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Google Is Building a Way To Launch Chrome Apps Without Installation

Posted by timothy on from the playing-the-long-game dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Google really wants Chrome apps to take off. Not only has the company added rich notifications, in-app payments, and an app launcher into its browser, but now it's developing ephemeral apps that launch by just clicking a link. There are two separate components here. Ephemeral apps (you can enable this under the chrome://flags/#enable-ephemeral-apps flag) let you try a Chrome app before installing it. Linkable ephemeral apps (under the chrome://flags/#enable-linkable-ephemeral-apps flag) meanwhile allow you to launch said apps from hyperlinks."

3 of 135 comments (clear)

  1. Chrome Apps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Alternatively, "chrapps" for short.

  2. We all slated Windows for doing this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm as guilty as anyone else, but when MS windows did this it was a major security problem, is this really any different?
    Launch a program by clicking a link? Did we not call people retards every time they did this?

    It seems like every new platform just repeats the same crap from every previous platform. Vendor bloatware should have been the blatant warning sign.

  3. Re:Still becomes a brick. by SunTzuWarmaster · · Score: 5, Informative

    This isn't true at all... I made a "Mirror" app yesterday (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/mirror-tds/fapfdhoailemkonegpjdhngmjfpmdjdj) on my Chromebook which works just as well as a "flipped webcam image" offline as it does online.

    My other app to graph relationships between objects (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tensity-grapher/keomiemppflejbjkafeaepbdhigggifd) also works offline.

    As does Google Docs (Offline), as the calculator, as does a timer, and my calendar, and many of the apps I have installed (I'm frequently offline).

    I don't have a GSM subscription (I use wifi), Google Chrome doesn't sell such a subscription (try it with your own laptop, with whatever wifi/service you have), and many apps work without internet connection.