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118-463: A desktop environment typically consists of icons , windows , toolbars , folders , wallpapers and desktop widgets (see Elements of graphical user interfaces and WIMP ). A GUI might also provide drag and drop functionality and other features that make the desktop metaphor more complete. A desktop environment aims to be an intuitive way for the user to interact with the computer using concepts which are similar to those used when interacting with

236-442: A computer system . The icon itself is a quickly comprehensible symbol of a software tool, function, or a data file , accessible on the system and is more like a traffic sign than a detailed illustration of the actual entity it represents. It can serve as an electronic hyperlink or file shortcut to access the program or data. The user can activate an icon using a mouse, pointer, finger, or voice commands . Their placement on

354-405: A pointing device (mouse), belong to the much larger topic of the history of the graphical user interface that has largely supplanted the text-based interface for casual use. The computing definition of "icon" can include three distinct semiotical elements: Icon , which resembles its referent (such as a road sign for falling rocks). This category includes stylized drawings of objects from

472-718: A virtual machine code-named "Crostini". ChromeOS, which runs on Chromebooks, is already based on the Linux kernel, but it does not provide default support for applications that expect a GNU-based system. Crostini left the beta stage in May 2021 as part of release 91. Google maintains a list of devices that were launched before 2019, which support Crostini. Initial hardware partners for Chromebook development included Acer , Adobe , Asus , Freescale , Hewlett-Packard (later HP Inc. ), Lenovo , Qualcomm , Texas Instruments , Toshiba , Intel , Samsung , Dell , LG , NEC , and Sharp ,

590-534: A widget toolkit are generally responsible for most of what the user sees. The window manager supports the user interactions with the environment, while the toolkit provides developers a software library for applications with a unified look and behavior. A windowing system of some sort generally interfaces directly with the underlying operating system and libraries. This provides support for graphical hardware, pointing devices, and keyboards. The window manager generally runs on top of this windowing system. While

708-699: A window manager (such as Mutter or KWin ), a file manager (such as Files or Dolphin ), a set of graphical themes , together with toolkits (such as GTK+ and Qt ) and libraries for managing the desktop. All these individual modules can be exchanged and independently configured to suit users, but most desktop environments provide a default configuration that works with minimal user setup. Some window managers‍—‌such as IceWM , Fluxbox , Openbox , ROX Desktop and Window Maker ‍—‌contain relatively sparse desktop environment elements, such as an integrated spatial file manager , while others like evilwm and wmii do not provide such elements. Not all of

826-403: A Chromebook had become the most frequently used family appliance in his household. "Its 15 second startup time and dedicated Google user accounts made it the go-to device for quick searches, email as well as YouTube and Facebook activities." But the device did not replace other five notebooks in the house: one for gaming, two for the kids, and two more for general use. "The biggest complaint I heard

944-515: A browser or companies that rely on Google Apps and other Web applications . But the operating system was "decidedly not a full-fledged alternative to the general purpose computing environments that currently ship on netbooks." Paul wrote that most of ChromeOS's advantages "can be found in other software environments without having to sacrifice native applications." In reviewing the Cr-48 on December 29, 2010, Kurt Bakke of Conceivably Tech wrote that

1062-498: A desktop environment. Computers using Unix-like operating systems such as macOS, ChromeOS, Linux, BSD or Solaris are much less common; however, as of 2015 there is a growing market for low-cost Linux PCs using the X Window System or Wayland with a broad choice of desktop environments. Among the more popular of these are Google's Chromebooks and Chromeboxes , Intel's NUC , the Raspberry Pi , etc. On tablets and smartphones,

1180-424: A device. Ryan Paul of Ars Technica wrote that the machine "met the basic requirements for Web surfing, gaming, and personal productivity, but falls short for more intensive tasks." He praised Google's approach to security but wondered whether mainstream computer users would accept an operating system whose only application is a browser. He thought ChromeOS "could appeal to some niche audiences": people who just need

1298-617: A different user and developer community. Technically, there are numerous technologies common to all Unix-like desktop environments, most obviously the X Window System . Accordingly, the freedesktop.org project was established as an informal collaboration zone with the goal being to reduce duplication of effort. As GNOME and KDE focus on high-performance computers, users of less powerful or older computers often prefer alternative desktop environments specifically created for low-performance systems. Most commonly used lightweight desktop environments include LXDE and Xfce ; they both use GTK+ , which

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1416-510: A document which displays IEC standardized icons. Another organization invested in the promotion of effective icon usage is the ICT (information and communications technologies), which has published guidelines for the creation and use of icons. Many of these icons are available on the Internet, either to purchase or as freeware to incorporate into new software. An icon is a signifier pointing to

1534-461: A feature similar to plug-and-play on other operating systems. All Chromebooks, except the first three, boot with the help of Coreboot , a fast booting BIOS . Google supports new Chromebooks made since 2021 with automatic updates for at least 10 years. Previously, Chromebooks were supported 8 years, while they were initially supported for 6.5 years. The date when a device will stop receiving automatic software and security updates can be found in

1652-555: A file type, click on Advanced and select an icon to be associated with that file type. Developers also use icon editors to make icons for specific program files. Assignment of an icon to a newly created program is usually done within the Integrated Development Environment used to develop that program. However, if one is creating an application in the Windows API he or she can simply add a line to

