samsung and are looking to produce your own Chromebooks.

Or, alternatively, you need to buy Chrome OS hardware: a Chromebook, Chromebox, or Chromebit (which was launched by ASUS in 2015 and hasn't seen any hardware updates). If you want the most up-to-date Chrome OS builds first, as with Android, you will ideally want to run it on Pixel hardware. Which is more expensive.

That's still a significant expense for an application ecosystem that isn't entirely proven or optimized well for that platform. While Android apps all pretty much universally "run" on Chrome OS, the majority of them are not tablet or desktop-optimized, which makes for an overall poor user experience.

This problem needs to be solved if Pixel Slate and similar Chrome OS convertible systems have any chance of gaining significant market share against iPad and Windows tablet convertible systems like Surface.

While $300 (or even $80 for a Chrome bit assuming it gets updated) doesn't seem like a lot of money, it's not inconsequential for programmers and students and one-man shops in developing countries, which have been able to leverage the Android SDK in the past to put their apps in the Google Play Store. Some of the very best apps for Android have come out of that talent pool.

NO VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT IS A SEVERE LIMITATION

Also, not being able to run the software in a virtual environment on a Mac or a PC on Windows or Linux -- and taking advantage of that isolation and ability to prototype on multiple instances -- is a severe limitation.

Over the years, there have been a few third-party solutions for installing Chrome OS on native hardware or VMs, such as Neverware CloudReady, which is a free download for non-commercial use and is a great way to re-use older PC equipment and provide a nice secure environment for students and other use cases where a full Windows, Mac or Linux desktop environment isn't needed. The company also recently purchased Flint OS, another Chrome OS "distribution," based in the UK.

I've used CloudReady to re-use old laptops and breathe new life into them. Prior to buying Chromebooks for older family members, it's how I got Chrome OS up and running. I highly recommend it, it's an extremely polished product.

But Neverware doesn't have the Google Play Store installed, and the company has no intention of licensing it. It also doesn't behave well in a VM, as the pseudo-device support for higher-resolution displays doesn't exist in it.

It would behoove Google to create an installable runtime environment for Chrome OS that runs without hassle on PCs and Macs. It should be able to be installed on the metal, and ideally, its primary use case should be in a VM or a container, and that virtualization/containerization support should come with the distribution click-to-run as a self-enclosed application.

The container/VM use case would be beneficial because it would provide an isolated runtime environment provides that extra layer of protection to the end-user. On native Chromebook hardware, Chrome OS uses a combination of specialized firmware and sandboxing to prevent malware hijacking.

On legacy PCs, it's not necessarily possible with BIOS to do that, and even EFI has its limitations, as well. But, in a VM or a container instance, that functionality can be replicated.

PUTTING THE ANDROID API STACK EVERYWHERE

There is no reason why, when this is implemented, an installable Chrome OS virtual desktop with an integrated Google Play Store cannot replace the regular Chrome browser -- because it simply adds Android application support and additional security.

Once Chrome OS is in the hands of tens of millions of existing users in this manner, it becomes viral. Because then everyone using it is now a potential Chrome OS developer, and it puts the Android API stack everywhere.

Does Google need to make Chrome OS viral and installable everywhere? Talk Back and Let Me Know.


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