GNU/Linux at Google: Android, ChromeOS, Chromebooks, and Chrome News
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2014-03-18 18:24:00 UTC
- Modified: 2014-03-18 18:24:00 UTC
Android Gaming
Do we really need another Android console? Apparently so, as evidence suggests that Asus is jumping on that very bandwagon, possibly looking to score where a few of the current solutions have failed to hit. The device will be called Game Box, and the specs have appeared on AnTuTu while the controller struts its stuff all over the Bluetooth Special Interest Group website.
Ouya was the first to show the world that Android can be easily taken out from mobiles and tablets and put into a dedicated gaming console, which in turn opened up quite a lot of games waiting to be played, already available on the Play Store. Although Ouya didn’t perform as it expected to, other players in the field took note of the action.
Android TV
It will be controlled with an Android smartphone.
In this hands-on mini review, we take a quick look at the Ugoos UT2, a TV-centric mini-PC based on a 1.6GHz quad-core RK3188 SoC, and running Android 4.2.2.
Android Wearables
Google has plans to release an Android developer software development kit (SDK) in the next two weeks specifically designed for wearable devices. Sundar Pichai, Google’s SVP of Android, Apps and Chrome, shared at SXSW that the search giant will lay out a “vision for developers of how we see this market working” as part of the SDK.
Google has plans to release an Android developer software development kit (SDK) in the next two weeks specifically designed for wearable devices. Sundar Pichai, Google’s SVP of Android, Apps and Chrome, shared at SXSW that the search giant will lay out a “vision for developers of how we see this market working” as part of the SDK.
Android/Chromecast Software
We have just published the overview of the libraries and modules that various developers use in they Android mobile phone applications.
Android in Cars
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He reminded the audience of Volkswagon's recent talks with Google, with Audi in particular committing to working with the firm on in-car technology based on Android. But he said that he wanted to see more collaboration from technology firms in other countries. "It would no doubt be a good thing if German and European IT companies would put themselves forward as partners too," he said.
Laptops and Android
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Google is the one not keen on the idea of a dual-boot Windows-Android tablet-laptop, according to a fresh report from Asia and a CNET source.
CyanogenMod
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OnePlus, the upstart making a CyanogenMod-powered phone, has revealed a few details about the device that the company says will be cheaper and better than big brand phones and definitely won't include a heart-rate monitor.
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Koushik Dutta, the famed developer of CyanogenMOD has added DLNA support to his AllCast Android app. Ever since Google opened Chromcast to 3rd party developers Koush is on roll. He has, in fact, been toying with Chromecast the day it was released and created some stir in the free software community when Google changed the preview APIs for Chromecast which broke his app.
Statistics
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Android tablet sales jumped to 120.9 million in 2013 to snag a global market share of 61.9 percent, up from sales of 53.3 million and a 45.8 percent share in 2012. Over the same time, iPad sales grew to 70.4 million from 61.4 million. But Apple's share of the tablet market dropped to 36 percent from 52.8 percent.
Tablets
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HP has added a 7.85ââ¬Â³ unit to compliment its line-up of 7ââ¬Â³ and 8ââ¬Â³ tablets. The HP 8 1401 is a quad-core tablet that runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. “It’s got responsiveness that delivers entertainment where you want it. Sleek and smart with technology you can trust, the HP 8 is big on performance, slim in style, and small on price,” claims the company.
Google/Chrome OS/Chromebook
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Phoronix is reporting that running Windows applications in Chrome OS via Wine seems very unlikely to happen. And it got me wondering about how many people really want to run Windows applications in Chrome OS
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As usual, Mobile World Congress was packed with cool new SoCs, most of which are destined for Android phones and tablets. Some will see wider usage in the broader world of embedded Linux and Android devices.The big news was the invasion of 64-bit ARMv8 and x86 SoCs, including Qualcomm's Snapdragon 615 and Intel's Atom Z34xx. The ARM models are built on the ARMv8 Cortex-A53 design. Eventually, we'll see the -A53 used in Big.Little hybrids along with the similarly 64-bit, server-class Cortex-A57.
