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Google Will Kill Its Chrome App Launcher For Windows, Mac, and Linux In July

Posted by timothy on from the wheat-from-chaff dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Google today announced plans to kill off the Chrome app launcher for Windows, Mac, and Linux in July. The tool, which lets users launch Chrome apps even if the browser is not running, will continue to live on in Chrome OS. So why is Google removing the Chrome app launcher from Chrome? Well, it turns out Google has finally figured out what everyone all already knew: "we've found that users on Windows, Mac, and Linux prefer to launch their apps from within Chrome."

77 comments

  1. really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    laptop/desktop users use chrome apps?

    1. Re:really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Sure, ever heard of Hangouts?

    2. Re:really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      unfortunately.

    3. Re:really? by Vlijmen+Fileer · · Score: 0

      Hangouts? Wasn't that that ill-conceived "Google Facebook"?
      Does it still exist?

    4. Re:really? by darkain · · Score: 4, Informative

      You're thinking of Google+, Hangouts is their chat interface. Hangouts is more like Skype, but without the bullshit. Quite nice, actually, if they would stop with all the broken ass fucking beta bullshit in it. REMINDS ME OF /.

    5. Re:really? by ADRA · · Score: 1

      Nope, it was Google's abominable attempt to ditch Gtalk, a relatively decent Jabber client which significantly pre-dated Facebook messanger. In fact, Facebook was all of 2 years old when gtalk was released... so... Get your facts straight troll?

      --
      Bye!
    6. Re: really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      This, I loathe Chrome as a browser, but cannot use Google talk anymore so I have Chrome installed exclusively for a launcher for Hangouts.

      I would never consider using it as a web browser.

    7. Re:really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Isn't that the crappy sms-application on Android phones that keeps randomizing its UI on every release? I have not bothered to install the latest remix of it, but my current version on Nexus5 is just awful as the previous ones. At one version it even seemed to be impossible to send a SMS into a recipient which phone number was not stored on the contacts. It has also tried hard to hide the date and time of messages sent and received, as if the user was too stupid to understand those numbers or something.

    8. Re: really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Why bother with it? They will just turn it off or change it once it is good.

    9. Re:really? by 2fuf · · Score: 1

      Google Chat was fine but they had to screw it up again

    10. Re:really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      thats a website

    11. Re:really? by wardrich86 · · Score: 2

      What's wrong with Hangouts? It's like Facebook Messenger, only far more advanced and way better for group chats.

    12. Re:really? by Parker+Lewis · · Score: 1

      Yeap, without the bullshit, but using all the weird new Google UX. I.e., you'll face a hard time trying to start a new hangout, to invite someone, even to go offline.

  2. I think I can speak for most people... by BaronM · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...when I say "Wait; you're killing what?"

    1. Re:I think I can speak for most people... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bummer!

    2. Re:I think I can speak for most people... by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      I deal with Chrome users every day...I had to look it up. Its another solution in search of a problem, in fact I would say Chrome "apps" are the same, the only time I've ever had a customer even talk to me about them is one asking if it was safe to play a little candy crush style game she stumbled upon in the Chrome store and I have my customers pretty well trained to ask before installing strange programs so if they ain't asking? They don't know about it.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    3. Re:I think I can speak for most people... by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Its another solution in search of a problem, in fact I would say Chrome "apps" are the same,

      No, it's a multi-platform execution environment designed to run programs from another system. The problem statement was quite simple which was how do you take apps based entirely on an OS-is-the-browser approach designed to run on a Hardware-is-the-browser system and make them work on other systems.

    4. Re:I think I can speak for most people... by c · · Score: 1

      ...when I say "Wait; you're killing what?"

      ... and yet pundits are still going to bitch about Google killing off another project.

      --
      Log in or piss off.
  3. Google will kill its what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh no! I use the Chrome App Launcher all the time!

    Said no one ever...

    1. Re:Google will kill its what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guess I'll have to go back to my IE 6 with 12 different search toolbars!

    2. Re: Google will kill its what? by slazzy · · Score: 2

      I actually like it, we use hangouts in our office and it's nice to run it outside of chrome.

      --
      Website Just Down For Me? Find out
  4. well that is a bummer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    dammit i use the launcher :(

    1. Re:well that is a bummer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Me too. The downside with it was that it wasn't obvious how to install it so I guess that is why most users doesn't have it and this means they don't use it.

      Google dug the grave in this way before it was dead.

    2. Re: well that is a bummer by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 3, Insightful

      >The downside with it was that it wasn't obvious how to install it

      Really? The RPM always auto-installed it for me. The biggest problem I saw was users would look for Chrome under 'Chrome Apps' and it's under 'Internet' in the standard FreeDesktop grouping.

      Google should really be working on a way to handle this transparently so Hangouts, e.g., can stand alone under 'Internet'.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  5. Good by pushing-robot · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why, exactly, do developers decide the native OS methods for finding and starting apps are insufficient and must be replaced with some ill-conceived launcher app? Google is far from the only offender here.

