This not being an official release from Google, using this is potentially worse than giving someone your Google password without fully vetting it. There are some existing safeguards in place to make a password alone difficult to use, but the app itself would have signed in access to your account and the contents of files. You may think it's simple to watch the app for bad behavior and decide it's safe, but you wouldn't be thinking deviously enough.
Nothing against the developer as they may be trustworthy and honest, but don't make the mistake of assuming that someone bold enough to put out something that requires that much trust must by extension be worth trusting. People too often do.
It's a cool concept in theory -- I'd always thought I'd like using it.
But in practice, I realize I'm addicted to tabs. When working on 3 documents at once, I want them in separate tabs in the same window -- not 3 different windows.
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I'm actually at the point where I want things to go in the opposite direction -- just turn all my apps into tabs. (Like Chromebooks, I guess.)
Finder? VLC? Word? Preview? Spotify? Photoshop? My code editor? I just want them (or each document in them) as tabs next to other webpages and/or each other. (For Photoshop and code, I'll probably organize my own window/space for them, but still open up webpages next to my images/code.)
Having tabs and a dock feels redundant in 2020, like two competing paradigms that just need to be refactored into one by now.
For a while, Windows 10 Insider had a feature called Sets[1], which was exactly what you're describing on a system-wide level; it looked like such a boon to personal productivity.
PWAs are neat, but have no multi-tab feature that I know of. I put in a feature request trying to inspire the Brave dev team to make some really neat PWA stuff. They can literally do anything they want as long as the future spec doesn't conflict. Super jealous of how fun it would be able to reinvent the web with total freedom.
View/modify PWA manifest on web-app/shortcut export
I saw something similar on Hackernews a while back that allowed you to group apps together so you could switching seemingly between workflows. So instead of a dock where you group windows by app, you group them by context.
Now I'm starting to think how feasible it would be to embed other desktop apps that people have installed into an electron window or something.
As a fan of the Google Play desktop app, these Electron wrappers around Google apps are really flaky and hard to maintain. Google is motivated to break these implementations since they live outside of their direct web ecosystem, and when they break it always takes some time to recover since it's open-source. So you end up still using the browser solution.
What's additionally weird is that you can pull your tabs apart into separate windows to replicate this exact behavior. It's hard to justify why I need an exclusive browser just for one app. For Play it's justified because of tighter integrations with the OS playback keys that the browsers historically have been flaky with, especially when you're using other apps.
Another alternative on Windows is to create a separate chrome profile and then create a desktop shortcut to that profile. Set the default page to be your drive in that profile
Here's an example shortcut
"C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --profile-directory="Profile 2"
I think you're going to need a unique name for the app. Google and Google Drive are protected trademarks, so they wont let you use those. You're allowed to list the compatibility, but you have to make it crystal clear that this is an unofficial client.
"Backup and Sync" still misses features like Files On-Demand/Smart Sync available in OneDrive/Dropbox and deleting files online pollutes the local trash/recycle bin on macOS/Window computers.
"Drive File Stream" actually has these lazily loaded file placeholders, but it is treated like an additionally mounted volume instead of a local folder somewhere on my local disks. It also managed to occupy over 60 GiB RAM for over a week during its initial sync which had lots of small files created by Arq Backup.
It seems like 'unlimited' cloud storage is foremostly limited by the performance characteristics of their sync clients.
I switched to Google Drive a while back because I really wanted better photo storage and Dropbox killed that off a while back, plus the Google One account is pretty nice. But I had no idea that Google would be so horrible at syncing files. It's really amazing how poor it is compared to Dropbox.
I guess I just don't get how this is different / better than making a desktop chrome shortcut that opens into a new window? It gives the appearance of running as an independent app.
Performance will be similar to using Google Docs on Chrome. Memory usage will be probably worse since you are running another engine besides your browser.
Is it just for the convenience of not having to type the URL on your browser?
