While there is always an excitement for a new OS, there is equal excitement when apps from one OS run on the other. There are many who say that they are sick of the way Windows works, and would love to see an android themed full-fledged OS. The Chromebooks are slowly turning that into reality. However, Chromebook does lack many apps that are on Windows. Using CrossOver, users can now run Windows based apps on Android and Chromebook. The CrossOver Preview is already here, and it is quite impressive!
CrossOver already has gained major popularity as it can help run Windows apps on Linux and Macs. However, when they announced the arrival of their services for the Android devices, things became rather interesting. It was announced last week, and a Crossover Preview was released.
A large number of Windows software runs smoothly using the CrossOver Preview. A number of users have reported that most of the basic software are running with great ease. Android Police has also reported that bigger software, such as Adobe Photoshop too, are running on Android devices with ease. The version of Photoshop installed was the CS3, and that runs flawlessly. Basic image manipulation, transformations and cropping happened without much of a hassle. Sometimes it crashes when changing fonts. However, that can be let go considering it’s a preview version as of now.
Another benefit of CrossOver, that was tested in the CrossOver Preview is that of Gaming! Windows has a much detailed collection of games than Android. With the CrossOver Preview, users can also run games on their Android and Chromebook devices. As of now, games that support DirectX9 would run on the devices. The developers at CrossOver are working on improving the app, and adding DirectX10 and X11 support. However that might take time. Games such as Half Life 1, and Team Fortress performed average. This is indeed a major step forward in the cross-platform integration of apps, and CrossOver is spearheading the charge!
