The new Chrome App Launcher: Google's Backdoor Into the Offline World

Posted: July 19, 2013

[caption id="attachment_11445" align="alignright" width="579"]Image from www.pcworld.com[/caption]For Windows 8 users, they may feel a little lost without a start button on the taskbar. Well, for Chrome users who also use Windows 8, their start button has returned...somewhat. Google Chrome has come up with an app launcher, their version of a Start button.

On Friday, Google gave Windows users something that they’ve been pining for: A Start button. And even better than that, Google’s version keeps you on the desktop and actually opens a pop-up menu full of programs, unlike the nerfed Start button that’s slated to appear in the Windows 8.1 update.

No, Larry Page hasn’t decided to jump into the crowded Windows Start button replacement arena. Instead, Google’s engineers quietly dragged Chrome OS’s App Launcher—the Googlefied equivalent of a Start button—over to Chrome for Windows today. The seemingly simple addition is a major step in Google’s push to bring Web standards to walled gardens.

Big things in little packages

The Chrome App Launcher is exactly what you’d expect: A taskbar icon that lets you quick-launch Chrome browser apps, such as Gmail, the Play Store, Angry Birds, and yep, even Chrome itself. Simple, right? But the little launcher is a Trojan horse for much bigger ambitions—especially when paired with packaged Chrome apps.

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