    --
    How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
    1. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      launcher apps, installer stubs, in-browser 'applications'... garbage.

    2. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      I am not so sure. Ever since they added it you could find and launch Google Apps from the native launcher windows. In Windows, by merely searching by keyword in Window's Cortana search, on OS X it was it appeared in Launchpad and Spotlight. If finding it in those locations disappear, I shall find it frustrating.

    3. Re:Good by Vlijmen+Fileer · · Score: 0

      Haha, Cortana. You said Cortana! :)

    4. Re:Good by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      native OS methods

      Because native OS methods are not multi-platform?
      Because of the same reason Java Virtual Machine came out in the 90s.
      Because of the same reason why double clicking a .exe file in Linux just makes the computer die a little inside, and the same reason when I type "systemctl start apache2" into the run bar in Windows I get an error.

    5. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean like "systemctl: command not found"?
      A least that's what my Linux machine prints if I enter your command.

      I am still hanging on to a thin thread of hope that I can keep it that way without having to do major configuration work at some point.

    6. Re:Good by zidium · · Score: 1

      Funtoo forever!

      --
      Slashdot Valentines Beta Massacre: iT WORKED! The boycotts killed Beta!!
    7. Re:Good by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Would you prefer "Windows 8 and 10 search"?

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    8. Re:Good by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I opted for the major configuration work. It involved typing "do-release-upgrade" and getting a coffee. The hardest part about this was building ... my coffee. Everything else either converted to systemd unit files automagically or is being run in legacy where systemd simply executes the init script.

  6. If your're into that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Use Atom Electron instead:

    http://electron.atom.io/

  7. Nobody by Vlijmen+Fileer · · Score: 0

    You'd have to use Chrome first, and then some "app" thing apparently available within it.
    Who even does that, two big failures in a row?
    I think a realistic guess is they are doing it because nobody is even using it.

    1. Re:Nobody by Gojira+Shipi-Taro · · Score: 1

      As opposed to what? Explorer/Edge? Safari?

      I didn't even know taht the app launcher was a thing but I'll take a browser that I can install ad and script blocking on over one that I can not.

      --
      "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
    2. Re:Nobody by alvinrod · · Score: 1

      Just use Lynx and you won't have to worry about the blocking.

    3. Re:Nobody by Desler · · Score: 1

      Safari has ad and script blockers. Welcome to years and years ago?

  8. Users prefer to not user Chrome apps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nobody want's their apps tied to their web browser like that... we just put up with it, but given actual alternatives most people would prob just use Chrome as a web browser and prefer to not use it as an app platform.

    Google's desktop apps basically suck ass and nobody in their right mind would opt to use them given good standalone desktop apps were an actual option. Chrome apps are a short term solution to a long term problem and I don't see Chrome becoming a real platform of the future. It's a stop gap platform that's good enough for now and it's not even remotely competitive with Windows, Mac or even Linux desktops.

  9. Why is there a separate launcher? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If it runs in Chrone, then why not just use "chrome --minimal-ui uri-of-app" or something similar?

    Typical Windows mentality.

    1. Re:Why is there a separate launcher? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But a separate launcher would bring a different color window for icons and a separate userid+password based account, just as any other of those launchers that are bundled with games. My gaming machine has at least Steam, Origin and some other launchers that were installed as mandatory part of games. Most of those launchers contain just one icon for one game, but all of them required creating new accounts to be able to use that single icon, all of them require update of it on each use and all of them tried to sneak to start at every system startup. The launchers were a fad that really deserves to die.

  10. I use Hangouts Dialer - but not Chrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    ... So is there another way to start it without the full Chrome browser UI?

  11. Backwards by jwymanm · · Score: 5, Informative

    Sorry, I must be one of the few that actually use this to even load chrome because it allows easy user switching right in the top right without loading a window first. Its like a perfect launcher with full keyboard usability.. just type what you want and bam you launch it. You don't have to litter your windows/gnome/etc interface with all of your Chrome "app" launchers. Added benefit is if you put it in the task tray and hit windows key+X it pops up and away you go. Not sure how people would be _happy_ yet another feature is removed this day and age. It seems like something that could easily stay in existence without much/if any work done on it. This is a step backwards seriously.

    1. Re:Backwards by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Well, I use it too. Enough such that when it broke I found I could replace it with "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --show-app-list and put that in my task bar.

    2. Re:Backwards by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obligatory xkcd:
      https://xkcd.com/1172/

    3. Re:Backwards by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah you and the two other users must be upset. The rest of the world didn't even know it existed.

      [citation needed]

      Arrogant little twits like you, pretending to speak for others, are annoying. Is that your goal in life? To be annoying?

    4. Re:Backwards by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because Google makes it non-obvious how to install it.

      But continue to be an know-it-all... wait, you didn't know about it, did you? Lose one geek point and go back to the cave of ignorance.

