Everything Chrome

Chrome OS and Chrome Web Store

Paul Kinlan (@Paul_Kinlan)

Just ask questions as we go along.

Chrome OS

What is it?

At its simplest

But it is a LOT more than that

Consumer
  • Near instant on
  • No hassle
  • Always up to date
  • Sandboxed Security
Business

Same as consumers, but with enterprise features

  • Central management
  • Subscription
But I am a developer, what do I need?

Just make web apps

A brief history

Lets start in 1997

First Web apps
An app
Desktop apps were deep and complex!
But pretty much everything is stored locally!
Which is best?
VS

Web Apps = Cloud Goodness - Desktop Richness

Then....AJAX. BOOM!
Now.... HTML5

Web Apps = Cloud Goodness + Desktop Richness

Web Apps or Web Site?

What makes Web Apps Differnt?

Are Task Orientated

Have a Tight Focus

Possess a Rich UX

More ways to make Web Apps special

Make them Offline enabled:

  • App-Cache and Databases.
Even more ways: Integrated sign-on
Even more ways: Background
if (window.chrome && window.chrome.app && window.chrome.app.isInstalled) {
  window.open("background.html#0", "bg", "background");
  ...
}
Great, so I have a cool app. Now what?

Get lots of users

Users: Finding great apps is hard!
What you want to be doing
This is what you actually do!
What can we do to help

Chrome Web Store

Discovery
Discovery
Discovery
Your place
Now in Dutch
Make it easy for users to buy apps
Make it easy for users to run apps
Make it easy for developers to sell apps

How do I get my app into the store?

It Depends

Hosted Apps

manifest.json, again
{
  "name" : "Hacker News Reader",
  "description" : "A reader for the Hacker News website",
  "version": "1",
  "icons": {
    "24": "logo24.png", "128": "logo.png"
  },
  "permissions": [
    "unlimitedStorage"
  ],
  "app" : {
    "urls": ["http://project.mahemoff.com/hn"],
    "launch": {
      "web_url": "http://project.mahemoff.com/hn" 
    }
  }
}
Use AppMator (http://appmator.appspot.com)
  • Enter URL
  • Submit it

Packaged Apps

manifest.json for a packaged app
{
  "name" : "Encyclomapedia",
  "description" : "A reference app",
  "version": "1",
  "icons": {
    "24": "logo24.png", "128": "logo.png"
  },
  "permissions": [
    "unlimitedStorage"
  ],
  "app" : {
    "urls": ["http://wikipedia.com", "http://news.google.com"],
    "launch": {
      "local_path": "index.html" 
    }
  }
}
Packaged Apps can do Extension Stuff
  • Cross-domain calls
  • Content scripts
  • Idle detection
  • Context menu
  • Backround page
  • ... in fact, anything extensions can do! (Well, almost.)
An underused feature: Panels
"app": {
  "launch": {
    "web_url": "example.com",
    "container" : "tab"
  }
}
Closing thoughts
  • Don't just create a bookmark
  • Think about:
    • How you want users to sign-up to your app
    • How you want users to launch your app
    • How you want users to use your app offline
Contest Sneakpeek!!!!

4 Categories, Best app wins a ChromeBook

All notable entries will be considered for promotion in the store.


Closes 28th of August

Links

html5rocks.com

code.google.com/chrome/apps/- Apps developer guide

code.google.com/chrome/webstore/docs/ - Web Store developer guide

Thanks

@Paul_Kinlan