1770-408: A file) a certain additional subsystem can add a smaller secondary icon, laid over the primary icon and usually positioned in one of its corners, to indicate the status of the object which is represented with the primary icon. For instance, the subsystem for locking files can add a "padlock" overlay icon on an icon which represents a file in order to indicate that the file is locked. In order to display

1888-494: A file, file folder, trashcan, inbox, together with the spatial real estate of the screen, i.e. the electronic desktop. This model originally enabled users, familiar with common office practices and functions, to intuitively navigate the computer desktop and system. (Desktop Metaphor, pg 2). The icons stand for objects or functions accessible on the system and enable the user to do tasks common to an office space. These desktop computer icons developed over several decades; data files in

2006-465: A hub for classroom activities including attendance, classroom discussions, homework and communication with students and parents. There have, however, been concerns about privacy within the context of the education market for Chromebooks. Officials at schools issuing Chromebooks for students have affirmed that students have no right to privacy when using school-issued Chromebooks, even at home, and that all online and offline activity can be monitored by

2124-495: A minimal design and was all black, completely unbranded although it was made by Inventec , and had a rubberized coating. The device was named after Chromium-48 , an unstable isotope of the metallic element Chromium (chemical symbol Cr ), and the participants were named Cr-48 Test Pilots. Google distributed about 60,000 Cr-48 Chrome Notebooks between December 2010 and March 2011 for free to participants and in return asked for feedback such as suggestions and bug reports. The Cr-48

2242-534: A new interface concept with its version 3 , while a popular Linux distribution Ubuntu introduced its own new desktop environment, Unity . Some users preferred to keep the traditional interface concept of GNOME 2 , resulting in the creation of MATE as a GNOME 2 fork. The most common desktop environment on personal computers is Windows Shell in Microsoft Windows . Microsoft has made significant efforts in making Windows shell visually pleasing. As

2360-400: A picture, delete, rewind, connect/disconnect etc...), action in the physical world (e.g. print, eject DVD, change volume or brightness etc...) as well as physical objects (e.g. monitor , compact disk , mouse , printer etc...). A subgroup of the more visually rich icons is based on objects lifted from a 1970 physical office space and desktop environment. It includes the basic icons used for

2478-452: A powerful and reliable visual cue, a critical property for icons to embody. In its primary function as a symbolic image, the icon design should ideally be divorced from any single language. For products which are targeting the international marketplace, the primary design consideration is that the icon is non-verbal; localizing text in icons is costly and time-consuming. Beyond text, there are other design elements which can be dependent upon

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2596-556: A powerful configuration for the FVWM window manager, a theme and further adds, altogether forming a "construction kit" for building up a desktop environment. X window managers that are meant to be usable stand-alone — without another desktop environment — also include elements reminiscent of those found in typical desktop environments, most prominently Enlightenment . Other examples include OpenBox , Fluxbox , WindowLab , Fvwm , as well as Window Maker and AfterStep , which both feature

2714-457: A problem can arise with custom icons which are mismatched in style to the other icons included on the system. Icons underwent a change in appearance from the early 8-bit pixel art used pre-2000 to a more photorealistic appearance featuring effects such as softening, sharpening, edge enhancement, a glossy or glass-like appearance, or drop shadows which are rendered with an alpha channel . Icon editors used on these early platforms usually contain

2832-623: A profit center. If Google wants to use students' data to 'improve Google products', then it needs to get express consent from parents." Despite this, Chromebooks made up nearly 60% of computers used in US schools in March 2018. CNET writer Alfred Ng cited superior security as the main reason for this level of market adoption. According to research firms Gartner and Canalys, over 30 million Chromebooks were shipped in 2020, as school districts and parents purchased them for remote learning purposes during

2950-753: A result, Microsoft has introduced theme support in Windows 98 , the various Windows XP visual styles , the Aero brand in Windows Vista , the Microsoft design language (codenamed "Metro") in Windows 8 , and the Fluent Design System and Windows Spotlight in Windows 10 . Windows shell can be extended via Shell extensions . Many mainstream desktop environments for Unix-like operating systems, including KDE , GNOME , Xfce , and LXDE , use

3068-405: A rudimentary raster image editor capable of modifying images of an icon pixel by pixel, by using simple drawing tools, or by applying simple image filters. Professional icon designers seldom modify icons inside an icon editor and use a more advanced drawing or 3D modeling application instead. The main function performed by an icon editor is generation of icons from images. An icon editor resamples

3186-485: A slump in the market. Wong said that the company would consider marketing Chromebooks to other developed countries, as well as to corporations. He noted that although ChromeOS is free to license for hardware vendors, it has required greater marketing expenditure than Windows, offsetting the licensing savings. During the first 11 months of 2013, 1.76 million Chromebooks sold in the United States, representing 21% of

3304-412: A source image to the resolution and color depth required for an icon. Other functions performed by icon editors are icon extraction from executable files (exe, dll), creation of icon libraries, or saving individual images of an icon. All icon editors can make icons for system files (folders, text files, etc.), and for web pages. These have a file extension of . ICO for Windows and web pages or . ICNS for

3422-488: A starting price of $ 1299. All models released after May 2012, include 100 GB–1.09 TB of Google Drive cloud storage and 12 GoGo Wi-Fi passes. By January 2013, Acer's Chromebook sales were being driven by "heavy Internet users with educational institutions", and the platform represented 5–10 percent of the company's US shipments, according to Acer president Jim Wong. He called those numbers sustainable, contrasting them with low Windows 8 sales which he blamed for

