Google Chrome apps are an alternative to Windows or Mac applications. The Google Chrome browser is now an app platform which includes the App Launcher; you can download, install, and run fully functional and featured Chrome apps from the App Launcher. Now there is a way for you to add those Chrome apps to the Mac or Windows desktop. Read on to learn more.
Mac OX 10.5 used to support Chrome but not anymore. Finding Google Chrome for Mac is not a problem. You can easily find it on Google's website. It's available for free. Having Chrome for Mac operating system can be a good choice but as it does not support OS X 10.5 anymore, you will need to get hold of some alternatives too. Install Chrome on Mac Download the installation file. Open the file called 'googlechrome.dmg'. In the window that opens, find Chrome. On a Mac, just hold down the option key when booting up and you'll be given a choice of which device to use to boot your Mac. Here's how to run Chrome OS from a USB stick via CloudReady: Select a computer that you want to use with CloudReady. If you have a 64-bit machine, click on Download Chrome for another platform and select Windows 10/8.1/8/7 64-bit. In most of the cases, the download link is shown according to the machine because the system detects it automatically.
Chrome App Launcher is an extension for Google Chrome that gives you quicker access to your Chrome apps. It adds an App Launcher to the Windows taskbar and Mac doc from where you can open your apps. The key point here is, you need Chrome installed to use Chrome App Launcher but you need not run Chrome every time you want to use those apps. In other words, the apps can be used without opening Chrome itself.
To get Chrome App Launcher, open the Chrome App Launcher page, and click the download option. Then it will appear on your Windows desktop taskbar, or the Mac OS X dock. Click the grid icon to open the App Launcher as in the shot below.
With this App Launcher you can your launch Chrome Web apps, and also input Google search keywords into the search box. The apps that have a shortcut icon overlaying their icon are glorified shortcuts to websites, but those without the shortcut icons are more genuine apps. You can open the apps from the launcher, or the Chrome Apps subfolder on the Start menu.
To add more Chrome Apps to the launcher, check out the For Your Desktop page. This page includes apps that run outside your browser. Click on an app thumbnail to open an expanded page. Then click on the + Free option and Add to confirm the new app. Then it should be included in the desktop App Launcher.
Click the option at the top right of the desktop App Launcher to open settings. Then select Show advanced settings to open a few more options. There aren’t really that many options included there, but you can set up alternative folder locations for the apps.
If Chrome apps become a more comprehensive application platform the Chrome App Launcher could be a great addition to Windows or Mac OS X. For now, it gives desktop shortcuts for numerous Chrome apps that aren’t much more than glorified links to Google websites.
Do you have an old computer that can barely keep up with Windows? If you o, you can breathe a new life into it if you install Chrome OS. Being based around and on just the Chrome browser, it is light-weight compared to Windows. You won’t be able to do everything that you could on a Windows machine but at least your computer can do most other things. You can still watch videos, play music, browse the web, edit pictures, and game a bit. Just don’t expect any AAA titles to run on your machine. Now, we know Google does not release an official Chrome OS build for other devices. That means anyone interested will have to rely on unofficial Chromium OS builds, also not by Google. One of the best ways to install Chrome OS or Chromium OS on a laptop is Cloudready.
Cloudready is basically Chromium OS with a few additional management features and mainstream hardware support. Neverware sells Cloudready to businesses and schools that want to run Chrome OS on existing hardware. For home users, Cloudready is completely free. For me, something being free is reason enough to get it but here’s why you should consider it too. Older PCs, especially those from the time of Windows XP can get a new life with a light-weight browser-based OS such as Chromium OS. Instead of running a full-on operating system like Windows, the old hardware only has to run a browser.
Create Chrome OS installer on USB
Creating the installer used to be a simple process as it was. Neverware though has now made it as simple as it possibly could be. All you have to do is head over to the official website and navigate to the Cloudready Home Edition page. Scroll down and click on DOWNLOAD USB MAKER. Once downloaded, insert your USB drive and run the USB maker. Keep in mind that the USB maker will first download the entire OS and then write it to the USB disk. You can also refer to my dedicated guide on running Chrome OS from a USB drive.
![Download google chrome for windows on mac Download google chrome for windows on mac](/uploads/1/2/6/6/126689194/764406670.jpg)
- As will be mentioned on the first page of the USB maker, you will need at least an 8GB or 16GB USB drive to install Cloudready on it. Insert the disk and click Next.
- Select the CPU architecture of your PC. If you really have a PC that came with Windows XP, chances are it is based on the 32-bit architecture. Even if you install a 32-bit version on 64-bit hardware, technically it should work. The only problem would be that your system won’t be able to use more than 4GB of RAM.
- Click Next when you’ve selected the right architecture and then click Next again on the next page. If you haven’t inserted a USB drive yet you won’t be able to click Next here.
- Select your USB drive and click Next again. The installer will now start downloading Cloudready. Immediately after the download is complete, it will start to install it on your drive.
- This process can take a while even if you have relatively good internet speeds.
Install ChromeOS on your laptop
Now that you have a bootable Chrome OS USB drive, shut down your PC, insert the USB drive and boot your PC with the USB drive. Make sure you have enabled the necessary requirements in the BIOS to be able to boot from a USB. If you are able to boot from the USB drive, you will see a bright white screen with the Cloudready logo. After this, you will be asked to log in with your Google ID. You can log in and try out Cloudready or Chromium OS first before installing it. In my experience though, logging in seems to do something, that I can’t exactly point out. The end result for me has always been that the installation gets stuck.
- Regardless of your choice about logging in, click on the bottom right corner of the Shelf (taskbar on Chrome OS) and select Install Cloudready…
- On the Window that opens up, select INSTALL CLOUD READY again, and then ERASE HARD DISK AND INSTALL CLOUDREADY. Needless to say, this will erase your entire hard disk and install CloudReady/Chromium OS + benefits on your PC.
- This process is really long and all you’ll see is an animation that does not give you any idea whether things are moving forward. It can be frustrating to wait so you should probably go out for a walk or something.
Get Chrome For Mac
When it is complete though, you can reboot your system and pull out the USB Drive. You should see the Cloudready logo on a bright white background when your computer boots up. Now that you have installed Chrome OS on your old laptop or computer, you should also try these must-have apps for Chrome OS.
Download Chrome For Mac Pro
Read Next: How to Create a Bootable USB on Chromebooks