Considering there are hundreds of millions of Android apps currently available, Google’s App Runtime for Chrome beta has the potential to make Windows / Linux PC, Mac, or Chrome OS devices more desirable, both for consumers and enterprises.

At $35, the Google Chromecast device is very cool, but does it work with MacBooks, iMacs or other Mac OS X systems? I’ve heard the same rumors you have, that Chromecast is for Windows PCs and Android devices and if you’re an Apple fan or user, you’re going to be out of luck. That turns out to be completely inaccurate and the Chromecast device turns out to be quite compatible with both Mac OS X systems (with some caveats) and iOS devices like the iPad, iPad Mini and iPhone. Except for that caveat, because it’s an important one: On the Mac, Chromecast only pairs with the Google Chrome Web browser, so if you prefer Safari, Firefox or another Web browser, you’ll need to switch for any content that you’d like to beam to your TV. Some content, notably Netflix, actually works great within Chrome because, as you’ll see, it’s Chromecast aware unto itself. But let’s start at the beginning. If you don’t already have one.

They’re for sale at the Google Store or your local Walmart. Hard to go wrong! Now plug it in and if you’ve a very modern TV, it’ll be able to gain power from the HDMI connection, which is optimal. If not, plug in the power adapter so it starts up. Switch your TV input so you’re connected and it’ll look like this on your TV: Now you’ll want to go to the following URL within the Chrome browser on your Mac: Download the setup application and launch it, and it’ll immediately start looking for the device: Rather to my surprise, it found it without any effort on my part. Moments later If you guessed “click on Continue to continue”, well, you’re right! Click on “Continue” to well, you know.

Meanwhile, on the TV: The good news is that the codes match. That makes things easy! Again, a click on “Continue” on the computer and you’re ready to teach the device what wifi network you use: Enter your wifi credentials for the same wifi network that you use for your computer, tweak the name if you’re so inclined (I just call mine “Chromecast”) and click on you can do it “Continue”! The system does indeed update, and when it’s done yet another “Continue” and we’re done! Surprisingly easy. Now let’s jump into Chrome itself and set that up. As the window shows, you need to get the “Cast” extension for Google Chrome and install it.

That’s done by going into the Google Play store and searching for “Cast” (or perhaps the above button will work for you. For me it didn’t work). Install the Cast extension and it’ll confirm the installation: Notice the small icon on the top right of the window too. That’s your “Cast” icon that lets you pick any tab in Chrome and beam it to your Chromecast device. Where this gets more cool is if we pop into Netflix, since its player is Chromecast aware.