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Post by archaem on Dec 18, 2020 9:25:31 GMT
Hello,
I am not sure where to post this message so the forum moderators may move it to where it belongs and if so, I understand. Also, I'm not sure if what I'm gong to share is well known within the Bodhi community or not. At first I thought it was a "bug", but then the reasoning made sense to me. I'll explain.
A short whie ago after I installed the Bodhi 5.1 App Pack on someone else's computer, they requested the Chrome Browser. So, I installed the Chrome Browser for them. Afterwards, they synced their account and of course their user data was synced such as bookmarks and browsing history. But what caught me off guard, was that their standalone applications were also synced! I'm not referring to only "browser extensions", I'm also referring to ChromeOS applications. These are the standalone applications that can be installed on a Chromebook via the ChromeOS store, such as "Cut the Rope" and others.
What I mean is, the ChromeOS standalone applications -- the ChromeOS applications that operate separate from the Chrome Browser -- the individual had installed on their Chromebook were all synced to Bodhi! All of their ChromeOS applications appeared in the Bodhi application menu under a category "other" -- including their "Zoom" application. At first, when I noticed "Zoom" in the menu I thought it was strange because I've read some comments explaining that one of the reasons that deter people from using Linux distributions is the lack of availability of popular applications, such as "Zoom". But once I looked into it further, I was convinced: ChromeOS applications can be installed on Bodhi via the Chrome Browser. Or, at least they can via an account that downloads the applications on a Chromebook and syncs the same account on a Chrome Browser in Bodhi.
All of the standalone ChomeOS applications that were installed on the Chromebook, from standalone applications such as "Cut the Rope" to "Solitaire" to "Zoom" and "Hangouts" and numerous others, were all somehow synced and installed into Bodhi via the Chrome Browser. But the catch is that all of these applications functioned independently of the Chrome Browser and were accessible via the Bodhi application menu, similar to a Chromebook's stanadalone applications. I checked personally: they had about a dozen applications on their Chromebook and they all now appear on Bodhi in the application menu under the category of "other".
I don't use "Zoom" but I tested it on their Bodhi machine and it worked! So if there's anyone wondering if "Zoom" can work on Bodhi, it can -- or at least it did in this case.
Since ChromeOS can be considered a Linux distribution, it makes sense that ChromeOS standalone applications would function within another Linux distribution environment. But what puzzled me was that all of the applications from the users' Chromebook were automatically synced to Bodhi as though Bodhi was the ChromeOS. I mean, all of the ChomeOS applications were directly available via the Bodhi application menu within an "other" category.
I've personally tested the Chrome Browser on Fedora (Xfce Spin) and I did not notice any Chromebook applications synced. Perhaps I missed something? Now I'm not sure. It was months ago. Only browser extensions and user data such as search history and browser extensions, but not standalone applications. Again, I might have missed something. In any case, the reason why I think it's notable that ChromeOS standalone applications were synced from a Chromebook to Bodhi is because the same applications did not sync to Fedora -- at least not in my situation as, I recall. Therefore, I suspect it's possible there's something within Bodhi that resembles ChromeOS (perhaps it's the Ubuntu base or Enlightenment?) moreso than Fedora, hence why ChromeOS standalone applications were synced to Bodhi and accessible via the application menu.
I suppose a thorough test would be required in order to demonstrate conclusively whether any and all ChomeOS standalone applications can be installed on Bodhi via the Chrome Browser similar to a Chromebook, or if this was just some sort of "bug". Perhaps some test has already been conducted and I'm not aware. I have not searched for articles on this topic, so perhaps this Linux relationship has been noted elsewhere. Nevertheless, I think it's worth noting that considering the "Zoom" video conference application seems to be popular these days, this application (Zoom) can be installed on Bodhi via the Chrome Browser as a standalone application.
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enigma9o7
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Post by enigma9o7 on Dec 19, 2020 0:28:11 GMT
You've got me curious. If they ended up in Bodhi's menu, then they must have desktop files. Perhaps they're just "web apps" and are just bookmarks to websites? I don't have a chromebook so I'm not familiar with ChromeOS apps... I believe they offer/incude a debian container so you can run debs from ChromeOS, but I hadn't heard of the opposite (running chromeos apps on regular linux distro).
I just took a look, Zoom is available natively on zoom.us for all sorts of linux flavors... including ubuntu for us... so I think there's an easier solution for someone who wants that... but this is still interesitng none the less....
I do have Google Chrome installed under Bodhi. I use it when I need to cast youtube and on my kids PCs for voice search. In fact that is one reason why I switched to 64-bit from legacy on one of my kids PCs was to be able to run google chrome, as they dont offer it for 32-bit linux.
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Post by archaem on Dec 19, 2020 3:12:59 GMT
Hello,
I have no knowledge of Zoom and I did not read their website. The reasoning motivating my post was that I found it interesting that Chrome standalone applications -- meaning applications that are not browser extensions -- were synced from the Chromebook to Bodhi in addition to the standard Chrome user files (such as bookmarks, browser history, and so forth). Perhaps I should have written the thread's subject title to read "ChromeOS applications" instead of "Zoom" specifically. The reason I wrote Zoom in the subject header is because at the time that's the one application that stood out in my mind. There were many others, as I recall close to a dozen or so.
