r/Android • u/FragmentedChicken Galaxy Z Fold8 • 4d ago

gbos-vm - Run Googlebook OS in a GPU-accelerated VM on Apple Silicon Macs

https://github.com/skylartaylor/gbos-vm
81 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

47

u/Busy-Measurement8893 Pixel 10 / Fairphone 4 4d ago

Fun project. Might try it when it's older than.. two days.

18

u/maxtinion_lord 4d ago

I've been saying this pretty often these days.

16

u/_lolcat_ 4d ago

Anyway, is there a way to trick my phone into thinking it's talking to a Google book and get these nice to have features (like phone file browsing) on other operating systems?

3

u/Elephant789 Pixel 7 3d ago

(like phone file browsing) on other operating systems?

I could do that on Windows with Phone Link.

2

u/_lolcat_ 3d ago

But that requires you to have an app on the phone. Also, it only supports windows.

13

u/renderwares 4d ago

GoogleBook OS - Better on a Mac.

9

u/OperatorJo_ 4d ago

And there it is.

All reasons to BUY a pure Googlebook just jumped off a cliff.

4

u/sQ5FWKjwbWd4QzSZduqy 3d ago

Theres no reason to run them in a container at all, except for fun.

2

u/DerpSenpai Nothing 4d ago

You can also run MacOS on googlebooks you know?

7

u/OperatorJo_ 4d ago

You can also just buy a Windows laptop since everyone and their mother has programs compatible for it AND you can run both. Or dualboot.

What I meant wasn't specifically "Now I can just buy a Mac".

What I mean is why would I buy a Googlebook when I can just run a VM on a Mac or Windows?

I'm sorry but pure Googlebooks are just a big fat why.

2

u/TonyP321 3d ago

I feel like there will be limitations when it comes to Android apps on a VM just like it is with Chromebooks.

2

u/AndorinhaRiver 3d ago

If it's anything like Waydroid on Linux it'll probably be fine to be fair

1

u/Tiny-Sandwich 3d ago

There's quite a difference in experience running an OS on bare metal vs a virtual machine. Anyone that wants a Googlebook isn't really going to be satisfied by running it on an existing machine as a VM. It's just not the same.

1

u/bunkoRtist 2d ago

But windows is hot garbage, compatibility be damned. Every time I use it, I get upset at how hostile it is. No I don't want cortana. No I don't want OneDrive. No I don't want a wizard instead of just a set of controls. No I don't want bing. No I don't want to change my default browser browser back to edge. And windows is busy aggressively trying to push me to all those things.

0

u/OperatorJo_ 2d ago

Windows LTSC exists.

It's a very light enterprise version that removes all of that.

1

u/bunkoRtist 2d ago

Sounds like something Microsoft should let consumers buy. But apparently they don't.

1

u/OperatorJo_ 2d ago

They don't, but now you know it exists and can do what you will with that info. It's also pretty much the same as getting the other non-google android PC OS'.

I'd also like to point out that where you can get LTSC is a site and program that microsoft service techs have used themselves in the past to fix license issues.

0

u/James_Vowles 4d ago

why would you buy a mac or windows laptop when you can just but a googlebook and run both of them in a VM?

3

u/starkruzr 4d ago

with virtualization, presumably, and a firmware hack?