I'm guessing it's for people that want the Google products to be their main desktop office suite. Haven't looked into it, but maybe it can open .docx files etc. directly as the default app for it?
What's the difference between using this and clicking on the new "Install" button in the URL bar? I have all of my Google apps available as system apps either using that button or using "More tools -> Create shortcut", which is probably one of the best hidden gems of Chrome (yes, even Gmail can run as a separate app and supports offline mode).
> Want a Microsoft Word-esque experience for your Google Drive? Or simply looking to separate Google Drive from the other bajillion tabs that you opened for your research paper? Look no further!
Well first of all, I'd pretty much rather have a shortcut that can be opened in any browser I'd want to use, than to download another copy of Chrome dedicated to running the Google Drive web app as its own 'app' using Electron.
Secondly, Chrome supports grouped tabs which allows you to organise your tabs anyway which sounds great over having 3 - 4 separate Electron apps trying to behave like MS Office (Just don't).
And last but not least, Unlike MS Office, this requires a persistent internet connection to function. So if your internet is down, your wonderful Google Drive electron app will look like this: [0]
There was something similar for gnu+linux too (nativefier was the name iirc) that worked for a while but then stopped working.
It was very handy.
I kind miss those things because having certain websites in their own apps within their own browser was comfortable.
EDIT: I've tried https://github.com/jiahaog/nativefier and it seems to be working again. Basically you can invoke it and pass it the url of any webapp and it will package an electron-based browser that loads your webapp on startup.
I mean, I can't see this lasting longer than a year until Google decides to break something on their end. And for the love of God, stop using Electron.
[+] [-] CMay|5 years ago|reply
Nothing against the developer as they may be trustworthy and honest, but don't make the mistake of assuming that someone bold enough to put out something that requires that much trust must by extension be worth trusting. People too often do.
[+] [-] marton_s|5 years ago|reply
Electron is known to be affected: https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/22346#issuecomme...
The author of Google Drive Desktop seems to be aware but I do not think anyone can win this race against Google: https://github.com/alexkim205/Google-Drive-Desktop/blob/bd9f...
[+] [-] anderspitman|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] crazygringo|5 years ago|reply
But in practice, I realize I'm addicted to tabs. When working on 3 documents at once, I want them in separate tabs in the same window -- not 3 different windows.
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I'm actually at the point where I want things to go in the opposite direction -- just turn all my apps into tabs. (Like Chromebooks, I guess.)
Finder? VLC? Word? Preview? Spotify? Photoshop? My code editor? I just want them (or each document in them) as tabs next to other webpages and/or each other. (For Photoshop and code, I'll probably organize my own window/space for them, but still open up webpages next to my images/code.)
Having tabs and a dock feels redundant in 2020, like two competing paradigms that just need to be refactored into one by now.
[+] [-] badprose|5 years ago|reply
One of the examples on their website groups all Adobe applications in tabs.
Microsoft also tried to build this into Windows but eventually gave up (https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/23/18512250/microsoft-window...)
[+] [-] ta17711771|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cglong|5 years ago|reply
[1]: https://youtu.be/3lEjuU-XFHg
[+] [-] lhorie|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] seph-reed|5 years ago|reply
View/modify PWA manifest on web-app/shortcut export
https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/issues/7729
[+] [-] em500|5 years ago|reply
Then they put a fairly conventional window manager and taskbar/dock around those in 2012, https://www.theverge.com/2012/4/26/2978163/aura-chrome-os-ha...
[+] [-] bhl|5 years ago|reply
Now I'm starting to think how feasible it would be to embed other desktop apps that people have installed into an electron window or something.
[+] [-] BowBun|5 years ago|reply
What's additionally weird is that you can pull your tabs apart into separate windows to replicate this exact behavior. It's hard to justify why I need an exclusive browser just for one app. For Play it's justified because of tighter integrations with the OS playback keys that the browsers historically have been flaky with, especially when you're using other apps.