3540-413: A system with the software. They function in the same way as the hyperlink icons described above, representing functionality accessible on the system and providing links to either a software program or data file. Over and beyond this, they act as a company identifier and advertiser for the software or company. Because these company and program logos represent the company and product itself, much attention

3658-681: A table. This is followed by the statement, "You don't have to back up a Chromebook," showing how all data is stored on the web. In an article published on ZDNet in June 2011, entitled "Five Chromebook concerns for businesses", Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols faulted the devices for lack of virtual private network capability, not supporting some Wi-Fi security methods, in particular Wi-Fi Protected Access II ( WPA2 ) Enterprise with Extensible Authentication Protocol-Transport Layer Security ( EAP-TLS ) or Cisco's Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol (LEAP). He also noted that its file manager does not work,

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3776-490: A user is able to define and manipulate the data and the display for the software program they are working with. The first set of computer widgets was originally developed for the Xerox Alto. Now they are commonly bundled in widget toolkits and distributed as part of a development package. These control widgets are standardized pictograms used in the graphical interface, they offer an expanded set of user functionalities beyond

3894-434: A user to more easily navigate an unfamiliar system. As a subset of electronic devices, computer systems and mobile devices use many of the same icons; they are corporated into the design of both the computer hardware and on the software. On the hardware, these icons identify the functionality of specific buttons and plugs. In the software, they provide a link into the customizable settings. System warning icons also belong to

4012-471: Is 10.8%, placing it above the Mac platform; it has mainly found success in education markets. Since 2021 all Chromebooks receive 10 years of regular automatic updates with security patches from Google, previously it was 8 years. Chromebooks can be repurposed with other operating systems and/or used for other purposes if required. The first Chromebooks for sale, by Acer Inc. and Samsung , were announced at

4130-448: Is a line of laptops, desktops, tablets and all-in-one computers that run ChromeOS , a proprietary operating system developed by Google . Chromebooks are optimised for web access but also run Android apps, Linux applications, and Progressive web apps , they do not require an Internet connection. They are manufactured and offered by various OEMs . The first Chromebooks shipped on June 15, 2011. As of 2020, Chromebook's market share

4248-493: Is a smaller project that was also founded in 1996, and focuses on speed and modularity, just like LXDE which was started in 2006. A comparison of X Window System desktop environments demonstrates the differences between environments. GNOME and KDE were usually seen as dominant solutions, and these are still often installed by default on Linux systems. Each of them offers: In the early 2000s, KDE reached maturity. The Appeal and ToPaZ projects focused on bringing new advances to

4366-439: Is considered as a special case of metonymy, in the usual sense of the part standing for the whole such as a single component for the entire system, speaker driver for the entire audio system settings. Additionally, a group of icons can be categorised as brand icons, used to identify commercial software programs and are related to the brand identity of a company or software. These commercial icons serve as functional links on

4484-473: Is different from an icon with animated graphics, such as a Throbber . In contrast to static icons and icons with animated graphics, kinetic behaviors do not alter the visual content of an element (whereas fades, blurs, tints, and addition of new graphics, such as badges, exclusively alter an icon's pixels). Stated differently, pixels in an icon can be moved, rotated, stretched, and so on - but not altered or added to. Research has shown iconographic motion can act as

4602-479: Is given to their design, done frequently by commercial artists. To regulate the use of these brand icons, they are trademark registered and are considered part of the company's intellectual property. In closed systems such as iOS and Android , the use of icons is to a degree regulated or guided to create a sense of consistency in the UI . On some GUI systems (e.g. Windows), on an icon which represents an object (e.g.

4720-432: Is known as skeuomorphism , and an example is the use of the floppy disk to represent saving data; even though floppy disks have been obsolete for roughly a quarter century, it is still recognized as "the save icon". Metonymy is in itself a subset of metaphors that use one entity to point to another related to it such as using a fluorescent bulb instead of a filament one to represent power saving settings. Synecdoche

4838-462: Is the cheapest Chromebook in the world. In 2020, Chromebooks outsold Apple Macs for the first time by taking market share from laptops running Microsoft Windows . This rise is attributed to the platform's success in the education market. The education market has been the Chromebooks' most notable success, competing on the low cost of the hardware, software and upkeep. The simplicity of

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4956-432: Is the same underlying toolkit GNOME uses. The MATE desktop environment, a fork of GNOME 2, is comparable to Xfce in its use of RAM and processor cycles, but is often considered more as an alternative to other lightweight desktop environments. For a while, GNOME and KDE enjoyed the status of the most popular Linux desktop environments; later, other desktop environments grew in popularity. In April 2011, GNOME introduced

5074-423: Is to identify and advertise the program and functionality available. This need for recognition in turn sets specific design restrictions on effective computer icons. In order to maintain consistency in the look of a device, OS manufacturers offer detailed guidelines for the development and use of icons on their systems. This is true for both standard system icons and third party application icons to be included in

5192-434: The signified . Easily comprehendible icons will make use of familiar visual metaphors directly connected to the signified : actions the icon initiate or the content that would be revealed. Metaphors , metonymy and synecdoche are used to encode the meaning in an icon system. The signified can have multiple natures: virtual objects such as files and applications , actions within a system or an application (e.g. snap

