“A few months ago we announced Chrome Apps which bring the best of productivity, games and more to your desktop. Starting today, you can access these apps on any computer with Chrome, including Mac. Check them out in the ‘For your desktop’ collection in the Chrome Web Store,” Trent Apted and Jack Hou, self-professed “Mac devotees,” blog for Google.
“Chrome Apps work offline, update automatically and sync to any computer where you’re signed into Chrome, so you can pick up where you left off. Your Chrome Apps on Mac behave and feel just like native software. For example, you can find your Chrome Apps in the Applications folder on the Dock. Search for apps by name in the Spotlight search — just like any other Mac program that you already use,” Apted and Hou blog. “To make it even faster to find and launch your favorite Chrome Apps, we’re also releasing the Chrome App Launcher for Mac. Just download a new Chrome App and you’ll see the Chrome App Launcher in your Dock.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: You know, Google, we’d be much more amenable to giving your stuff a try if you hadn’t ripped off Apple’s iPhone.
So, we’ll pass. Thanks, but no thanks.
Mdn’s take. Exactly what I was thinking. Hard to open up to their ecosystem. I only use their one original product… Search… well, and YouTube.
Don’t use seach, but reluctantly use You Tube, not much choice.
well, there’s Vimeo that works properly about a quarter of the time.
As a search alternative, Yahoo and DuckDuckGo are decent, if not quite as comprehensive.
And then there’s Sketchup, which is way too powerful to be entrusted to Google. Apple should acquire that app ASAP.
I think “no thank you” is in order. I don’t want my hard rive being mined for their “ad” sales.
It’s worse than that. Yesterday, using Terminal, I found and disabled something called Google Software Update.app deep inside my Mac. It installed itself there when I installed Google Earth a while back. I was wondering why my system would randomly slow down and why there were constantly packets going out to Google servers. It seems that Google Software Update.app runs as a service on your Mac at all times, maintaining a connection to remote Google servers looking for app updates and sending data to Google regularly.
“Chrome Apps work offline, update automatically and sync to any computer where you’re signed into Chrome…[or any other Google app].
What’s worse is Google Software Update.app, if removed, reinstalls itself any time you install a Google app without notification. It also installs any updates to your Google apps that it finds without notification, at least in OS X prior to Mavericks. That’s how I found it. Under Mavericks the Google Software Update.app is sandboxed and has to ask permission to take over your machine. I got a popup window with Google Software Update.app asking to take control of my Mac. I denied the request and then immediately started investigating. I uninstalled every Google app, new or old that still lingered on my Mac. Then I looked for instructions on how to remove Google Software Update.app and prevent it from reinstalling. A little Terminal magic and it is now gone permanently.
Google’s heavy handed tactics wore thin with me long ago, but this was the last straw. Keeping an open connection to Google’s software update servers is an incredibly insecure and dangerous situation. Imagine the damage done if those remote servers are ever breached with malicious software. I’m done with Google for good.
Here’s where you can find the main Google bad guys that install into OS X:
/Library/Launch Agents/com.google.keystone.agent.plist
~/Library/Google/GoogleSoftwareUpdate/
Dumping this stuff then restarting your Mac will stop Google running crap in the background of your Mac. But removing them will also hobble the Google Earth application, etc.
I remember that crap regarding Google Earth. Back when I installed it, I did some hack I found online to prevent the extra stuff from being added. Can’t remember the details, though.
——RM
Actually, if you empty the “/Library/Google/GoogleSoftwareUpdate/” directory, but leave it in place, then chown it to “root” and make it “read only” for everyone else, then the service/app can’t re-install itself.
Google has no choice but to give away their “stuff” for free, because no one in their right mind will pay for any of them.
Thanks, but no thanks.
None of that crap for my Macs.
Thanks but no thanks. Please take this refuse and dispose of it on your way out.
Don’t be scroogled like SJ was by Erica!
I see a new security hole being opened up.
MDN take – My thoughts exactly. I suppose it’s a pity – Google does do good things but some of their methods are less than admirable.
I don’t hate Google per se. I mean if I find there’s utility in using Google products, eg. Gmail, search, YouTube, then I will use them. But outside those products I mentioned, I don’t use Google at all.
I don’t use a Chrome browser because I find Safari is superior in every respect not to mention having the ability to sync bookmarks across all of my devices. Safari is my default and Firefox is my alternate. Tried Chrome, didn’t like it at all.
Though I use Safari 99% of the time, I use Chrome for one reason only: the built-in Flash player, when there’s no other choice.
My Mac is otherwise Flash-free.
Trust is important and Google isn’t a trustworthy company.
There was the matter of Schmidt sitting on Apple’s board while secretly developing a rival operating system for phones.
Then there was Google ‘accidentally’ harvesting WiFi details as their camera cars toured neighbourhoods.
More recently we have started to hear insights into how much Google has secretly co-operated with the NSA.
There is a very clear pattern here and any sensible person would be wise to minimise their involvement with Google.
Not to mention Google’s intentional bypassing of Safari security to gather user information. I am sure there are many other examples of Google’s “Do More Evil” mindset.
Google: Found guilty of bypassing Safari cookie security 2011-2012. Google to pay $17 and $22.5 million in fines.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/11/18/google-to-pay-17m-settlement-for-bypassing-apples-safari-security-settings
http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/08/09/google_agrees_to_pay_largest_fine_in_ftc_history_for_bypassing_safari_privacy_settings
And of course Google is only willing to pay up if they are allowed “denial of the substantive allegations in the Commission’s civil penalty complaint” etc. That’s evil.
Nothing from the Evil Empire on my Mac. Not even search.
I hate google.
No F’kin thanks.
i only use Safari in my macbook and iOS devices so this google chrome crap is irrelevant to me, as some one says a back door entry for security issues and there is no way google apps can match the richness of apples App Store. so no thanks from me also
My Macs have been MS-free since my first one, twenty years ago; likewise for iOS since I started using that. Apart from YouTube and occasionally switching to their Search, it’s the same story with Google. It’s same with everyone else in my family.
So I’m no more tempted by their crappy apps than I would to buy anything from Scamdung.
I’d rather dig my spleen out with a stick, thanks.
I was going to suggest that google a long run off a short pier but I do believe the ol’ spleen dig smoked me. Love it.
It’s like death by a thousand ads.
No thanks… glassholes !
Go Apple.
No thank you, Giggles, I really do not want you inside my iMac, who knows what info you will take …..
This is the cyber equivalent of a guy with a greasy and long haired demeanor pulling up in a cargo can with no windows and asking little kids if they’d like some candy. We need to be educating our youth to be aware stranger dangers in the corporate world.