In addition, you’re also going to start seeing an option to “stream” some apps you don’t have installed, right from Google Search, provided you’re on good Wifi. For example, with one tap on a “Stream” button next to the HotelTonight app result, you’ll get a streamed version of the app, so that you can quickly and easily find what you need, and even complete a booking, just as if you were in the app itself. And if you like what you see, installing it is just a click away. This uses a new cloud-based technology that we’re currently experimenting with.
This seems like a hell of a lot of work and infrastructure for something that could be solved by, uh, I don’t know, installing the application?
I’m getting old.
If you download the App then Google won’t have as easy a time spying on you.
If the app developer uses the Now on Tap APIs then Google can technically spy on you anyway
The way it was described, this looks exactly like the Web, except Android-centric and Google-controlled.
“Right from Google Search, provided on good Wifi, with one tap on the ‘HotelTonigh’ result, you’ll get a streamed version of the app, so that you can quickly and easily find what you need, and even complete a booking. And without installing any application!”
Doesn’t Google already control the web enough?
They reinvented java web start.
Or maybe they reinvented the equivalent of java applets? Does this run “streaming apps” inside the android browser?
How do I install Android apps on a iOS or Windows device?
No Java webstart runs on your computer.
This runs on Google’s computer.
https://xkcd.com/1367/
A webdeveloper can decide what part to run on the server and which part should run in the browser.
This seems to be complete streaming, nothing running locally.
If only there was some protocol that could stream applications across the internet. Like a language that marks up how things are structured. Maybe like some kind of super text that denotes relationships between different resources.
Office365 ?
Ummmmmmmmmmmm, no. Not even close.
Lotus Notes?
Nah, kwan_e must be talking about Display PostScript.
Troff, then maybe?
Maybe I’m getting old (already an awful lot older than Thom) but some of us go to places where… you know there is no mobile phone signal.
Remember those days?
Bliss. silence. Peace, no tap-tap-tap-tap, ding!
Streaming is all well and good (TBH can’t see the point of it really unless it is a live broadcast) but what happens when you escape the internet. Does the googlmothership start to get worried and send out search parties?
Momma Chocolate Factory wants to keep her children close. But it does not take much to turn her in to big Brother.
“Come in No 6. you have been reading illicit material.”
google free for more than a year!
Man, I wish Google did that. Then I would never miss an important text. or maybe they could send down text messages from their blimps hovering above with little parachutes. But that would only work if they could track me without wireless access. Kind of a chicken and an egg.
So maybe the solution is that the cell towers follow you because they’re really just hovering drones at this point. This would also solve the commute or special even issue, when more people flood an area then the towers can accommodate. With a distributed flock of drone towers, one can dynamically allocate them to maintain optimal coverage.
So until we have drone cell towers, you’re point stands. You won’t be able to stream apps everywhere. Hopefully Google is onboard with the drone towers idea. Much cheaper than a helicopter evac.
This is awesome! If
* this is going to be availabe for every app
* this will allow you to use your own account
that basically means that you can run whatever software you want without needing the actual hardware and OS. You don’t have to worry about having the right version of platforms, components, libraries, settings…just click on a link to the software and the software works
Of course this requires an enormous amount of trust that the application hasn’t been tempered with and can be trusted. I don’t know how they are going to monetize this for the app-developers and how security will be guaranteed!
You don’t see the point of this? Just ask any webdeveloper to test the website in many different browsers. They will almost all use a similar technique like this that lets you use “virtual-streamed-browsers” so you can test in IE8 on Windows and Safari on iOS.
Or how about running that game that requires a 4 GB download when you only have 3 GB free? (Yes, I understand that would be one h*ck of a stream)
But basically this technique allows you to go to any machine in the world (internet-cafe, chromebook, your parents XP-machine) and run the software that you want.
Companies tried to stream games, it failed.
So let’s just say it probably doesn’t apply to everything.
Most webdevelopers I know have some VMs, somewhere.
Streaming games fails because you need extremly high bandwidth with extremely low latency.
