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Droplet Is Legit – Windows Apps On Chromebooks Coming Soon

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by Robby Payne
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About a week ago, we dropped a story about a little-known entity called Droplet Computing.

Up until that article, most people had never heard of this company or the wild things they are planning. I have to admit, while researching for the article, I had my doubts about whether or not Droplet and the initiative they are driving would ever actually see the light of day.

A funny thing happened after that article was published. We had a lengthy Hangout chat with some of the team and got some detail about not only the legitimacy of the company, but how it plans on changing one of the largest pain-points of computing: app delivery.

Your App on Your Device

The mission of Droplet, after talking with these fine folks, seems very clear. They want to free applications from their respective OS and hardware. Want to run a Windows app on a Chromebook? Android app on Windows? Android app on an iPhone?

All possible with what Droplet calls their container. That’s where the magic is, really.

When we posted about Droplet last week, the comments were all over the place. Things like “repackaged WINE” and “Looks identical to Crossover” were thrown around, along with some even saying it may be a scam or vaporware.

I can confidently tell you it is none of those things.

Keep in mind, one of the services some are claiming this is cloning or using is Codeweavers. Here’s a direct quote from Codeweavers CEO James Ramey:

It’s quite remarkable to think of how this could shape computing for the years to come.

As the guys at Droplet said, all these other emulators and VMs are pieces of the puzzle. Droplet is bringing those pieces together.

Much of what we discussed I cannot share yet, but I wanted to share that Droplet is fully legit and it is coming at the latest by the end of 2017.

And yes, Google is in the loop on this. Droplet wanted to fly under the radar for just a bit longer, but we seem to have spoiled that a bit.

Over My Head

The ins and outs of what Droplet shared with us was over my head in many ways, but what they say on their site is, in fact, exactly what they are working towards and showed us. A container that can support different OSs and their applications for delivery on another OS.

And through a browser tab in Chrome. WHAT?!??

It is crazy and mind-bending, but we’ve seen it in action and it is pretty amazing stuff.

We should start seeing a public beta within a month or so, and when it shows up, there will be plenty of testing, videos and stories from Chrome Unboxed all about it.

For now, though, we just wanted everyone to know what Droplet isn’t. More importantly though, we wanted you to know what they are, what they are up to, and that we are in for something pretty special and unique. As before, you can keep up with them over at Droplet’s Website.

/// UPDATE ///
The folks over at Droplet have reached out and told us they are in the process of upgrading their server for their website. If you are getting errors on the site, please reach out to info@dropletcom.com to sign up for the Public Beta.

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  • compwagon

    I’m really glad to hear that this is making progress and is not vaporware, but in some ways it seems like they are also not being forthcoming. Unless they have figured out what would be almost the holy grail of computing (which is not entirely impossible), it almost *has* to include an emulator or a VM. Linux just can’t “speak” (execute) Windows desktop apps (though this may be less true for Windows Store apps in the future).

    As an example, if a Windows app calls DirectX with a function to draw a line on the screen, then either a) the intermediary software is running Windows internally, in which case Windows just accesses DirectX and uses it to draw that line (in other words, a VM — notably, these also get called OS “containers” at times); or b) the software doesn’t have DirectX, but is able to recognize the intent of the request and draws the requested line (in other words, it emulates the behavior of DirectX).

    To use an analogy, if someone is speaking Mandarin to you, then there are really only three ways you can understand them — by speaking Mandarin yourself (like a VM), by having someone translate it into a language you can understand (like an emulator), or by getting them to switch to a common language (like what may happen in the future with Windows Store apps — search for Xamarin, now owned by MS, for more details).

    • ChrisGX

      You have presented a very surefooted statement readily grasped by non-experts on the technical options of getting Windows apps running on Chrome OS. And, you are right, excluding the possibility that this is just a veiled version of Xamarin, it is almost unthinkable that Droplet wouldn’t rely on some sort of emulation or virtualization or a combination of the two.

  • White_Pointer

    This begs the question though – if you REALLY want/need to run Windows apps, why not just buy a Windows machine and save yourself the headache?

    • compwagon

      Because there isn’t an especially great way to emulate Android apps on Windows, either. And ChromeOS is much more lightweight, which improves both performance and battery life on the same hardware.

    • Skeptic Spartan

      Because windows sucks. This would be great on the occasion you need a windows only app.

      And only until windows dies and goes away.

      Android/Chrome OS rules.

      • White_Pointer

        Pure opinion.

        There’s no doubt at all that Windows is far more flexible than ChromeOS is. ChromeOS is more secure and streamlined, sure, but that comes at a cost to flexibility. Both OS’s have their strengths and weaknesses. With the exception of Android apps, which still isn’t fully rolled out, everything you can do on a Chromebook can also be done on Windows, however it’s not the same the other way around.

        Chromebooks are great, don’t get me wrong, and they are getting even better as Android app support becomes more widespread, but if you’re really THAT invested in Windows applications that you absolutely need something like this, save yourself the trouble and purchase a Windows machine. You can get pretty decent ones at the price the Asus C302 and Samsung Pro are going for.

