PCWorld - Who needs Windows? Soon, you'll be able to use Chrome-based standalone apps to communicate with a Fitbit, sort through an iTunes music library, and pay for in-app purchases via Google Wallet. Google recently announced a slew of updates and additions to the APIs (application programming interfaces) available to developers making packaged apps for Google’s browser.
You may not have heard of
packaged apps, as they're currently still in the development stages.
Packaged apps are built on top of Chrome using Web technologies such as
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The big difference between packaged apps and
regular Chrome apps is that packaged apps are standalone programs that
operate in a separate window and can—crucially—run offline.
They are
also stripped of all the typical browser “chrome” such as the URL
address bar and tabs, to more closely resemble a typical PC application.