5310-544: The 3G Samsung Series 5 was reduced to $ 449, and the Acer AC700 was reduced to $ 299. The updated Series 5 550 and the Chromebox , the first ChromeOS desktop machines, were released by Samsung in May 2012. While the two lowest cost Chromebooks emerged later in the fall: the $ 249 Samsung Series 3 and the $ 199 Acer C7. The following February, Google introduced the most expensive machine, their Chromebook Pixel , with

5428-693: The COVID-19 pandemic . Chromebooks made by 12 manufacturers are sold as of October 31, 2022. And, there are 4 manufacturers that ended making Chromebooks before 2022. At a December 7, 2010, press briefing, Google announced the ChromeOS Pilot Program, a pilot experiment and the first Chromebook, the Cr-48 Chrome Notebook, a prototype , to test the ChromeOS operating system and modified hardware for it. The device had

5546-607: The Google I/O conference in May 2011 and began shipping on June 15, 2011. Lenovo , Hewlett-Packard (now HP Inc. ) and Google itself entered the market in early 2013. In December 2013, Samsung launched a Samsung Chromebook specifically for the Indian market that employed the company's Exynos 5 Dual core processor. Critical reaction to the device was initially skeptical, with some reviewers, such as then New York Times technology columnist David Pogue , unfavorably comparing

5664-600: The Intel -based Pro, but said that "Android apps on Chrome OS are still in beta" and are "very much [an] unfinished experience." The number of ChromeOS systems supporting Android apps in either the stable or beta channel is increasing. In the 2021 Android 11 launch, it was announced that Android apps would be moved to a new virtual machine called ArcVM, to improve Android’s environment isolation for better security and maintainability. In May 2018, Google announced it would make Linux desktop applications available on Chromebooks via

5782-629: The NeXTSTEP GUI look and feel. However newer versions of some operating systems make self configure. The Amiga approach to desktop environment was noteworthy: the original Workbench desktop environment in AmigaOS evolved through time to originate an entire family of descendants and alternative desktop solutions. Some of those descendants are the Scalos, the Ambient desktop of MorphOS , and

5900-476: The Presentation Manager . The BumpTop project was an experimental desktop environment. Its main objective is to replace the 2D paradigm with a "real-world" 3D implementation, where documents can be freely manipulated across a virtual table. Icon (computing) In computing , an icon is a pictogram or ideogram displayed on a computer screen in order to help the user navigate

6018-687: The Samsung Series 5 and the Acer AC700, were unveiled on May 11, 2011, at the Google I/O developer conference. They were to begin selling through online channels, including Amazon and Best Buy in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain starting June 15, 2011; however, Acer's AC700 was not available until early July. The first machines sold for between $ 349 and $ 499, depending on

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6136-649: The Wanderer desktop of the AROS open source OS. WindowLab also contains features reminiscent of the Amiga UI. Third-party Directory Opus software, which was originally just a navigational file manager program, evolved to become a complete Amiga desktop replacement called Directory Opus Magellan. OS/2 (and derivatives such as eComStation and ArcaOS ) use the Workplace Shell . Earlier versions of OS/2 used

6254-479: The X-based desktop environments available for Unix-like operating systems such as Linux and BSD , the proprietary desktop environments included with Windows and macOS have relatively fixed layouts and static features, with highly integrated "seamless" designs that aim to provide mostly consistent customer experiences across installations. Microsoft Windows dominates in marketshare among personal computers with

6372-480: The power on/off symbol and the USB icon. The majority of icons are encoded and decoded using metonymy , synecdoche , and metaphor . An example of metaphorical representation characterizes all the major desktop-based computer systems including the desktop that uses an iconic representation of objects from the 1980s office environment to transpose attributes from a familiar context/object to an unfamiliar one. This

6490-563: The value proposition of Chromebooks with that of more fully featured laptops running the Microsoft Windows operating system. That complaint dissipated later in reviews of machines from Acer and Samsung that were priced lower. In February 2013, Google announced and began shipping the Chromebook Pixel , a higher-spec machine with a high-end retail price. In January 2015, Acer announced the first big screen Chromebook,

6608-501: The "Additional info" section of the "About device" in the device settings. Google maintains an Auto Update policy listing ChromeOS makes and models with their auto update expiration dates. The hardware generation and Linux kernel version of most products can be inferred from the code name and its corresponding video game series : Chromebooks are available from OEMs in various form factors, some form factors may be known by other names: The first two commercially available Chromebooks,

6726-471: The 1950s, the hierarchical storage system (i.e. the file folder and filing cabinet) in the 1960s, and finally the desktop metaphor itself (including the trashcan) in the 1970s. Dr. David Canfield Smith associated the term "icon" with computing in his landmark 1975 PhD thesis "Pygmalion: A Creative Programming Environment". In his work, Dr. Smith envisioned a scenario in which "visual entities", called icons, could execute lines of programming code, and save

6844-517: The AMD Ryzen 3 7000 series), at least 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB of local storage, 1080p IPS or better display and a 1080p+ web camera. The Plus supports video-editing with LumaFusion and web versions of Google Photos Magic Eraser and Adobe Photoshop. In May 2016, Google announced it would make Android apps available on Chromebooks via the Google Play application distribution platform. At