        • ChrisGX

          Well “flexible” is a rather flexible term. Certainly, you are right that it is a great convenience to either have a Windows desktop on hand (in a world in which Windows is by far the most widespread desktop OS) or to be able to emulate it. But you can get by very well without the Windows desktop. Today, in my personal computer usage, I only use Chrome OS and Android and I haven’t suffered any separation pain. The old Windows PC sits there unused. My Chromebook, in particular, is simply faster and free of clutter which makes it a joy to use in comparison with Windows.

          Of course there are applications used in a corporate or business context that neither run on Chrome OS or Android nor have any close equivalents in circulation and the notable thing about these apps is almost no one requires them for personal use. There is still a handful of apps that average users of Chrome OS and Android may feel aggrieved at not having access to or at having been stiffed with second class variants of the app(s), e.g. Adobe apps, but these apps might not run on the Droplet Computing platform either so Droplet may not represent any sort of advantage. Droplet still may be lacking a compelling rationale. Convenient, yes, essential, probably not!

          • White_Pointer

            If you’re a gamer you’re pretty much running Windows. While Steam does run on Linux and Mac now the selection of games available is still extremely limited compared to Windows. Also OS’s like Android, ChromeOS and MacOS are built to run on specific hardware whereas Windows is built to run on almost anything – so if you have a somewhat usual hardware setup then Windows is often the best option too. You can also install whatever you want on Windows – need a specific application? Quick Google, download, install, done. There’s plenty of situations where that’s simply not possible on other operating systems.

            I can see there’s a huge benefit to Android apps on Chromebooks but I don’t really see a huge benefit for something like this honestly. I’d question the performance of the Windows applications as well as the physical drive space they use – unless droplet can allow these applications to launch from an SD card then actual practical options are going to be very limited. I’m looking to get a Chromebook sometime this year probably, but there’s no chance I’m giving up my Windows desktop.

          • ChrisGX

            Although it is a platitude to say it, if a computer user finds a system useful or a good tool for the job then using that tool makes sense. People will judge for themselves which systems and tools are best suited to their objectives.

            Something worth mentioning in connection to Chrome OS is that it is already evolving into a family of systems. Google already builds its Container-Optimised OS (COS) from the Chrome OS codebase (i.e. ChromiumOS-4.4) and COS, unlike Chrome OS, is meant to run on “almost anything” out there. Holding back from developing Chrome OS into a full strength Linux distribution is an entirely strategic decision on Google’s part and it is a decision that could easily change. It would not be hard to imagine COS developments making their way back into Chrome OS over time.

  • Nicholas Conrad

    I’d rather have a good VDI solution. Running bloated Windows apps, or heaven forbid a whole VM and virtualized Windows instance and then bloated Windows apps defeats the purpose of a CB.

  • Skeptic Spartan

    Google buy these out and incorporate in Chromebooks.

  • Kal-El

    Chrome Unboxed is BEAST! I emailed them for getting me signed up with their Public Beta. Thank you, Robby.

  • White_Pointer

    I get it. You don’t like Windows. But it’s not going anywhere and wishing it will is both not realistic and also a bit childish. If you want more specific reasons to run Windows look at my reply to ChrisG above.

  • ChrisGX

    Droplet Computing is purportedly neither based on remote access to applications executing elsewhere nor emulation nor VM based tech. At the end of the day, there are only so many alternatives! About the only approach not on the list of already ruled out technologies is a portable runtime based platform akin to C#/.Net/Xamarin but Droplet’s description of their product doesn’t really suggest that. Also, it is worth noting that for a “container” (a term the developers of Droplet Computing seem to be freely casting around) to be useful it has to contain something useful, in the first place.

    The pitch for Droplet Computing strikes a note similar to that of Codeweavers Crossover (i.e. WINE) so it is natural to assume that this is what Droplet is under the skin. But is there more to Droplet Computing than this? There may well be. There is that unexplained reference to “Layer-X Technology” that presumably would be involved in getting Windows app UI elements working in the browser.

    But there may be still more than this to the Droplet puzzle. One of the key people involved with AppUX Ltd (incorporated in the UK and trading as Droplet Computing) is Fabian Hemmer also known as “copy” who leads the open source v86 project on GitHub which is described as “x86 virtualization in JavaScript, running in your browser and NodeJS”. (n.b. Issues 20, 24 and 122 on the v86 issues list in GitHub are worth a close look). v86 could conceivably serve to a) get WINE working in the browser and perhaps might even b) help to extend WINE’s reach to ARM based devices.

    Indeed, it is not only WINE that v86 can support. A range of operating systems can supposedly boot from a v86 environment. (Search for “v86 emulator” on Google and follow the first link for a full list of OSes that Hemmer claims will successfully boot from a v86 environment.) At least one of the operating systems on that list – ReactOS, which is the first OS listed on the mentioned web page – aspires to be a full drop-in replacement for Windows one day (though it only exists in Alpha today). Maybe, although this is pure speculation, the virtualisation of ReactOS on Chrome OS is Droplet Computing’s long game while getting the WINE emulator running today serves to get the ball rolling.

    Note: An earlier version of this comment ended up in moderation jail due to a URL link in the text. The counter tells me I posted the comment 7 days ago. That is too much.

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