About the only thing that doesnt just work right now, in fact, is audio: While you can play audio from a Windows app without issue, recording isnt yet supported within the Windows side of things (though Parallels tells me thats in the works and will be corrected in a future update).And if my first official taste of this wild new reality tells me anything, its that the traditional boundaries we tend to think about with platforms and operating systems no longer apply.
Let me back up a sec and set the stage for my surreal little experiment here: Back in June, Google announced it was working with a company called Parallels to bring Windows app support into the Chrome OS environment. The magic works via a virtual machine thats installed on the Chromebook and then made to run locally on the device, which means you can use virtually any Windows program as if it were a local app whether youre online with an active internet connection or not. For the moment, at least, this whole thing is designed exclusively with the enterprise in mind: The Parallels Windows-on-Chrome-OS setup is available only on specific, approved hardware high-end systems, basically, with an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, at least 16GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage recommended and only in company-wide configurations. And lemme tell ya: Having had the chance to use it extensively this week, I think this is gonna be a pretty intriguing option and one that has the potential to exponentially expand Chrome OSs appeal. Get fresh Googley insight in your inbox every Friday with JRs Android Intelligence newsletter. Exclusive extras await Welcome to the world of Windows.on Chrome OS First things first, lets get one thing out of the way: Running Windows apps on a Chromebook in this new Parallels-provided setup isnt exactly like running a regular, native program on your device. The nature of the whole virtual machine thing means you end up running Windows itself within an app-like window. And its within that window that you then find, open, and use the traditional Windows software. Whew. Got all that. It feels like youre using Chrome Remote Desktop or another similar sort of remote-access tool, but while the experience itself is somewhat similar to that on the surface, this Windows installation is actually on the Chromebook itself and not just streaming to you via a standalone Windows computer. Even so, its kind of odd because it is a second desktop and effectively a separate operating system running inside your primary operating system. Paging M.C. Escher.) That means you end up seeing Windows boot up whenever you first open the system: JR. You simply open up any program you want within the Windows environment, just like you would on a regular Windows computer, and then use it right then and there. You can open up multiple programs and manage em with the standard Windows multitasking methods. All your Windows stuff just always exists within that inner Windows, erm, window. Ive run into a couple of instances where the Windows environment has started acting slightly weird for a handful of seconds, but thats really been more the exception than the rule. By default, for instance, pressing Alt-Tab takes you to the Chrome OS app switcher. ![]() It doesnt always do that, though it frequently just acts as a regular Tab key and does what the Tab key would normally do, even when youre using the Windows system and Ive yet to figure out any rhyme, reason, or consistency with how and why its function changes. The Chrome OS SearchLauncher key, meanwhile, automatically detects the current context and works appropriately which means if you press it while youre using anything in Windows, it opens up the Windows Start menu instead of pulling up the standard Chrome OS launcher. Those minor oddities aside, Parallels and Google have clearly worked closely together to make the Windows and Chrome OS experiences feel as complementary and connected as possible. The system clipboards, for instance, work seamlessly across both environments meaning you can copy something from anywhere within Chrome OS and then paste it anywhere in Windows (or vice-versa). You can set web links within Windows to open in any Windows-based browser or in a standard Chrome OS browser window, depending on your preference. ![]() And if you want to focus on the Windows side of things exclusively, without having that desktop look like a mere window within another desktop, you can hit the maximize key in the Chromebook keyboards function row to make it take up your entire display and have it be as if you were just using a Windows computer.
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