6962-613: The Acer Chromebook 15 with an FHD 15.6-inch display. By March 2018, Chromebooks made up 60% of computers purchased by schools in the United States. In October 2012, Simon Phipps, writing in InfoWorld , said, "The Chromebook line is probably the most successful Linux desktop/laptop computer we've seen to date". On October 9, 2023, Google announced Chromebook Plus, a new category of Chromebooks that requires minimum hardware specifications, such as CPU (Intel Core i3 12th Gen or

7080-548: The Chromebook is easy to travel with and starts up quickly. One stated that "If I just need to stay connected for emergencies, I take my Chrome," but when traveling for business she would still take her laptop. Orlando does plan to continue to use the Chromebooks. On November 21, 2011, Google announced price reductions on all Chromebooks. Since then, the Wi-Fi-only Samsung Series 5 was reduced to $ 349,

7198-477: The Internet and signed in to a Google account. Instead of installing traditional applications that propose risk of malware, users install web apps from the Chrome Web Store . Google claims that a multi-layer security architecture eliminates the need for anti-virus software. Support for many Bluetooth and USB devices such as cameras, mice, external keyboards and flash drives is included, utilizing

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7316-468: The Macintosh. If the editor can also make a cursor, the image can be saved with a file extension of . CUR or . ANI for both Windows and the Macintosh. Using a new icon is simply a matter of moving the image into the correct file folder and using the system tools to select the icon. In Windows XP you could go to My Computer, open Tools on the explorer window, choose Folder Options, then File Types, select

7434-485: The Microsoft MSDN defines the standard icon use of error, warning, information and question mark icons as part of their software development guidelines. Different organizations are actively involved in standardizing these icons, as well as providing guidelines for their creation and use. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has defined "Graphical symbols for use on equipment", published as IEC 417,

7552-463: The PC World on Tottenham Court Road . In addition to these marketing strategies, Google Chrome has created several "Chromebook minis" that demonstrate the ease of use and simplicity of the devices in a comical manner. For example, when the question "How do you back up a Chromebook" is asked, it is implied to refer to data backup , but instead, shows two hands pushing a Chromebook back to the end of

7670-403: The U.S. B2B channels increased 43 percent during the first half of 2015, helping to keep overall B2B PC and tablet sales from falling. [..] Sales of Google OS-equipped (Android and Chrome) devices saw a 29 percent increase over 2014 propelled by Chromebook sales, while Apple devices declined 12 percent and Windows devices fell 8 percent." As of October 28, 2024 Lenovo Chromebook N23 Intel Celeron

7788-484: The US commercial business-to-business laptop market. During the same period in 2012, Chromebooks sold 400,000 units and had a negligible market share. In January 2015, Silviu Stahie noted in Softpedia that Chromebooks were eating into Microsoft's market share. He said "Microsoft is engaged in a silent war and it's actually losing. They are fighting an enemy that is so insidious and so cunning that it's actually hurting

7906-438: The United States and Europe were using the device. In 2016, Chromebooks represented 58 percent of the 2.6 million mobile devices purchased by U.S. schools and about 64 percent of that market outside the U.S. By contrast, sales of Apple devices to U.S. schools dropped that year to 19 percent, compared with 52 percent in 2012. Helping spur Chromebook sales is Google Classroom , an app designed for teachers in 2014, that serves as

8024-636: The X Window System or Wayland , any of which may be selected by users, and are not tied exclusively to the operating system in use. The desktop environment for macOS , which is also a Unix-like system, is Aqua , which uses the Quartz graphics layer, rather than using X or Wayland. A number of other desktop environments also exist, including (but not limited to) CDE , EDE , GEM , IRIX Interactive Desktop , Sun's Java Desktop System , Jesktop , Mezzo, Project Looking Glass , ROX Desktop , UDE , Xito , XFast. Moreover, there exists FVWM-Crystal, which consists of

8142-547: The X11 desktop environments used by other Unix-like operating systems, relying instead on interfaces based on other technologies. On systems running the X Window System (typically Unix-family systems such as Linux , the BSDs , and formal UNIX distributions), desktop environments are much more dynamic and customizable to meet user needs. In this context, a desktop environment typically consists of several separate components, including

8260-414: The broader area of ISO standard warning signs. These warning icons, first designed to regulate automobile traffic in the early 1900s, have become standardized and widely understood by users without the necessity of further verbal explanations. In designing software operating systems, different companies have incorporated and defined these standard symbols as part of their graphical user interface. For example,

8378-457: The company more than anything else. The enemy is called Chromebooks and they are using Linux...There is no sign that things are slowing down and Microsoft really needs a win, and soon if it wants to remain relevant." In 2015, Chromebooks, by sales volume (to companies in the US), are second after Windows based devices (with Android tablets, overtaking Apple's devices in 2014): "Chromebook sales through

8496-459: The cultural context for interpretation. These include color, numbers, symbols, body parts and hand gestures. Each of these elements needs to be evaluated for their meaning and relevance across all markets targeted by the product. Other graphical devices used in the computer user interface fulfill GUI functions on the system similar to the computer icons described above. However each of these related graphical devices differs in one way or another from

8614-495: The dedicated cloud computing capabilities occasionally." The Cr-48 features an Intel Atom N455, a single-core processor clocked at 1.66 GHz, with 512 KB of cache and hyperthreading enabled. It also features 2 GB of removable DDR3 memory in a single SO-DIMM, integrated chipset graphics (Intel GMA 3150), and a 66 watt-hour battery. It has been found that the Intel NM10 chipset can get very hot during operation due to lack of

