Google is Working on a Fix For Laggy Tablet Mode on Chrome OS Devices (9to5google.com)

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Google is Working on a Fix For Laggy Tablet Mode on Chrome OS Devices (9to5google.com)

Posted by msmash on Monday December 31, 2018 @08:12AM from the help-underway dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Chrome OS was originally a laptop platform, but slowly it's being reworked for tablet form factors. However, as that goes on, there have been some hiccups. Most recently, many have noted the poor performance of tablet mode especially on Chrome OS products like the Pixel Slate, but it seems a fix for that lag is incoming. If you tuned into any hands-on or review coverage of Google's Pixel Slate, you're likely familiar with the performance issues many have described. In tablet mode, Chrome OS has a lot of issues with lag. This is especially evident in the multitasking screen, and it seems that is the first thing Google is looking at to fix these problems. ChromeUnboxed notes a recent bug tracker which reveals how Google plans to start fixing Chrome OS tablet mode lag in the multitasking screen. Somewhat hilariously, it seems a big reason for the poor frame rates in the animations on this screen actually comes down to how the OS renders the rounded corners on this screen.

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Public Release Betas... by schklerg · 2018-12-31 08:29 · Score: 4, Insightful

I long for the days when technology vendors had QA departments and shipping products only had outlier bugs. Too bad consumers have decided that paying to beta test is fine. /oldmanrant

--
Be Excellent To Each Other
1. Re: Public Release Betas... by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 08:33 · Score: 0
  
  paying to beta is slimy. companies literally have no idea what the customer wants to test too bad for such places
2. Re:Public Release Betas... by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 08:35 · Score: 0
  
  Still, I do experience serious lag on the bus wifi between Palo Alto and San Jose with my iPhone 6S when I try to post YouTube videos.
3. Re: Public Release Betas... by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 08:43 · Score: 0
  
  The chrome team is literally clueless in more ways than I ever thought possible. I am surprised their bodies breathe without prompting
4. Re:Public Release Betas... by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 08:45 · Score: 0
  
  Are you sure you didn't mean between Rosamond and Gorman?
5. Re: Public Release Betas... by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 08:48 · Score: 0
  
  That's because your fat fucking gut is blocking the god damn WiFi signal you fucking fat piece of shit land whale. Go get beached somewhere.
6. Re: Public Release Betas... by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-01 07:51 · Score: 0
  
  Because these devices are garbage?
  Google may be wanting to replace windows on cheap devices, but cheap devices are still bad devices.
  A 5 year old iPad with 5% of the cpu power of the current model, still operates at a consistent performance even with iOS 9. Yet not a single Android device maintains performance after a single OS upgrade, if it even gets it at all.
  Like stop buying shit hardware. Every time I have seen one of these devices in BestBuy I am reminded of those shitty my-first-computer toys that have dim, low resolution screens, flimsy keyboards and feels like itâ(TM)s barely held together with glue.
  If googles goal was to provide an alternative to iPad, they have seriously no idea what they are doing. HTML5 apps and games are a bad idea. Just like Java is a bad idea.
Laggy Google crap by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 08:51 · Score: 0

Every 6 months we get a new story about how Google is finally going to fix their underperforming software. Let me set a reminder for June 2019 to check for the next one.
Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Excelcia · 2018-12-31 08:54 · Score: 1, Insightful

The only question I have about ChromeOS is why? I admit, I still don't understand the purpose of the OS at all. Sure, some people spend a lot of time online, but are there really people who do everything computer-related with a browser? And, even so, isn't Android with a browser basically ChromeOS? What is even the point in buying a laptop that inherently does less than a normal one, that costs about the same, and that locks you into a platform where everyone else owns all your data?
Is there something I'm missing?
1. Re: Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 08:57 · Score: 0
  
  I wonder dumbass. What is the name of the browser? Release the hounds and they will learn you but good
2. Re:Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Desler · 2018-12-31 09:03 · Score: 2
  
  but are there really people who do everything computer-related with a browser?
  Yes, tons of them.
3. Re: Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 09:12 · Score: 0
  
  And what kind of brain dead moron asks that kind of question. Someone who is too stupid to live
4. Re: Don't understand ChromeOS at all by unrealmp3 · 2018-12-31 09:14 · Score: 2
  
  It's actually a nice worry-free systems for many relatives of mine. They basically only go online to check their emails, do some banking stuff, read the news and check their Facebook. Since they switched to this, I rarely if ever get any calls for help because their system is slow, shows popups, has malwares, etc. I'm sure they could achieve something similar with a Linux distro, but for them it just works right out of the box and it's easy to use.
5. Re: Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 09:22 · Score: 0
  
  Really! You mean literally 99% of the population lives like this? We should hang out!
6. Re: Don't understand ChromeOS at all by ArchieBunker · 2018-12-31 09:30 · Score: 2
  
  Same here. My parents have had one for years and it just always works. Never had an issue.
  