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Beast is fine. It’s old, but still kicking. It boots. It edits. It searches. It networks. Beast’s CPU is way over-sized for what I do and I do a lot. 99% of the time it idles. Every few weeks I open it up to full throttle to build the next Linux-3.10.x kernel, but what’s the rush? If it took twice or thrice as long I would still be happy.
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The Samsung Chromebook 2 11.6-inch and Chromebook 2 13.3-inch models are the company’s latest additions to its line of Chromebook computers. And they are powered by the Exynos 5 Octa processor.
Chrome Security
At Google, there continue to be big cash bounties available for talented hackers. We've reported before on the bug bounty program that Google has been running for several years now, focused on rewarding hackers and security researchers with cash for discovering meaningful bugs in the Chrome browser. The company just participated in the annual Pwnium and Pwn2own events, where hackers and researchers are challenged to uncover bugs in browsers, and Google has already patched a number of significant bugs that were uncovered.
Google officials said this week that the company will reward developers of Chrome packaged apps by letting them give users free trials and in-app purchases, marking an expansion of Google's focus on fostering a robust ecosystem of applications. The company is also going to allow developers of browser extensions to charge for them for the first time. The Google Developers Blog makes clear that the company is very focused on monetization options for app creators, which has been a key point of focus for Apple as it has sought to attract iOS app developers.
Chrome Aura/GTK/Graphics
We aim to launch the Aura graphics stack on Linux in M35. Aura is a cross-platform graphics system, and the Aura frontend will replace the current GTK+ frontend.
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Due to notorious Linux graphics drivers, Google developers working on Chrome/Chromium aren't looking to enable hardware video acceleration by default anytime soon. The problem ultimately comes down to poor Linux graphics drivers.
Chrome Voice
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According to a post on the official Google Chrome Blog, the search and mobile OS giant has added a new version to the latest beta of the desktop-oriented Chrome Browser. The company calls it “Hands-Free Google Voice Search,” which, as the name implies, allows you to perform a search query simply by speaking up and activating the feature with a spoken command.
Ballnux Android (Microsoft-Taxed)
The large 5.9-inch phone expands to some big Asian markets like Indonesia and Singapore, but LG Electronics still won't commit to North American or European sales.
Samsung’s Galaxy devices could have a built-in security error that could allow for “remote access to data,” claim the developers of Replicant–an Android OS based on CyanogenMod. The security flaw discovered in certain Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets allows for access “to read, write, and delete files on the phone’s storage.”
On Wednesday, the Free Software Foundation reported that a back door was found in the Samsung Galaxy.
Misc.
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The new $189 "Privacy Phone" comes with VPN, 128-bit encryption, and other tricks aimed at keeping you safe and anonymous.
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Rich Miner strolls the halls of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, pausing every few minutes to check out the latest gadgets on display. As one of the co-founders of Android, he is walking through a world that has been all but conquered by the operating system he helped create. Now, as a general partner at Google Ventures, he’s tasked with finding and investing the search giant’s billions in the next big thing.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- Touch Grass
- Happiness involves what humans have evolved to appreciate, not what humans create to sedate the mind (like skinnerboxes)
- The Cyber Show on Technology Having Become a Tool of Mass Psychosis, Not Enablement or Emancipation
- Technology as mass psychosis
- The Rumour Said That a Second Wave of Microsoft Layoffs Would Come This Week (Ahead of Fake 'Results'), Maybe Tomorrow
- Let's wait and see how "MSM" unfold
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- Red Hat (IBM) Has Long 'Reassigned' (Bluewashed) Red Hat Staff to Ruin Fedora, Now It Does the Same to GNOME
- What next from IBM's Krishna?