8732-439: The design of icons, frequently requiring the skills of a graphic artist in their development. Because of their condensed size and versatility, computer icons have become a mainstay of user interaction with electronic media. Icons also provide rapid entry into the system functionality. On most systems, users can create and delete, replicate, select , click or double-click standard computer icons and drag them to new positions on

8850-487: The design. Together with the other design details, the shape also needs to make it unique on the display and clearly distinguishable from other icons. The icon needs to be colorful enough to easily pick out on the display screen, and contrast well with any background. With the increasing ability to customize the desktop, it is important for the icon itself to display in a standard color which cannot be modified, retaining its characteristic appearance for immediate recognition by

8968-411: The display. Because they are used in multiple locations on the screen, the design must remain recognizable at the smallest size, for use in a directory tree or title bar, while retaining an attractive shape in the larger sizes. In addition to scaling, it may be necessary to remove visual details or simplify the subject between discrete sizes. Larger icons serve also as part of the accessibility features for

9086-410: The fact that users of school-issued Chromebooks cannot change these settings themselves as a measure to protect their privacy; only the administrator who issued the laptops can change them. The EFF claims that this violates a Student Privacy Pledge already signed by Google in 2014. EFF staff attorney Nate Cardozo stated: "Minors shouldn't be tracked or used as guinea pigs, with their data treated as

9204-433: The host device is not connected to the Internet, demonstrated an offline version of Google Docs , and announced a 3G plan that would give users 100 MB of free data each month, with additional paid plans available from Verizon. The device's USB port is capable of supporting a keyboard, mouse, Ethernet adapter , or USB storage, but not a printer, as ChromeOS offers no print stack . Adding further hardware outside of

9322-406: The hyperlink function of computer icons. Another GUI icon is exemplified by the smiley face, a pictogram embedded in a text message . The smiley, and by extension other emoticons , are used in computer text to convey information in a non-verbal binary shorthand, frequently involving the emotional context of the message. These icons were first developed for computers in the 1980s as a response to

9440-572: The icons themselves remain relatively constant in both appearance and function. Above all, the icon itself must remain clearly identifiable on the display screen regardless of its position and size. Programs might display their icon not only as a desktop hyperlink, but also in the program title bar, on the Start menu, in the Microsoft tray or the Apple dock. In each of these locations, the primary purpose

9558-515: The latter three manufacturers were only available in their home countries. Chromebooks ship with ChromeOS , an operating system that uses the Linux kernel and the Google Chrome web browser with an integrated media-player. Enabling developer mode allows the installation of Linux distributions and other operating systems on Chromebooks. Chromebooks also include a screw or switch directly on

9676-445: The limited storage and transmission bandwidth used in electronic messaging. Since then they have become both abundant and more sophisticated in their keyboard representations of varying emotions. They have developed from keyboard character combinations into real icons. They are widely used in all forms of electronic communications, always with the goal of adding context to the verbal content of the message. In adding an emotional overlay to

9794-512: The machines, which could be a drawback in other markets, has proven an advantage to school districts by reducing training and maintenance costs. By January 2012, even while commercial sales were flat, Google placed nearly 27,000 Chromebooks in schools across 41 states in the US, including "one-on-one" programs, which allocate a computer for every student in South Carolina, Illinois, and Iowa. As of August 2012, over 500 school districts in

9912-494: The main components of the desktop metaphor GUI. This model of the desktop metaphor has been adopted by most personal computing systems in the last decades of the 20th century; it remains popular as a "simple intuitive navigation by single user on single system." It is only at the beginning of the 21st century that personal computing is evolving a new metaphor based on Internet connectivity and teams of users, cloud computing . In this new model, data and tools are no longer stored on

10030-479: The market. The desktop metaphor was popularized on commercial personal computers by the original Macintosh from Apple in 1984, and was popularized further by Windows from Microsoft since the 1990s. As of 2014, the most popular desktop environments are descendants of these earlier environments, including the Windows shell used in Microsoft Windows , and the Aqua environment used in macOS . When compared with

10148-506: The model and 3G option. Google also offered a monthly payment scheme for business and education customers at $ 28 and $ 20 per user, per month, respectively for a three-year contract, including replacements and upgrades. Verizon offers models equipped with 3G / 4G LTE connectivity 100–200 MB of free wireless data per month, for two years. Google's early marketing efforts relied primarily on hands-on experience: giving away Samsung machines to 10 Cr-48 pilot program participants along with

10266-419: The motherboard to enable or disable write protection. Crouton is a script that allows the installation of Linux distributions from ChromeOS and running both operating systems simultaneously. Some Chromebooks include SeaBIOS , which can be enabled to install and boot Linux distributions directly. With limited offline capability and a fast boot-time, Chromebooks are primarily designed for use while connected to

10384-470: The need to use the undocumented crosh shell to accomplish basic tasks such as setting up a secure shell (SSH) network connection as well as serious deficiencies in documentation. In one of the first customer reviews, the city of Orlando, Florida, reported on their initial testing of 600 Chromebooks as part of a broader study related to accessing virtual desktops. Early indications show potential value in reducing IT support costs. End users have indicated that