  --
  Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
7. Re: Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 09:37 · Score: 0
  
  Yes! You are missing literally everything ever
8. Re:Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 09:45 · Score: 0
  
  The only question I have about ChromeOS is why?
  Simplicity, lack of need to administer it, covers all most people need.
  My father in law uses a computer to do on-line banking, read email (which means receive inappropriate jokes from his redneck friends), read the 'news' (which for him is MSNBC) ... he needs a Mahjong game and Sudoku as well.
  That is it.
  His ancient laptop is getting very long in the tooth, and I recommended he get something like a Google Chromebook. It meets his needs, requires zero technical skills to maintain, is mostly something which tends to itself, and can be had very cheaply.
  He doesn't have much in the way of data ... no pictures, no CAD files. He sits in front of it reading. He's also in his late 70s and is retired.
  Given his means, technical knowledge (zero), and needs ... a $300 ChromeBook is something he can buy, sign into his gmail account, and never worry about again.
  What am I going to do, recommend a full blown laptop running Windows 10? Yeah, no thanks.
  There are people and use cases where everything they do with the PC can be completely encapsulated with a ChromeBook. I'm not one of them, but there are people in my life for whom it's the most logical purchase.
9. Re: Don't understand ChromeOS at all by ArchieBunker · 2018-12-31 09:49 · Score: 1
  
  1/10 super lame.
  
  --
  Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
10. Re: Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 10:02 · Score: 0
  
  Try zero out ten
11. Re: Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 10:05 · Score: 0
  
  Not me. Chrome books are really slow and spy on you and steal your data. And it shows me a truly obscene number and assortment of ads.
12. Re: Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 10:07 · Score: 0
  
  Doing banking on anything Google is like walking around the ghetto with a transparent wallet full of money.
13. Re: Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 10:12 · Score: 0
  
  Is that code for they suck?
14. Re:Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 10:13 · Score: 0
  
  If he can easily afford a $300 garbage Chromobook, he would be significantly better off with a $300 REAL laptop.
15. Re: Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 10:16 · Score: 0
  
  That is true. You can literally find $300 laptops everywhere. No reason at all to even look once at a chrome book
16. Re:Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 13:42 · Score: 0
  
  The only question I have about ChromeOS is why?
  Simplicity, lack of need to administer it, covers all most people need.
  My father in law uses a computer to do on-line banking, read email (which means receive inappropriate jokes from his redneck friends), read the 'news' (which for him is MSNBC) ... he needs a Mahjong game and Sudoku as well.
  That is it.
  His ancient laptop is getting very long in the tooth, and I recommended he get something like a Google Chromebook. It meets his needs, requires zero technical skills to maintain, is mostly something which tends to itself, and can be had very cheaply.
  He doesn't have much in the way of data ... no pictures, no CAD files. He sits in front of it reading. He's also in his late 70s and is retired.
  Given his means, technical knowledge (zero), and needs ... a $300 ChromeBook is something he can buy, sign into his gmail account, and never worry about again.
  What am I going to do, recommend a full blown laptop running Windows 10? Yeah, no thanks.
  There are people and use cases where everything they do with the PC can be completely encapsulated with a ChromeBook. I'm not one of them, but there are people in my life for whom it's the most logical purchase.
  If you weren't a slacker living in a homeless shelter, you'd BUY your father in law a decent used MacBook Air, and he'd have a laptop with an OS that doesn't sell his personal data to the entire planet, and STILL have a solution that doesn't require babysitting.
  But you won't, since you simply don't CARE about his data. Afterall, it's someone else.
17. Re: Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 19:00 · Score: 0
  
  Many people that don't like ads use ad blocking to reduce the inconvenience.
18. Re:Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 19:33 · Score: 0
  
  Well, there was no need to insult the parent poster, but I agree that a Macbook is a very good worry free solution for people with deeper pockets. I bought Macbook Air laptops for my mother in law and a couple of nieces and they are all very happy and everything just works, year after year. My own Macbook Pro is now in its 7th year and it still looks and works the same as the day I bought it - it actually works a little better thanks to updates.
19. Re: Don't understand ChromeOS at all by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 19:36 · Score: 0
  
