Google products are known all over the world and the person who does not get to know any of them is very rare, even if he is not a user of them. Many are the products and are directed to meet the different needs of people. Google products are also well known for being abandoned. by the company, if this one sees that there is no longer a great demand in them.
And is that after the announcements I make this year ongoing shutdowns of its Hangouts and Google Talk messaging services, as well as its Google+ social networking platform and its Blog Compass blog management tool. Now another Google service is about to go to the graveyard of services and it is Cloud Print the Cloud Printing Service that allows any application (web, mobile, desktop) on any device to print to any cloud-connected printer.
This service allows you to easily print from the web using Google Chrome (even on printers without an internet connection). Cloud Print was a useful service because it works on both desktop and mobile device and offers extended benefits to older printers.
Google announced that Cloud Print will end its services as of December 31, 2020. Google recently confirmed the removal of this service:
“Cloud Print, Google's cloud printing solution that has been in beta since 2010, will no longer be supported as of December 31, 2020. As of January 1, 2021, devices across all systems operating will no longer print with Google Cloud Print. We suggest that you identify a workaround and execute a migration strategy next year. "
Though in Google's eyes, the service seems to be of no use anymore, the reality is that Cloud Print could be seen as an excellent option that allows you to work with the printer from mobile devices, from the most modern to the most basic, and print from Chrome and Chrome OS or even remotely over the Internet.
This was an excellent idea. that allows you to be able to use a printer from any computer without having to resort to exhaustive configurations, configure it in a network, etc.
It was basically that the Cloud Print server was built into every copy of the Chrome browser and that your printer was probably connected to a Chrome computer at some point, either via a local network or a USB cable.
Google took care of the rest, as the printer can be accessed from virtually anywhere through a Google account as long as the local computer is on.
Cloud Print has been integrated with other Google services such as Gmail, Google Docs, and Chrome and was originally positioned as a printing solution for Chrome OS.
However with Chrome OS now offering native printing services, cloud printing has become redundant. In this regard, the company notes that Chrome OS native printing solutions have improved significantly since the launch of Google Cloud Print in 2010 and promises that Chrome OS native printing will continue to benefit from more features over time.
The company also highlighted many of the same Chrome OS features that are already online or will be added to the operating system's native print functionality by the end of the year.
While the company hasn't indicated why Cloud Print is expected to end, it is the latest name in a long list of its Google product graveyard. Google now has 109 services in its graveyard since 2006. If you like this tool, you only have one year left to enjoy it.
Finally, the company recommends users to look for an alternative to Cloud Print or just limited to local use.
Do you know of any other alternative to Cloud Print that works on Linux?