Most webdevelopers that still keep VM’s for browsertest do that for testing 2 or 3 desktop browsers and should take a serious look at https://spoon.net/browsers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minitel
80’s high tech is back.
I do see some use: low end devices with 8Go or 16Go of flash memory. Even on my 16 GB Nexus 9, I can hardly install everything I want as Android and all google apps updates take already more than 9 GB as far as I can remember.
You know, 32GB/64GB microSD cards are cheap as dirt.
The Nexus 9 doesn’t have a microSD card slot.
Of course inferior devices exists. It is reasonable not to buy them.
Or http://www.elephonemobile.com/products/elephone-vowney
And just how many Ad and tracking sites does that site use?
I counted 16 before I pulled the plug.
I don’t know and I don’t care, I’m full on ADBlock and Ghostery
Without them, it’s like fucking bare back :/
Ok, anecdotal evidence only but I feel compelled to warn against Elephone.
After some extensive research, 8 months ago I bought my first cheap Android phone straight from China (150 Euro including tax, shipping, memcard). It was the Elephone P6000. Delivery and custom fee was all as expected but in the end I was quite disappointed in Elelephone. They promised they would release a CyanogenMod ROM for it and they did but it was extremely buggy and there is almost no support from Elephone. Just surf to http://elephone.hk/ and view the forums. There is absolutely no sensible reply from any Elephone staff.
Then, after 2 months the phones screen cracked just from carrying in my backpocket. The first phone every that broke on me. I am now back to my 3 year old Samsung Ativ S Windows Phone.
Elephone is a company that just releases a new phone each month and then forgets about it.
If you need no support and are convinced the build quality is ok for you, go for it but I won’t touch Elephone anymore.
I will now go for a manufacturer that has a track record for support even if it will cost me a bit more OR buy an ultra cheap phone and buy a new one every year.
Thanks for the feedback. Considering the number of delays for the release and the shipping, it mights be interesting to be cautious.
The specs of the Vowney doesn’t show any particular mention of a scratch resistant glass. So I bet we also get what we pay for, considering the price tag they sell their products at.
Otherwise, considering HTC’s 12 months support of their phones, Samsung’s bloatwares, I would prefer perharps LG or Motorola’s phones.
You can run more apps than you have space to store. This can be very beneficial on cheap phones for use in the 3rd world. You could potentially run this app on another platform through the web.
Cheap phone but huge data plan. Where’s the trick ?
Maybe I’m wrong, but my guess is: You are over estimating how well those telephony provider networks work in the 3rd world.
Edited 2015-11-20 19:21 UTC
This move makes perfect sense for Google, it its part of Google^aEURTMs overall strategic objective of reasserting the web over the app as the fundamental model for interacting with content on mobile devices. The reason is simple, Google makes money primarily from web search and even with all its efforts to provide search results from within apps an ecosystem based on apps still leads to a decline of Google search usage. Defending web centric ecosystems is to Google what defending Windows was to Microsoft.
If the streamed app doesn’t need permissions, sign me up.
That’s the key. Its not so you can play angry birds without installing it, its to make the data/ functionality inside an app searchable from Google on the web.
So you have a great restaurant recommendation app, that doesn’t have a website equivalent, because they’re idiots. This will allow you to see their recommendations from a search result. You never would have known the data you wanted was in their app (and hence wouldn’t have installed it), without this. It just happens to use app streaming to make this less painful than a search result that says ” check out Bob’s restaurant suggester on the Google Play store for more results relevant to your search for “Cow Sushi”.
This goes further, Google can’t see what you do on the restaurant website. They can see what you do in the streamed app.
Yes, they can. Google Ads, analytics, etc. They most certainly can see what you do on the restaurant website.
I know, but they can’t see what I type or what I order or whatever.
(the Javascript of Google Analytics could do that, but if it did that there would be outrage)
So, there would be outrage if they did it with a web page, but not within an app. Got it.
Yes, because you can’t see what the app does.
This is what Google wants to avoid.
It also offers a less malware prone experience at the expense of freedom and ownership.