BlueStacks Allows You to Run Android Apps on a Mac

[faroZ06]

Except for the worms targeting jailbroken iOS devices or the fact that the jaibroken apps haven't been reviewed by Apple for potential virus and privacy concerns.

Are you talking about the SSH thing? That was because people installed OpenSSH and left the password as "alpine", the default. And the act of jailbreaking itself does not install any apps. Just be careful what apps you install. The emulators I have and Terminal can't really have security holes unless they are deliberate trojans.

 

[oliversl]

Now I feel complete! Just kidding

 

[KnightWRX]

Are you talking about the SSH thing? That was because people installed OpenSSH and left the password as "alpine", the default.

So jailbreaking did open a security hole in that case. If the device hadn't been jailbroken, there would have been no exposed remote access with "alpine" as the default password.

 

[faroZ06]

So jailbreaking did open a security hole in that case. If the device hadn't been jailbroken, there would have been no exposed remote access with "alpine" as the default password.

No, because SSH was enabled by users installing an app (well actually nothing with GUI) after jailbreaking. The app was on Cydia and still is but with warnings to change the password now. By the way, Apple actually set that default password. I know because my cousin and I jailbroke his iPod touch 2nd gen using Terminal back in the day.

 

[Sackvillenb]

Cool! Even though this wouldn't have any real practical purpose for me, but it would still be fun to have access to Android apps, just to mess around... Glad someone thought of this...

 

[faroZ06]

Now all we need is a Mac OS X emulator on Android... Then you might guess what I'm thinking.

 

[faroZ06]

Cool! Even though this wouldn't have any real practical purpose for me, but it would still be fun to have access to Android apps, just to mess around... Glad someone thought of this...

I see you're rooting for that 37" iMac still

 

[ChazUK]

Now all we need is a Mac OS X emulator on Android... Then you might guess what I'm thinking.

Image

You dawg, I made an emulator for your emulator so you can emulate while you emulate?

 

[whooleytoo]

Maybe I was wrong...

After running the simulator and quitting, I noticed I have 30+ extra processes called uHD-Pal (and a half dozen others with similar names), and this is when the simulator isn't running. One of them is consuming 20% of the CPU.

Hmmm. I can't be certain these were part of the BlueStacks install, but I'm sure I would have noticed these previously.

 

[a0me]

Indoor maps are available in the web application.

Link? Google seems to think they're only available on Android: http://support.google.com/gmm/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1685872&topic=1685871&ctx=topic

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No, because SSH was enabled by users installing an app (well actually nothing with GUI) after jailbreaking.

Thanks for proving my point. Jailbreaking their iPhone allowed then to install an app which made their device vulnerable.

 

[SvenSvenson]

Use...

... What use is this? I have an iphone and an ipad...

It's of no use to you as you don't have a Mac.

 

[MasterThorn19]

I don't really get this. Why would you want to run Android apps on a Mac? Doesn't Mac already have a much better selection of quality apps than Android?

I think this is good thinking. I personally have an iPhone however I work for apple and we do get people in who purchase a Mac but can't then afford an iPhone or they like their android device. So think about it very soon apple I'm sure will get even closer to cross platform apps, this means in stead of an app for iOS and an app for Macs it will.be one single app that runs on both. My point is android users who have a computer wither its Mac or windows will soon want to do something similar to make life a little Easyer and this is a perfect solution.

 

[KnightWRX]

Link? Google seems to think they're only available on Android: http://support.google.com/gmm/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1685872&topic=1685871&ctx=topic

Digged around and you're right, it is an Android only feature. Though legally getting a version of Android maps for Bluestacks is probably not something you can look forward too, making the point moot.

Kinda sad to see Google go this route, they are usually good at making their features available as web applications first.

 

[iSee]

Perhaps it could be used by developers. I know this isn't an Android simulator, but I could see it (maybe) coming in handy for devs. It seems like they would just use the Android simulator, though.