    5. Re:Backwards by trawg · · Score: 1

      I started using it as well to launch Signal for Desktop. I don't even know how to launch it from the browser!

    6. Re:Backwards by WillyWanker · · Score: 1

      Exactly. How the hell do I launch Chrome Remote Desktop or Hangouts from the browser? Do I now need to have even more icons on my taskbar?

    7. Re:Backwards by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I use it. One reason I didn't want to switch back to Firefox was this feature...

    8. Re:Backwards by wikdwarlock · · Score: 1

      My same question. Found this extension to let you do it from the browser: https://chrome.google.com/webs...

      --

      "I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer." -Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear
    9. Re:Backwards by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      or you could just do chrome://apps/

  12. Begging the question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    THIS is what "begging the question" means, by the way.

    (I am, of course, referring to the SowhyisGoogleremovingtheChromeapplauncherfromChrome?Well,itturnsoutGooglehasfinallyfiguredoutwhateveryoneallalreadyknew:)

  13. Postman by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Apparently, you never use Chrome Postman plugin...

    I use it daily, and I prefer to have it separate from Chrome:

    http://www.getpostman.com/docs/

    https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/postman/fhbjgbiflinjbdggehcddcbncdddomop?hl=en

  14. No by DivineKnight · · Score: 4, Insightful

    People want you to bring back GTalk. And quit bundling your stuff so closely with Chrome. And then fire your Market research group...they appear to be drawn from the same people who thought Windows Vista was a winner.

    1. Re:No by Howitzer86 · · Score: 1

      They want Gtalk so badly they're using Skype instead of Hangouts. God-damned Skype...

    2. Re:No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      +1 to this.

      Hangouts is a joke (besides the poor UI and everything must be represented in a circle) and the fact that you have to use Chrome or load gmail in a browser for the hangouts component is shitty.

      At least Google Talk is separated and independent.

      Also bring back XMPP federation.

      I mostly use Wickr and Telegram now.

  15. Hell No! by ipb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Linux users do NOT want to launch everything from a browser.
    Ditch the stand alone launcher and the need for the browser.

    I want standalone programs for hangouts and chromecasting and that is all.
    I already don't like the overhead of chrome and it's crappy interface and I'm getting
    fed-up with the crashes and arbitrary chrome and hangout resets when I do leave them running.

    Make good programs, not crappy do everything browsers.

    1. Re:Hell No! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      AMEN!

      (Wish I had mod points today).

    2. Re:Hell No! by Waccoon · · Score: 1

      While we're at it, how about we insist web pages stop trying to act more like "apps?"

      I can't tell you how many web sites refuse to respond properly to the "Back" button thanks to all the AJAX baloney. Web pages should be stand-alone as well!

  16. abominations by postmortem · · Score: 1

    So all these google apps are really just contained in chrome.exe and they don't even try to always use OS native window API. As end result, you get all kinds of visual artifacts with these crapps.

  17. everyone all already knew that timothy is stupid by edittard · · Score: 1

    everyone all already knew

    Everyone all, I presume, means even more than everyone. Something like the population of the world squared?

    --
    At the bottom of the /. main page it says 'Yesterday's News'. Well they got that right.
  18. Except me by polyp2000 · · Score: 1

    I use the launcher all the time, and so it will be missed :(

    --
    Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
  19. Are the full time outraged taking a day off? by bazorg · · Score: 1

    "The main reason for its removal is the fact that Google's metrics show little to no usage for the Chrome app launcher."

    There you have it, telemetry. Where are the angry crowds with torches and pitchforks?

    1. Re:Are the full time outraged taking a day off? by Alumoi · · Score: 1

      Camped out in front of Microsoft building.

  20. Re:Users preffer what??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    100-foot stick? Man, that's pretty close, you may get infected.

  21. Chrome Apps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think that they've failed to realize that nobody wants/uses Chrome apps.

    Fuck this nested Matryoshka doll apps bullshit. I use purpose built native programs to accomplish work. The only Chrome apps I'm interested in are ad blockers.

    How's that for awkward irony Google?

    1. Re:Chrome Apps by thsths · · Score: 1

      There are a few useful Chrome apps. Google Remote Desktop is actually pretty good, although the server component is a bit annoying. And it is an exception, in that it actually makes a good desktop app.

      But most of them are only really useful in the browser, so there is no need for a launcher. Gmail Offline, Web Store, Everycircuit - they are all browser based, so of course users prefer to start them from the browser.

      It is strange that it took Google years to realise such a simple fact.

  22. Why don't native apps? by hyperar · · Score: 2

    I don't really care for Chrome apps, i'd love to have a fucking desktop hangouts app, how long has it been?

  23. Oh, that thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I installed what I thought was an extension for Chrome to stream local videos to a Chromecast only to be confused by the site of a Google icon in the System Tray that for the life of me I can't find a way to get rid of.

  24. From within the browser... by nazrhyn · · Score: 1

    The only way I've found to get to the real apps list from within the browser is chrome://apps ... is there even a link to that from a menu?