- Links 21/07/2026: Google Stagnating, Slop 'Apps' Are "Flooding Apple’s App Store"
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 21/07/2026: OPNSense Upgrade Problems, Zilog Z80 at 50, and Lessons From Terminator
- Links for the day
- IBM Lawsuits Over Alleged Fraud Are Piling Up
- We'll keep an eye on the lawsuits
- Arianna Taite on Odds of Australian (Daniel Pocock) Winning Clacton By-Election
- His detractors somehow try to twist or frame him (Pocock) as an impediment to women while the exact opposite is true
- This Coming Weekend Marks 4 Years Since We Dumped Content Management Systems (CMSs) in Favour of Static Site Generators (SSGs)
- the first page dated July 25
- Slop's Latest Casualty: The Credibility of Linus Torvalds
- If you care about millionaires and billionaires, follow Torvalds (he is already in that "club")
- Techrights Will Become More Productive (More Output) Over Time
- Big stories about to land
- To Wikipedia, "Notability" is Just an Excuse to Hail People Who Serve Billionaires While Marginalising or Defaming the Rest
- Wikipedia is an advertising space
- Our Series About Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and SLAPPs Will Resume Soon
- Originally, in 2025, we gave ourselves 6 years (until 2031) to cover these issues, but we've seen since extended that to 10 years (until 2036) because of the amount of material we have
- European Patent Office (EPO) Series: The EPO Transparency Gap
- Despite the "European" tag in the organisation's name, the European Union has no jurisdiction over the European Patent Organisation
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 20, 2026
- IRC logs for Monday, July 20, 2026
- Links 20/07/2026: Lashes for Songs in Iran, Kurdish Language at Risk
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 21/07/2026: The Boss Baby (2017) and 2026 Old Computer Challenge Epilogue
- Links for the day
- Canonical Staff Acting Like They Aim to Receive Job Offers From Microsoft
- There are moreover allegations that Debian will do the same, in the same way Mono boosters infected both distros in tandem or in turn.
- Worsening Staff Affairs at Microsoft
- Microsoft is managing to piss off many of its own workers
- Czech Mate for GNU/Linux on the Way
- Czechoslovakia is having none of that "peace for our time" with Microsoft
- Nobody Will be Left Who Trusts IBM Anymore
- The common theme is, the management must be completely replaced as soon as possible and truth needs to come out
- Wall Street is a Bubble and No Company is Worth 5 Trillion Dollars
- It's not hard to see which stocks will crash the hardest (or fastest)
- The Corrupt Have Historically Tried to Paint Their Exposers as the Real Problem
- As usual, there are efforts to shoot or muzzle the messenger
- Search Engine Market Share in Italy: Microsoft Falls to Third in Many Countries Including Italy
- Expect more layoffs in Bing
- Links 20/07/2026: Spotify Drowning in Slop, Expiry of Software Patents in MPEG-4
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 20/07/2026: Another Step Towards Owning Personal Data and Gemtext2 Envisioned
- Links for the day
- European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Public Missions and Private Ambitions
- Despite the French government's strong formal pushback, the lobbying momentum generated by Campinos and Negrão proved unstoppable
- "DOOM" and "Bloodbath": the State of Microsoft and XBox
- Way to piss off fans
- Karen Melchior Fought the Good Fight
- stay tuned for Part 29
- Links 20/07/2026: Notes on E-mail Encryption, Torvalds and His Employer Paid a Lot to Promote Slop (Pyramid Scheme)
- Links for the day
- What a Difference Six Years Make...
