Consumers want to click a button to open an App Store and install applications with a single click. Until that day comes, I want to assist users in making the most of their Chromebooks and Linux applications bring a lot to the table.
No, I am not a Linux wizard. That said, I have discovered another method in which you can add a clean, quite handy Linux App Store to your Chromebook that will allow you to find and install new applications with a single click.
The environment, KDE, comes with a pre-packaged software center named Discover. You can search by name or filter by application type and sort your results by name, rating, size or release date. You can find those simple steps here. Other times, apps that are distributed on the Play Store roll out updates progressively, so when it comes to playing with the latest cutting-edge features you might read about in our coverage, you may not have access to them yet.
We're all beholden to the slow Play Store roll-out. Lastly, sometimes updates aren't always for the better, and APKMirror can provide a way to roll back to previous versions of an app in the event you run into an issue. Whatever your motivation and there are plenty , if you've resolved to get an app elsewhere, you can probably get it at APKMirror. And, it's also the safest choice. While Google might be responsible for the ads you see at APKMirror, we've done our best to make a good quality, easily navigated repository of Android applications.
It might take you a minute to learn to navigate things like the different APK versions based on hardware platform or "DPI," but it's generally straightforward to get what you need. The apps that you download from APKMirror are unmolested and securely signed by their developers.
We make sure that all APK cryptographic signatures are verified to match the originals either previous updates or versions distributed on the Play Store , and we match new applications to known signatures from developers. In the event we can't verify an app's signature, APKMirror won't have it. For the non-technically minded, that all means we're as sure as we can be that the apps we're distributing are safe. Three, there is absolutely zero pirated content on APKMirror. While you might be able to get around geographic restrictions or censorship, APKMirror doesn't provide "cracked" or pirated versions of apps though we do host some modified apps, like Google apps tweaked to work with more devices.
Android Police and APKMirror are here to help developers, not make their lives harder or take away their ability to earn a living. Connecting with our previous point regarding safety and security, many apps modified to provide paid or premium features for free also have malware or spyware hiding inside them, which you don't want. Lastly, even if you disagree with these arguments on the premise that we have a vested interest in promoting our own services, other impartial sources also trust APKMirror.
Ostensibly a senior editor, in reality just some verbose dude who digs on tech, loves Android, and hates anticompetitive practices.
His only regret is that he didn't buy a Nokia N9 in Email tips or corrections to ryne at androidpolice dot com. How to download and install apps from APKMirror Disclosure: APK Mirror is owned and operated by Illogical Robot, LLC, which also owns and operates Android Police If you're the sort of person that prefers video instructions, we've put together a quick six-minute walkthrough on the process that you can watch just below.
Image Gallery 1 Images. Simply put, if you are a photographer and want to enhance the look of your photos then just go with Adobe Lightroom on your Chromebook. It supports both mouse and touch-screen controls so you can delve deeper and edit your images in great detail. Install: Adobe Lightroom Free , Offers in-app purchases. While Chrome OS is not designed to handle resource-intensive tasks, there are a few ways you can push your machine to the brink.
The app layout is optimized for full-screen use so there is a timeline track, controls on the left window and your video output on the center. All in all, if you want to do video editing on your Chromebook, PowerDirector is a great app to use. Install: PowerDirector Free , Offers in-app purchases Squid Squid is my personal favorite in this list and one of the best Chrome OS apps. You can scribble your notes with a stylus just like you would on paper.
Further, you can import images, scribble over it, markup PDFs and more. The best part about this app is that the company has partnered with Google to bring down low-ink latency on select Chromebooks. It will make you feel like you writing on a solid paper. So if you were looking for a note-taking app that is heavily optimized for Chrome OS then Squid is the best app, bar none.
Install: Squid Free , Offers in-app purchases Snapseed For users who like Snapseed on their smartphone, well, you can use it on Chromebook as well with equally great control and features. Google has ensured to bring this popular app on Chrome OS with support for the big screen and mouse controls. Not to mention, you can also adjust the image using the touch screen too.
And I say, editing on a big screen with touch-screen controls is much better than using mouse and keyboard combination. Anyway, if you are looking for a simple photo-editing app, you can definitely go with Snapseed. Also, if you are new to Snapseed check out our Snapseed tips and tricks article to master the apps. Install: Snapseed Free Solid Explorer Solid Explorer does not need any introduction, but if you looking for an alternative file explorer on Chrome OS then Solid Explorer is the one you should pick.