Anyways, as you pointed out engima9o7:
Running ChromeOS applications from another Linux distribution is noteworthy and is worth further investigation, hence why I was rambling about that notion in this thread. Who knows, perhaps someone might find this thread beneficial.
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Post by archaem on Dec 19, 2020 3:49:13 GMT
I recalled reading a comment about Chrome applications when I first read through the Bodhi eBook. I just took another look and there is a section from the eBook on Chrome application and Chromium. What I find strange about this scenario is that I've installed Chromium and Chrome on other machines, and I do not recall the ChromeOS standalone applications syncing. Of course, the browser extensions would sync, but not the Standalone applications. Nevertheless, I will share the excerpt from the Bodhi eBook below in case anyone is curious about ChromeOS applications working on Bodhi -- keeping in mind the distinction between what I've referred to as "standalone" applications and browser applications. I'm not sure if the proper term is "standalone" in this context. What I am referring to are the Chrome applications, available through the Chrome Web Store, that ran on Chrome OS independant of the Chrome Browser itself. It seems from the Bodhi eBook excerpt below, that the author was aware that applications from the Chrome Store synced on Chromium. However I don't notice a distinction in the excerpt below between applications as in "browser extensions" and applications as "standalone" applications. One of the examples of a "standalone" example I've noted above is "Cut the Rope", which is a game available from the Chrome OS Store and can be installed on Chrome OS as an application that seemd to initiate independant of the browser. Of course, as engime9o7 noted above, if the Chrome Browser synced the ChromeOS applications _and_ the Chrome Browser extenstions, they must be installed somewhere in Bodhi. Finally, while the author refers to Chromium and Chrome interchangably, if I recall correctly there are a slight differences. And one of the distinctions here might be the that Chrome -- and not Chromium -- is required to sync (or even install) Chrome Web Store "standalone" applications on Bodhi, as discussed in this thread thus far. About Chrome applications from pages 32-33 of the Bodhi eBook: "3.5 Google apps on Chromium" "Chromium is much more than just a browser, it provides access to many Chrome applications such as its calendar, photo editor, online office suite (Google Docs,Sheets, and Slides), and more. This is the basis of the popular chromebook computers: in essence, they just run Chrome plus its various apps." "Up to a few years ago it was possible for any computer running Chromium or Chrome to download these apps from the Chrome Web Store. This meant in effect that running Chromium was like using a chromebook, with icons for these apps populating the Chromium start page. I took advantage of this at the time and downloaded a number of apps that were relevant to me; now, whenever I install Chromium on a new system and synchronize with my Google account, all these apps appear on the new system, to give me a chromebook-like interface whenever I run Chromium." "Google has now restricted access to its Web Store to non-chromebook users, so that" although you can get themes and extensions from it you can no longer download apps. You can still run some of these apps within Chromium, but instead of being able to easily get them from the Store you have to access them via a search engine, though you can of course bookmark them so that they appear in your Bookmarks bar. For example, you can access Google Calender at https:// calendar.google.com , Google Photos (formerly Picasa) at photos.google.com, Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides at https:// doc s.google.com , and Google Drive at https:// drive .google.com . These apps are worth trying, and they have the big advantage that they are synchronized with the corresponding Google apps on Android smartphones and tablets. For example, my calendar which runs under Chromium on my Bodhi system is synchronized with Google Calendar on my smartphone." |
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Post by jollyroger on Dec 20, 2020 7:26:40 GMT
I'm the author of that book, and I still have this Chromebook-like start page when I run Chromium. All these Chrome apps are, as you say, desktop files, stored in ~/.local/share/applications, and they are automatically placed there when I install Chromium on a new machine and synchronize it to my account. These desktop files all point to a single text file in /usr/bin called chromium-browser. For example, here's the exec line from the Excel-Online desktop file: Exec=/usr/bin/chromium-browser --profile-directory=Default --app-id=iljnkagajgfdmfnnidjijobijlfjfgnb. All of these apps can instead be run from Chromium by simply bookmarking them. For example, I can run the Google Calendar app by bookmarking calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/r - this goes straight to my calendar. In the case of Zoom, you might be able to run it by bookmarking us04web.zoom.us/meeting#/upcoming. It's too late now to add Zoom or any other Chrome app to the Chromium start page, as Google removed access to the app section of their Chrome Web Store for non-chromebook users several years ago. |
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37bodie
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Learning Bodhi Linux (I hope)
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Post by 37bodie on Dec 21, 2020 3:45:29 GMT
For what it's worth, I use Zoom on Linux Mint, which is a .deb file I downloaded. Being a complete spoon when it comes to using Linux (most of the time I have no idea what I am doing), I have no idea if this works on Bodhi but based on Teams and Skype .deb files both working I would assume this has half a chance of running on Bodhi too. I am sure the more educated mods on here will correct me and apologies if I have added any confusion and delay into the discussion.