[+] [-] lonelappde|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] philsnow|5 years ago|reply
In my mind, "Google drive" is storage, "Google docs" is word processing / spreadsheets etc. I have no idea why they brought docs into drive.
[+] [-] fireattack|5 years ago|reply
I don't find Google's official use of Drive and Docs confusing (there are some overlaps, but in a natural way).
[+] [-] crazygringo|5 years ago|reply
In your mind is correct. Docs isn't part of Drive. The umbrella term is G Suite (previously Google Apps), not Drive.
[+] [-] interestica|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] billyhoffman|5 years ago|reply
I suppose that’s on-brand for an Electron app.
Snark aside, FFmpeg is your friend and a 1-liner plus a <video> tag will reduce this to less than a MB. Your mobile visitors will thank you!
[+] [-] saagarjha|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] xrjn|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ripvanwinkle|5 years ago|reply
Another alternative on Windows is to create a separate chrome profile and then create a desktop shortcut to that profile. Set the default page to be your drive in that profile
Here's an example shortcut "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --profile-directory="Profile 2"
Use that profile as your Drive app
[+] [-] some1else|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tempodox|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hs86|5 years ago|reply
"Backup and Sync" still misses features like Files On-Demand/Smart Sync available in OneDrive/Dropbox and deleting files online pollutes the local trash/recycle bin on macOS/Window computers.
"Drive File Stream" actually has these lazily loaded file placeholders, but it is treated like an additionally mounted volume instead of a local folder somewhere on my local disks. It also managed to occupy over 60 GiB RAM for over a week during its initial sync which had lots of small files created by Arq Backup.
It seems like 'unlimited' cloud storage is foremostly limited by the performance characteristics of their sync clients.
[+] [-] duxup|5 years ago|reply
It started syncing and just couldn't stop.
I had to delete or move all the Backup and Sync contents across my devices to get to 0 before it quit endlessly thrashing.
[+] [-] judge2020|5 years ago|reply
https://support.google.com/drive/answer/7638428?hl=en
[+] [-] pottertheotter|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jhoechtl|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] benhurmarcel|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ddlutz|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pier25|5 years ago|reply
Performance will be similar to using Google Docs on Chrome. Memory usage will be probably worse since you are running another engine besides your browser.
Is it just for the convenience of not having to type the URL on your browser?
[+] [-] simonklitj|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] chpmrc|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lvs|5 years ago|reply
(e.g. on a plane, if I ever take one again...)
[+] [-] rvz|5 years ago|reply
Well first of all, I'd pretty much rather have a shortcut that can be opened in any browser I'd want to use, than to download another copy of Chrome dedicated to running the Google Drive web app as its own 'app' using Electron.
Secondly, Chrome supports grouped tabs which allows you to organise your tabs anyway which sounds great over having 3 - 4 separate Electron apps trying to behave like MS Office (Just don't).
And last but not least, Unlike MS Office, this requires a persistent internet connection to function. So if your internet is down, your wonderful Google Drive electron app will look like this: [0]
[0] https://twitter.com/rhysforyou/status/1260361296551178240
[+] [-] titzer|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] znpy|5 years ago|reply
There was something similar for gnu+linux too (nativefier was the name iirc) that worked for a while but then stopped working.
It was very handy.
I kind miss those things because having certain websites in their own apps within their own browser was comfortable.
EDIT: I've tried https://github.com/jiahaog/nativefier and it seems to be working again. Basically you can invoke it and pass it the url of any webapp and it will package an electron-based browser that loads your webapp on startup.
[+] [-] alphachloride|5 years ago|reply
ok
[+] [-] Icyphox|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rd07|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] SanchoPanda|5 years ago|reply
If you have a setup you like, save it a shell script. You'll have to rerun as google breaks it every six months or so.
[+] [-] kbumsik|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] c-c-c-c-c|5 years ago|reply