10502-492: The next major releases of both KDE and GNOME respectively. Although striving for broadly similar goals, GNOME and KDE do differ in their approach to user ergonomics. KDE encourages applications to integrate and interoperate, is highly customizable, and contains many complex features, all whilst trying to establish sensible defaults. GNOME on the other hand is more prescriptive, and focuses on the finer details of essential tasks and overall simplification. Accordingly, each one attracts

10620-429: The number of icons representing the growing complexity offered on a device, different systems have come up with different solutions for screen space management. The computer monitor continues to display primary icons on the main page or desktop, allowing easy and quick access to the most commonly used functions for a user. This screen space also invites almost immediate user customization, as the user adds favourite icons to

10738-558: The office environment or from other professional areas such as printers, scissors, file cabinets and folders. Index , which is associated with its referent (smoke is a sign of fire). This category includes stylized drawings used to refer to actions " printer " and "print", " scissors " and " cut " or " magnifying glass " and "search". Symbol , which is related to its referent only by convention (letters, musical notation, mathematical operators etc.). This category includes standardized symbols found across many electronic devices , such as

10856-536: The operation for later re-execution. Dr. Smith later served as one of the principal designers of the Xerox Star , which became the first commercially available personal computing system based on the desktop metaphor when it was released in 1981. "The icons on [the desktop] are visible concrete embodiments of the corresponding physical objects." The desktop and icons displayed in this first desktop model are easily recognizable by users several decades later, and display

10974-543: The physical world, such as buttons and windows. While the term desktop environment originally described a style of user interfaces following the desktop metaphor, it has also come to describe the programs that realize the metaphor itself. This usage has been popularized by projects such as the Common Desktop Environment , KDE , and GNOME . On a system that offers a desktop environment, a window manager in conjunction with applications written using

11092-587: The previously mentioned items will likely cause problems with the operating system's "self knowing" security model. Users instead were encouraged to use a secure service called Google Cloud Print to print to legacy printers connected to their desktop computers, or to connect an HP ePrint , Kodak Hero, Kodak ESP, or Epson Connect printer to the Google Cloud Print service for a "cloud aware" printer connection. The Cr-48 prototype laptop gave reviewers their first opportunity to evaluate ChromeOS running on

11210-506: The program code that is part of a desktop environment has effects which are directly visible to the user. Some of it may be low-level code. KDE , for example, provides so-called KIO slaves which give the user access to a wide range of virtual devices. These I/O slaves are not available outside the KDE environment. In 1996 the KDE was announced, followed in 1997 by the announcement of GNOME . Xfce

11328-440: The program's resource script before compilation. Many icon editors can copy a unique icon from a program file for editing. Only a few can assign an icon to a program file, a much more difficult task. Simple icon editors and image-to-icon converters are also available online as web applications . This is a list of notable computer icon software. Chromebook Chromebook (sometimes stylized in lowercase as chromebook )

11446-589: The school using third-party software pre-installed on the laptops. Further, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has complained that Google itself is violating the privacy of students by enabling the synchronization function within Google Chrome ("Chrome Sync") by default, allowing web browsing histories and other data of students – including those under-13 – to be stored on Google servers and potentially used for purposes other than authorized educational purposes. A point of contention has been

11564-610: The screen and groups related icons together on the screen. Secondary icons of system programs are also displayed on the task bar or the system dock . These secondary icons do not provide a link like the primary icons, instead, they are used to show availability of a tool or file on the system. Spatial management techniques play a bigger role in mobile devices with their much smaller screen real estate. In response, mobile devices have introduced, among other visual devices, scrolling screen displays and selectable tabs displaying groups of related icons. Even with these evolving display systems,

11682-512: The screen real estate. They are also displayed in text, either as the link itself or a friendly name, whereas icons are defined as being primarily non-textual. Because of the design requirements, icon creation can be a time-consuming and costly process. There are a plethora of icon creation tools to be found on the Internet, ranging from professional level tools through utilities bundled with software development programs to stand-alone freeware. Given this wide availability of icon tools and icon sets,

11800-423: The screen to create a customized user environment. A series of recurring computer icons are taken from the broader field of standardized symbols used across a wide range of electrical equipment. Examples of these are the power symbol and the USB icon, which are found on a wide variety of electronic devices. The standardization of electronic icons is an important safety-feature on all types of electronics, enabling

11918-403: The screen, also in relation to other icons, may provide further information to the user about their usage. In activating an icon, the user can move directly into and out of the identified function without knowing anything further about the location or requirements of the file or code. Icons as parts of the graphical user interface of a computer system, in conjunction with windows , menus and

12036-471: The single system, instead they are stored someplace else, "in the cloud". The cloud metaphor is replacing the desktop model; it remains to be seen how many of the common desktop icons (file, file folder, trashcan, inbox, filing cabinet) find a place in this new metaphor. A further type of computer icon is more related to the brand identity of the software programs available on the computer system. These brand icons are bundled with their product and installed on

12154-405: The situation is the opposite, with Unix-like operating systems dominating the market, including the iOS (BSD-derived), Android , Tizen , Sailfish and Ubuntu (all Linux-derived). Microsoft's Windows phone , Windows RT and Windows 10 are used on a much smaller number of tablets and smartphones. However, the majority of Unix-like operating systems dominant on handheld devices do not use