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Post by archaem on Dec 30, 2020 13:19:46 GMT
Hello jollyroger,
Thank you for creating the Bodhi eBook. I think your book is a valuable reference, especially considering it's not that common these days to find offline reference material for software. In response to your comment here:
"All these Chrome apps are, as you say, desktop files, stored in ~/.local/share/applications, and they are automatically placed there when I install Chromium on a new machine and synchronize it to my account."
Cheers for sharing the location of the ChromeOS applications on Bohdi! I assumed they were installed yet I wasn't aware of their precise location.
You know, now that I think about this topic more thoroughly, it seems somewhat intrusive for the Chrome Browser to install applications in this manner. I mean, if I recall correctly, these applications appeared shortly after the Chrome Browser was synced with Bodhi. Of course, the Chrome Browser was synced from a Chromebook (thus, ChromeOS) so this is an important qualification to consider. My point is that there was no notification that the Chrome Browser was syncing practically every application from ChromeOS to Bodhi. There was no option for the user to choose which items to sync or not. It just synced everything. I'm not sure, but this might indicate a security issue -- although not likely considering Google does a fairly decent job screening for security holes within their software ecosystem. Keep in mind here that I'm not arguing whether this scenario of syncing ChromeOS applications into Bodhi is good or bad, I'm simply puzzled by the observation that it seems the Chrome Browser -- when installed on Bodhi from an account that was synced on a Chromebook -- will attempt to sync ChromeOS "standalone" applications into Bodhi, as though it recognizes a similarity between Bodhi and ChromeOS.
Hello enigma 37bodie,
I don't know much about Zoom besides the one or two times I've seen it operate on other people's computers, so if I ever find myself using it (which I hope to avoid) I'll be sure to refer back to the points you and others have raised. And on the topic of Zoom specifically, the more I read through this thread, the more I lean towards thinking that perhaps I poorly labelled this thread and maybe a title such as, "ChomeOS Standalone Applications on Bodhi" would have been more appropriate.
Cheers again!
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enigma9o7
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Post by enigma9o7 on Dec 30, 2020 20:27:12 GMT
perhaps I poorly labelled this thread and maybe a title such as, "ChomeOS Standalone Applications on Bodhi" would have been more appropriate. I updated for you with moderator superpowers, although I think you could have edited yoursef too....
It sounds to me that chromium is creating .desktop files in user folder that point to web urls. Nothing that requires any special permission. And you must have signed into google for them to sync anything to your account.
Point is I dont think it installed anything besdes a few bytes of text files, just url shortcuts...or it could be using command line option --app with a url it'll open in a kiosk type mode without menus/etc for such apps that you want to have their own shortcut too. which bodhi automatically puts in the menu unless you tell it not to
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Post by archaem on Dec 31, 2020 21:35:13 GMT
Hello enigma9o7,
In response in your comment here: "I updated for you with moderator superpowers, although I think you could have edited yoursef too.... "
You are correct. I am able to modify the thread title by clicking on the "Edit" button in the top-right corner of the post. It's worth noting however, that at this moment I'm away from the Links2 Browser, which I often use to access this forum, hence why I did not pay attention to the "Edit" button.
And in response to this last part of your message: "It sounds to me that chromium is creating .desktop files in user folder that point to web urls. Nothing that requires any special permission. And you must have signed into google for them to sync anything to your account." Since this scenario occurred on someone else's computer, I do not have access to check into this matter further at this time. However, when a moment does arise, I'll most likely be looking into this topic with an inquisitive eye in order to verify as best I can whether the application shortcuts for ChromeOS standalone applications are just links to applications in the cloud (generally speaking), or whether they are installed on the machine.
If I remember correctly, these same applications were all installed on ChromeOS as "standalone" from the Chrome Browser. What I mean here, is that the applications could operate independently of the Chrome Browser and most importantly, they could operate *offline*. Since the applications can operate offline, I'm not sure how they can be links to cloud applications and I therefore assume they are "standalone" applications. So if these applications were not cloud applications while on ChromeOS, I'm puzzled as to why they would be now -- when synced with Bodhi -- anything different. Frankly, without looking into this topic further, I can merely assume these applications have been installed as "standalone" applications on Bodhi, similar to how they were on ChromeOS. Of course, the reason why they were installed is because the Chrome account that installed them on a Chromebook (ChromeOS) was then activated on Bodhi.
I'll most likely be looking into this topic further out of curiousity when an appropriate moment presents itself. In other words, when I have access to that other computer.
Cheers, and thank you for modifying the thread's title enigma9o7!
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enigma9o7
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Post by enigma9o7 on Jan 1, 2021 3:18:52 GMT
If the website is designed to allow running offline, it can run offline in a browser, and so I'd imagine those google chrome apps are like that.
For example, there are java based web games you play online once, then can play offline after that, the javascript code is downloaded into your browser cache. For example my young kids have tablets for road trips. I load the game once in a browser at home on wifi. They can play them in the car while driving, no internet, still works in browser. It uses the cached version when you are offline and appears to be working just like normal, as long as webpage/game made to support that.
You can also set a desktop browser to offline mode (when you have an internet connection) to test pages to see if they work that way (if its not obvious they wont), in firefox its Menu --> Web Developer --> Work Offline or Alt+f k; if it works, you can use that page as a "web app".
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