Chromebook Shipments Up 67%
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The biggest issues we see with Chromebooks is unless the business is fully chormebook they are a nightmare! Most companies have Windows environments (not all but most) where their files are stored etc. Chromebooks make it difficult to access any of that.
Chromebooks can't print in a way that isn't a huge pain and causes bottlenecks with their cloud print software when you try to print more than 10 pages in the course of a half hour.
For a sales team that never has to print things and does everything online. Doesn't need to have things in a MS Office environment and can do everything via Google docs. Would be fine.
For anything else in business I just don't see how it would work unless they were fully on Chromebooks
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@Minion-Queen, yeah, if a business uses Google Apps, I could see this working really well. However, I could see there being a lot of compatibility issues with a multitude of programs.
Just out of curiosity, are you able to do things like open zip files (extract and open contained files) on a Chromebook?
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Yes you can but it is really convoluted and you have to know what you are doing ie the average user can't do it.
I have only done it once and it took me like 10 minutes to figure it out. When you double click on a zipped file it mounts it. Then you can browse the files and move them to the download folder. Don't try to ever open it in the google drive that gave me a million errors.
The best way I found it to get a 3rd party app in the google play store.
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@Minion-Queen that's why Chromebooks are huge in greenfield projects, but PCs are still big in brownfield ones.
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@thanksaj said:
@Minion-Queen, yeah, if a business uses Google Apps, I could see this working really well. However, I could see there being a lot of compatibility issues with a multitude of programs.
Just out of curiosity, are you able to do things like open zip files (extract and open contained files) on a Chromebook?
Google Apps isn't really the issue at all. It is legacy "non web" apps that are the issue. Google Apps is not actually a factor.
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@thanksaj said:
Just out of curiosity, are you able to do things like open zip files (extract and open contained files) on a Chromebook?
You don't have to, doing so means you are introducing legacy concepts. You don't work with local files on Chromebooks, you do that all on the servers. It's a web browser, you have to rethink end user computing and not carry Windows idioms and challenges over looking for answers. It answers that by changing how you work.
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I wonder how many Chromebook sales are into schools, where low cost is a bigger factor that usability and the user requirements of a 6 year old is a little lower than a 40 year old office worker.
I use them at work, but as an additional device for a specific purpose and not as a replacement to a PC. And I sometimes use them to RDP onto a PC, but that's just using them as a thin-client, which isn't their intended purpose.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
I wonder how many Chromebook sales are into schools...
Rumor is is that that is huge.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
And I sometimes use them to RDP onto a PC, but that's just using them as a thin-client, which isn't their intended purpose.
No but they are great for it. I know big companies looking to use them for their thin client remote use fleets. They can be very practical.
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Keep in mind that Chromebooks can't make zip files either. So if you have a full Chromium shop, zip files won't exist.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@thanksaj said:
Just out of curiosity, are you able to do things like open zip files (extract and open contained files) on a Chromebook?
You don't have to, doing so means you are introducing legacy concepts. You don't work with local files on Chromebooks, you do that all on the servers. It's a web browser, you have to rethink end user computing and not carry Windows idioms and challenges over looking for answers. It answers that by changing how you work.
Lots of companies still use Zip files not arguing that it's legacy cause it is. But the fact is you still get lots of those floating around in some businesses.
Chromebooks aren't bad you just have to have the correct environment and situation for them to work. Infact I have one here, the reason you ask? I have a client with them in their windows environment, they do use Google Docs. but there are constant issues with them. So we are always needing to run tests in my office to figure out work arounds.
Now it is a nice thing to use while sitting on the couch and for posting on ML etc. but I can't use it in my daily business because I operate in an MS office world. Drove me nuts to test it out
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When you can get a Windows 10 notebook that does everything a Chromebook does plus loads and loads of other stuff and it costs maybe $50 more, I have to wonder why people would choose a Chromebook.
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@Carnival Boy I didn't realize that cost was so close on those! http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/cat/categoryID.68021800?icid=PC_ModC_Chromebook_080514?icid=PCcat_Modc_value_PC_092614
That is going to be a huge thing for a lot of small businesses.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
When you can get a Windows 10 notebook that does everything a Chromebook does plus loads and loads of other stuff and it costs maybe $50 more, I have to wonder why people would choose a Chromebook.
Performance and ease of use. Chromebooks are screaming fast and so simple to use. Much lower cost to manage. And a Chromebook at that price is enterprise, Windows is home use and cannot be managed by AD. So you go back to it costing twice as much if you want those features.
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@Minion-Queen said:
@Carnival Boy I didn't realize that cost was so close on those! http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/cat/categoryID.68021800?icid=PC_ModC_Chromebook_080514?icid=PCcat_Modc_value_PC_092614
That is going to be a huge thing for a lot of small businesses.
It's misleading because of the home version license.
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Moving from Home to Pro is easily over $100. That's pretty significant on a low cost laptop device that might only be $200 total for the Chromebook.
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Chromeboxes start at just $165. No Windows machine anywhere near that price.
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@scottalanmiller said:
Chromeboxes start at just $165. No Windows machine anywhere near that price.
Yeah, that's the truth.
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@scottalanmiller said:
And a Chromebook at that price is enterprise, Windows is home use and cannot be managed by AD.
What kind of management can you do with Google/Chromebooks that you can't do with Office 365? I suppose because Windows is more powerful than Chrome, you need more management, and thus need AD. Or if not AD, InTune, which is cheaper but still costs. Plus the cost of antivirus software.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
What kind of management can you do with Google/Chromebooks that you can't do with Office 365?
O365 is end user software, no management. Chromebooks are fully managed as devices, like AD and GPO. Completely different concepts. You can use O365 on Windows systems with or without AD or GPO, and you can use it on Chromebooks that are managed or unmanaged.