12272-748: The software, a single icon file such as the Apple Icon Image format can include multiple versions of the same icon optimized to work at a different size, in colour or grayscale as well as on dark and bright backgrounds. The colors used, for both the image and the icon background, should stand out on different system backgrounds and among each other. The detailing of the icon image needs to be simple, remaining recognizable in varying graphical resolutions and screen sizes. Computer icons are by definition language-independent but often not culturally independent; they do not rely on letters or words to convey their meaning. These visual parameters place rigid limits on

12390-407: The standard computer icon. The graphical windows on the computer screen share some of the visual and functional characteristics of the computer icon. Windows can be minimized to an icon format to serve as a hyperlink to the window itself. Multiple windows can be open and even overlapping on the screen. However where the icon provides a single button to initiate some function, the principal function of

12508-545: The system to the program or data files created by a specific software provider. Although icons are usually depicted in graphical user interfaces , icons are sometimes rendered in a TUI using special characters such as MouseText or PETSCII . The design of all computer icons is constricted by the limitations of the device display. They are limited in size, with the standard size of about a thumbnail for both desktop computer systems and mobile devices. They are frequently scalable, as they are displayed in different positions in

12626-546: The system. The system icons currently in use have typically gone through widespread international acceptance and understandability testing. Icon design factors have also been the topic for extensive usability studies. The design itself involves a high level of skill in combining an attractive graphic design with the required usability features. The icon needs to be clear and easily recognizable, able to display on monitors of widely varying size and resolutions. Its shape should be simple with clean lines, without too much detailing in

12744-470: The text, they have also enabled electronic messages to substitute for and frequently supplant voice-to-voice messaging. These emoticons are very different from the icon hyperlinks described above. They do not serve as links, and are not part of any system function or computer software. Instead they are part of the communication language of users across systems. For these computer icons, customization and modifications are not only possible but in fact expected of

12862-769: The time, Google Play access was scheduled for the ASUS Chromebook Flip, the Acer Chromebook R 11 and the most recent Chromebook Pixel, with other Chromebooks slated over time. Partnering with Google, Samsung released the Chromebook Plus and Chromebook Pro in early 2017, the first Chromebooks to come with the Play Store pre-installed. A February 2017 review in The Verge reported that the Plus with its ARM processor handled Android apps "much better" than

12980-667: The title Chromebook Guru and lending Chromebooks to passengers on some Virgin America flights. At the end of September 2011, Google launched the Chrome Zone , a "store within a store", inside the Currys and PC World superstore in London. The store had a Google-style look and feel with splashes of color all around the retail store front. The concept was later changed to a broader in-store Google shop, which has not expanded beyond

13098-562: The user to interact graphically with the application in a consistent way. The first desktop environment was created by Xerox and was sold with the Xerox Alto in the 1970s. The Alto was generally considered by Xerox to be a personal office computer; it failed in the marketplace because of poor marketing and a very high price tag. With the Lisa , Apple introduced a desktop environment on an affordable personal computer , which also failed in

13216-444: The user. A text hyperlink performs much the same function as the functional computer icon: it provides a direct link to some function or data available on the system. Although they can be customized, these text hyperlinks generally share a standardized recognizable format, blue text with underlining. Hyperlinks differ from functional computer icons in that they are normally embedded in text, whereas icons are displayed as stand-alone on

13334-410: The user. Through color it should also provide some visual indicator as to the icon state; activated, available or currently not accessible ("greyed out"). The standard icon is generally the size of an adult thumb, enabling both easy visual recognition and use in a touchscreen device. For individual devices the display size correlates directly to the size of the screen real estate and the resolution of

13452-463: The visually impaired on many computer systems. The width and height of the icon are the same (1:1 aspect ratio ) in almost all areas of traditional use. Icons can also be augmented with iconographic motion - geometric manipulations applied to a graphical element over time, for example, a scale, rotation, or other deformation. One example is when application icons "wobble" in iOS to convey to the user they are able to be repositioned by being dragged. This

13570-577: The window is a workspace, which can be minimized to an icon hyperlink when not in use. Over time, certain GUI widgets have gradually appeared which are useful in many contexts. These are graphical controls which are used across computer systems and can be intuitively manipulated by the user even in a new context because the user recognises them from having seen them in a more familiar context. Examples of these control widgets are scroll bars, sliders, listboxes and buttons used in many programs. Using these widgets,

13688-461: The windowing system may provide some window management functionality, this functionality is still considered to be part of the window manager, which simply happens to have been provided by the windowing system. Applications that are created with a particular window manager in mind usually make use of a windowing toolkit , generally provided with the operating system or window manager. A windowing toolkit gives applications access to widgets that allow

13806-476: Was intended for testing only, not retail sales. The Cr-48's hardware design broke convention by replacing certain keys with shortcut keys, such as the function keys, and replacing the caps lock key with a dedicated search key (now called the "Everything Button"), which can be changed back to caps lock in the OS's keyboard settings. Google addressed complaints that the operating system offers little functionality when

13924-546: Was its lack of performance in Flash applications." In ongoing testing, Wolfgang Gruener, also writing in Conceivably Tech , said that cloud computing at cellular data speeds is unacceptable and that the lack of offline ability turns the Cr-48 "into a useless brick" when not connected. "It's difficult to use the Chromebook as an everyday device and give up what you are used to on a Mac/Windows PC, while you surely enjoy

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