There's already and Android enumator that developers use. It's included with the Android SDK. (I wouldn't be surprised if this project is based on the same emulator.) The SDK emulator is fine for devs but is probably too tricky for general use.

I just can't figure out why anyone would want to do this.
I see people mention WhatsApp a lot, but that just means they should come out with a native Mac client. So I guess this is a stop-gap workaround until they do. Of course people could just use better messaging app too.

 

[Jazwire]

Rather have an iOS emulator on Mac.

 

[damir00]

There are lots of neat Android apps, I like this very much. Would also like to be able to run iOS apps on OSX.

 

[iMacFarlane]

This is definitely a cool "proof of concept" for the Android and Mac OS. Many people here are wondering what the point is.

I think it's marketing.

Let's say you're on the Android side of the house. You know there are millions of iOS users out there who may be getting bored with their iPhones or are curious about the Android phones. You know many iOS people have converted to Mac OS X from Windows. Now, you make this emulator/widget/thingie that lets them download and try out ALL the apps in your marketplace. They find the parallels to their favorite iOS apps, and maybe something better. They find loads of cool stuff that Apple won't allow in their ecosystem. Then they decide their next phone is going to be an Android. Mission accomplished, clever Android marketing person.

My son has an Android. I am an iGuy, and will not sway. Just trying to make sense of this weirdness like everyone else.

 

[JAT]

Did Erik the red say why he wanted to discover America?

Pardon? You've created a temporal loop that cannot be calculated.

Did you write for Star Trek the Next Generation?

 

[polaris20]

mmm k?

Why do I need to run Android apps on my Mac?

I feel like I'm missing something here.

Sounds like a "because I can" kinda thing. I don't really see the point either.

 

[samcraig]

Could be. But when I was ready to make the switch it was because I wanted a new experience and a bigger screen. Before switching though - I did run through the list of apps I used regularly (and even the not so used ones) to see if the same apps were available on Android. All of my "musts" were and most of my "would be nice to have" were as well. That clinched the deal. But that was an easy search through the (now) play store. I didn't need an emulator.

This is definitely a cool "proof of concept" for the Android and Mac OS. Many people here are wondering what the point is.

I think it's marketing.

Let's say you're on the Android side of the house. You know there are millions of iOS users out there who may be getting bored with their iPhones or are curious about the Android phones. You know many iOS people have converted to Mac OS X from Windows. Now, you make this emulator/widget/thingie that lets them download and try out ALL the apps in your marketplace. They find the parallels to their favorite iOS apps, and maybe something better. They find loads of cool stuff that Apple won't allow in their ecosystem. Then they decide their next phone is going to be an Android. Mission accomplished, clever Android marketing person.

My son has an Android. I am an iGuy, and will not sway. Just trying to make sense of this weirdness like everyone else.

 

[JAT]

Thanks for proving my point. Jailbreaking their iPhone allowed then to install an app which made their device vulnerable.

And allowing "them" to leave the Apple Store with their iPhone opens up all sorts of vulnerabilities. Sitting on, spilling on, dropping in toilet, theft....maybe Apple should just limit all usage of their products to padded rooms, monitored by someone who won't let anything happen.

 

[faroZ06]

You dawg, I made an emulator for your emulator so you can emulate while you emulate?

I thought about using VirtualBox to run Windows in Linux in Windows in Linux in Windows in Linux in Mac, but I decided that it was a waste of time since I'd be running Windows.

 

[doobybiggs]

not a bad idea ... surprised it took that long to get something like this.

 

[a0me]

And allowing "them" to leave the Apple Store with their iPhone opens up all sorts of vulnerabilities. Sitting on, spilling on, dropping in toilet, theft....maybe Apple should just limit all usage of their products to padded rooms, monitored by someone who won't let anything happen.

Nice way to missinterpret what i said. I hope that makes you feel better about yourself.

 

[Analog Kid]

Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do that thing...