- We are also beta-testing a new feature for the site; we plan to announce it some time soon
- When It Comes to Slop, Richard Stallman is Opposite of Linus Torvalds
- When it comes to computing, Dr. Stallman has long been a voice of reason
- Daniel Pocock is in Mainstream Media This Week
- Pocock's haters will absolutely hate this
- In His Departure Post, Poul-Henning Kamp (phk) Explains Why Linus Torvalds is Full of "Hot Air" and Slop Bubbles
- Having lived through previous bubbles as a UNIX geek, phk cannot be ignored
- Whistleblowers Keep Flowing
- Later today a police investigator should phone us regarding death threats we've received
- We Need Less Gadgets, More Humanity
- If people are being honest with themselves, many of the gadgets they claim they "cannot live without" are just excesses and distractions they could definitely leave behind
- Technology and Gadgets Got Obese, Just Like Their Users
- They now sell us so-called 'phones' for slop
- Daniel Pocock in The Guardian This Morning
- There is an opportunity here to spread a message, even if Pocock won't win a seat
- "Samsung Recently Projected a 19-fold Surge in Second-Quarter Operating Profit", Now There Are Mass Layoffs
- In a 9-month period Samsung's debt rose by about 80%
- Gemini Links 20/07/2026: Dungeon Meshi/Undertale Crossover, "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Dark Web and Beyond"
- Links for the day
- IBM's Control of the Media "Just Showed What Taking Accountability Does Not Look Like"
- It is no secret that IBM pays the media
- Microsoft Loses XBox Lawsuit, But There Are More
- The collapse of studios continues
- GNU/Linux Approaching International Average in Djibouti
- One can envisage further gains for GNU/Linux, seeing Microsoft is in such a bad shape
- Daniel Pocock "[t]he Australian Taking on Nigel Farage — from Down Under"
- This can help raise awareness of some issues
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 19, 2026
- IRC logs for Sunday, July 19, 2026
- Misleading Coverage in Slashdot Promotes and Openwashes Slop
- Piggybacking RMS for the headline seems like a PR stunt of sorts
- As Envisioned, a Rebellion and Many Whistleblowers at Microsoft
- Whistleblowers ensure Microsoft has totally lost control of the "narrative" (face-saving PR)
- Microsoft is a Right-Wing Company
- Just remember that when people call Microsoft "woke"
- GNU/Linux "Market Share" Rises to About a Quarter in Sudan
- Can anyone explain to us why?
- Gemini Links 19/07/2026: Visiting Ethiopia, Two Dreams, and Price of Skinnerboxes
- Links for the day
- Tears in IBM, Company Falls Apart While Management Fakes "Performance" to Take Bonuses
- Wall Street is a naked emperor
- Telling Our Story
- In the coming years we'll have some high-impact stories to share and generally tell without fear of reprisal
- Microsoft XBox Studio Leaders Upset at What the New CEO Did
- From what we can gather, in 2024 XBox was already entering what's known as a "death spiral". Now it's literally moving down the drain/pipe.
- IRC Started in Finland, GNU/Linux Did Not
- History is like that
- GNU/Linux Rises to 8% in Bhutan, Same as the International Average
- Taking note of estimated GNU/Linux share in that country, we see it hovering around the international median/average this month
- Links 19/07/2026: "The Voice of Google" and "Chinese Surveillance Tech a Threat to Privacy"
- Links for the day
- Keep Both Eyes on the Ball
- At the moment we have six series running in parallel; two of them concern the EPO
- 'Journalists' Who Help IBM Cover Up Fraud
- Journalistic malpractice
- The "Modern Linux" Song
- Join us now, make the kernel
- XBox Layoffs Vastly Bigger Than Microsoft Told the Press, Microsoft Keeps Trying to Change the Subject
- Many so-called "XBox fans" are no more
- Microsoft Lost 1,200 Billion Dollars in "Market Value", Take a Look at What Happened to Windows
- while Windows continues to fall unstoppably GNU/Linux is surging
- Links 19/07/2026: People in China Are Buying Feelings and 404 Media Has Third Anniversary
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 19/07/2026: Camping, Health, and Hardware
- Links for the day
- The State of Slopfarms
- Slopfarms or LLM slopfarms are a menace and a problem on the Web
- GNU/Linux Rising to 6% in Brunei
- seventh in the world for GDP (PPP) per capita
- Free Software is Like an 'Activist Movement'
- People who argue strongly in favour of something (even very good things) will attract the wrath of those whom they oppose
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 18, 2026
- IRC logs for Saturday, July 18, 2026