To be frank, the native file manager on Chrome OS is very limited and does not have multi-window dragging and other essential features. In that case, you can use Solid Explorer as it offers a two-pane window and you can access all kinds of details of a file or folder. Apart from that, I like how Solid Explorer organizes my files and also allows me to clean up my internal storage periodically. Simply put, if you want an alternative file manager then Solid Explorer is one of the best Chrome OS apps.
Install: Solid Explorer Free , Offers in-app purchases The app is designed in such a way that all your focus remains on writing alone. Not to mention, there is dark mode, dictation, focus mode, and more. Install: iA Writer Free , Offers in-app purchases. It offers a free plan at a slightly reduced speed and in limited regions.
I would say instead of relying on dubious Proxy extensions on Chrome, installing a proper VPN is the best way to stop your data leakage. Apart from that, Proton VPN worked perfectly fine in our testing. You can use this app on your Chromebook for reading eBooks in tablet or tent mode.
But that is not all, despite being completely free, the app does not show any ads while reading books or documents. Simply put, if you are a voracious reader and want to make your Chromebook a Kindle alternative then ReadEra is the stepping stone you were looking for.
Extensions are also equally popular in the Chrome ecosystem. So, in this article, I am going to share some of the best Chrome OS extensions that can enhance your experience even better. Text In case you are wondering about the lack of a Text editor like Notepad on Windows on Chrome OS , well Google has recently developed an extension for that. As the name suggests, Text is a simple text editor where you can write anything you want. The extension for Text files is also TXT which is the same as Notepad so all your Text files can be used on other systems as well.
Surprisingly, Google has baked in dark mode too on this text editor. So, just install Text on your Chromebook and give it a go. Check Out Text Nimbus Screenshot Screenshot feature has almost become a necessity on every system — be it a smartphone or a desktop computer. While Chrome OS does have native support for screenshots , you can get a third-party extension if you are looking for versatile features. Nimbus is a pretty solid app and offers plenty of options from partial to window screenshots.
You can further crop and annotate the images as well. Apart from that, if you want an extension solely for annotation purposes then Awesome Screenshot extensions is another great choice.
It offers you to create boxes, blur certain parts of the image, highlight sections, and more. Screencastify Screencastify is one of the powerful apps for Chrome OS as it allows you to record your screen with your voice and webcam support. This extension can help you record tutorials in case you are an educator. While the app is quite good, it puts a watermark if you are recording for more than 5 minutes. To remove the watermark, you will have to subscribe to a premium plan.
In that case, you can use RecordRTC as an alternative. So, depending on your use-case, you can go for either extension. Kami Kami is a complete package in the form of a Chrome extension. You can import any PDF, image, document; annotate on it and then describe everything using the webcam. It helps you create videos on the go as the company has partnered with Google Classroom for seamless creation and syncing with Google Drive.
This includes a variety of apps built using Electron , which uses the Chromium browser engine—the same browser engine Google Chrome is built on top of.
These apps often access the web, and do it using the same browser engine Chrome uses. In fact, Microsoft actually created a tool that will convert Electron apps to Windows Store apps, keeping the Chromium browser engine in place. According to Store policy Microsoft can cite its policies, but they created those policies and they can change them whenever they want.
Google Chrome has an excellent security record, and Microsoft allows that browser engine into the Store via Electron, anyway. Worse yet, banning Chrome from the Store means that Windows users will have to install the application from the web, putting more inexperienced users at greater risk of downloading malware. Microsoft just wants to push Microsoft Edge and its own services. Chrome users want Chromecast support, they want extensions, they want new web features—they want the full Chrome browser.
Windows 10 is for powerful PCs, not locked down smartphones and tablets. Even after the failure of Windows 8, Microsoft is still trying to turn Windows into a more limited mobile environment.
While the Store was previously just a restricted place where you could get sandboxed universal applications, it now provides powerful desktop apps that can do all kinds of things, thanks to the new Desktop App Converter. You can always download it from outside the Store. Microsoft has to be happy about that. Either way, Microsoft wins, and you lose. Browse All iPhone Articles Browse All Mac Articles Do I need one?
Browse All Android Articles Browse All Smart Home Articles
0コメント