  You miss the whole point of Chrome OS: Simplicity. It Just Works (TM).
  These are two things that MS Windows can never equal.
  A Linux Chromebook is similar to a buying a Macbook Air, but rather cheaper.
20. Re:Don't understand ChromeOS at all by drinkypoo · 2018-12-31 23:26 · Score: 1
  
  Chrome os exists because chrome for Android is crap. Full stop. There is no other reason. It's pretty sad that even after all these years this is true, and it's even more sad when you consider that it's because of Java. Chrome isn't written in Java, so chrome for Android isn't trivial. And what makes that especially sad is that the point of Java is to run everywhere, but Android doesn't present enough services to applications that they don't need to pull in non-Java libraries that are architecture-specific. So we get all the pain of using Java with zero of the benefits. Meanwhile, we had native Linux on handhelds before Android even existed, it was called familiar Linux and I ran it on my iPaq H2215. You had a choice of gtk or qt-based environments, and both worked. You had full access to the os. Now we have an inconsistent and poorly supported replacement that squanders resources, instead. Thanks, Google!
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Deleted comments by ArchieBunker · 2018-12-31 09:51 · Score: 1

Just noticed that the admins deleted the spam comments along with my reply. I thought comments were only deleted here by court order like when Scientology came knocking?

--
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
1. Re:Deleted comments by 110010001000 · 2018-12-31 11:22 · Score: 1
  
  No they recently started actively deleting comments about a month ago.
2. Re: Deleted comments by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 14:30 · Score: 0
  
  And while they are dicking around with that, what's going on with Unicode support?
The 2 users actually using it will be happy. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 09:54 · Score: 0

I'm sure that'll be very helpful for them.
Chrome OS getting bloated by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 10:04 · Score: 0

Google has tacked on so much stuff to Chrome OS to make it more acceptable to more then education. That it has hurt the fundamental performance of Chrome OS itself to run on minimal hardware. My two year old Chromebook became unbearable to use even just as a web device. Some of this is because of Spectre Meltdown and some of it is Chrome OS trying too hard to be something that its not.
Beta won't fix it, its FrankenAndroid by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 15:07 · Score: 0

It's a merge of:
1) A touch based tablet OS with a browser in it
2) A browser extended to be an OS, designed for mouse/keyboard WIMP use.
Two VERY DIFFERENT interfaces. No extended beta can fix the faulty thinking behind this product.
It was internal politics because the Chrome OS lead, took over Google and promptly tried to sandwich his shit into the hugely successful Android. Android on the tablet stagnated, and his stuff hasn't succeeded.
Lag is the least of its problems.
Lack of sales is its problem, if you want an Android tablet, you don't want a Windows one, so adding a WIMP interface to Android is a negative thing. See sales figures for obvious consequence of piss poor logic.
1. Re:Beta won't fix it, its FrankenAndroid by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 19:07 · Score: 0
  
  There won't be any competent software coming out of an org that hires, fires and promotes based on politics not competence, spends significant amounts of man hours on social justice issues and has generally lost focus on anything beyond making money and influencing politics. The search engine hasn't improved one iota in years, neither have any of their other products. The new products are failing. Android today really isn't any better than gingerbread, slightly better looking but just as buggy. IMO google hasn't produced anything worth having in years. And probably never will again.
2. Re: Beta won't fix it, its FrankenAndroid by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-01 03:54 · Score: 0
  
  Actually search only got worse
Greater than less than by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 17:03 · Score: 0

Or even basic support for "greater than" and "less than"....
"You could not have an electro magnetic wave with a higher frequency (FW) than F/2 in an F universe. i.e. FW > 1.7x10^23 hz. FWF/2 = matter"
Was entered as:
"You could not have an electro magnetic wave with a higher frequency (FW) than F/2 in an F universe. i.e. FW (GREATER THAN SIGN) 1.7x10^23 hz. FW (LESS THAN SIGN) F/2 = electromagnetic wave, FW (GREATER THAN SIGN) F/2 = matter"
It doesn't even substitute the lt and gt HTML symbols correctly.
Hidden Div by Anonymous Coward · 2018-12-31 20:16 · Score: 0

Maybe there's a hidden DIV on the tablet somewhere.
Totally Worth It! by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-02 10:01 · Score: 0

Slow performance is OK if I can get good, round, sexy corners.
It's the corners that make the device. Everyone believes that!