Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?
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BTW, doesn't ChromeOS have real Office 365 apps too?
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@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
@DustinB3403 said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
Personal office or business office? You'll want to account for user training and the PEBCAK issues.
Business office. I thought ChromeOS would be so simple to use that you would basically not need any training. Basically if you can handle a smartphone, you can handle ChromeOS.
I actually don't use a chromebook but played around with it a few times. Maybe there is more to it than I thought?
yeah - while I agree people will muddle through - if they have any experience on Windows they will get frustrated because the desktop is not a real usable space, etc.
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@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
BTW, doesn't ChromeOS have real Office 365 apps too?
Not really - there are the Android apps, they aren't bad...
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@Dashrender said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
BTW, doesn't ChromeOS have real Office 365 apps too?
Not really - there are the Android apps, they aren't bad...
I've tried Android in the past as a desktop and it was pretty limiting because Android doesn't have a typical window manager. At least it didn't when I tested.
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@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
@Dashrender said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
BTW, doesn't ChromeOS have real Office 365 apps too?
Not really - there are the Android apps, they aren't bad...
I've tried Android in the past as a desktop and it was pretty limiting because Android doesn't have a typical window manager. At least it didn't when I tested.
Supposedly you can run Android apps on ChromeOS now - no idea how well it works.
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@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop only computer?
I'm thinking about something like Asus Chromebox but maybe there are other hardware options as well.
If you don't need any features that it doesn't have, then it makes an awesome desktop.
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@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
BTW, doesn't ChromeOS have real Office 365 apps too?
No, only Windows and macOS do.
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@Dashrender said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
If you can live only in a browser - then sure.
ChromeOS runs all Android apps, and all Linux apps. It's not limited like it was years ago. Locally installed apps are a standard thing now.
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@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
I'm thinking about two scenarios:
- Simple personal computer that everyone in the family can use.
- Office desktop that requires "zero" support.
Yup, it's just about perfect for those. The key reason we don't deploy it for those cases is that we want MeshCentral support so that we can remote in and help people with things.
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@DustinB3403 said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
For web only use cases, sure. G-Suite for document creation, youtube, other browser functionality.
Zoho works, too. Of O365 online. Or OnlyOffice and LibreOffice via CODE in NextCloud. Lots of options today.
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@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
Business office. I thought ChromeOS would be so simple to use that you would basically not need any training. Basically if you can handle a smartphone, you can handle ChromeOS.
Easier, actually. It goes from password to open browser. It's that simple.
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@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
@Dashrender said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
BTW, doesn't ChromeOS have real Office 365 apps too?
Not really - there are the Android apps, they aren't bad...
I've tried Android in the past as a desktop and it was pretty limiting because Android doesn't have a typical window manager. At least it didn't when I tested.
It runs Android apps, it is not an Android desktop. Two totally different things. There is no Android running here.
Windows can run Android apps too, with the right add on tools. Paul does this all the time.
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@Dashrender said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
@Dashrender said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
BTW, doesn't ChromeOS have real Office 365 apps too?
Not really - there are the Android apps, they aren't bad...
I've tried Android in the past as a desktop and it was pretty limiting because Android doesn't have a typical window manager. At least it didn't when I tested.
Supposedly you can run Android apps on ChromeOS now - no idea how well it works.
Very well, it's a key feature of the platform.
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@scottalanmiller said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
@Dashrender said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
If you can live only in a browser - then sure.
ChromeOS runs all Android apps, and all Linux apps. It's not limited like it was years ago. Locally installed apps are a standard thing now.
So you can run GIMP on it? as an example?
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@Dashrender said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
@scottalanmiller said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
@Dashrender said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
If you can live only in a browser - then sure.
ChromeOS runs all Android apps, and all Linux apps. It's not limited like it was years ago. Locally installed apps are a standard thing now.
So you can run GIMP on it? as an example?
Yeah, that should run. You have to test "Linux apps" carefully because they have to run on Linux, not require a specific OS based on Linux. ChromeOS is fully Linux compatible, but that is the shared level that Fedora, Ubuntu, Android, Debian, etc. all share.
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@scottalanmiller There are not that many options for desktop hardware when running Chrome.
Have you tried running Chrome on other hardware, for instance with Neverware's CloudReady?
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@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
There are not that many options for desktop hardware when running Chrome.
Nope, sadly not many. Acer is the main player.
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@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
Have you tried running Chrome on other hardware, for instance with Neverware's CloudReady?
I have not, but we have a client that does it all the time. They use older Dell laptops mostly and deploy the open source ChromeOS variant on them to great success. They deploy them in the office all of the time.
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@scottalanmiller said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
Have you tried running Chrome on other hardware, for instance with Neverware's CloudReady?
I have not, but we have a client that does it all the time. They use older Dell laptops mostly and deploy the open source ChromeOS variant on them to great success. They deploy them in the office all of the time.
Sounds good. I'll give that a try since that is probably the quickest way to get started.
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@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
@scottalanmiller said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
@Pete-S said in Does ChromeOS make sense for a desktop?:
Have you tried running Chrome on other hardware, for instance with Neverware's CloudReady?
I have not, but we have a client that does it all the time. They use older Dell laptops mostly and deploy the open source ChromeOS variant on them to great success. They deploy them in the office all of the time.
Sounds good. I'll give that a try since that is probably the quickest way to get started.
Easy to at least test it out. No idea if Android or Linux apps work that way, though. Google banned a lot of older deployments from getting that feature in the past.
