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Chromebooks make sense for certain business and organization use cases. Not all businesses can give up on Windows applications, however. While Google does have alternatives to Microsoft Office, many companies have legacy Windows-based applications that are not easily converted to cloud or web-based. However, there are solutions, based on HTML5 technology, that allow browser-based access to such applications. For example, Ericom's AccessNow HTML5 RDP solution enables Chromebook users to securely connect to Terminal Server or VDI virtual destops (or almost any RDP host) and run their applications and desktops in a browser. AccessNow does not require any installation on the Chromebook, so it's easy to deploy and manage. For an online demo open your Chrome browser and visit: http://www.ericom.com/demo_Acc... Please note that I work for Ericom.

You have the right take on Chromebooks. They were never meant to totally replace traditional laptops, and they're not for everyone. Chromebooks are meant for users that spend most of their time in a browser and want a device that's easy to use and starts up fast. Sounds like a lot of people that I know. However, even those willing to try a new OS or device might not be willing or able to give up on their Windows applications. But there are solutions to overcome that obstacle. For example, Ericom AccessNow is an HTML5 RDP client that enables Chromebook users to securely connect to any RDP host, including Terminal Server and VDI virtual desktops, and run their applications and desktops in a browser. AccessNow does not require any client to be installed on the Chromebook, as you only need the HTML5-compatible browser. Check out this link for more info: http://www.ericom.com/RDPChromebook.asp?URL_ID=708 Please note that I work for Ericom

Once Google dropped the price, added more offline capabilities and improved the hardware, the Chromebook was bound to take off. Education was the correct market to target, as the Chromebook is easy to manage and use, and starts up super-fast. Many schools, however, still need access to Windows applications. Or, they may want to access education-related web apps that require Java support. One possible approach to these issues is to combine Chromebooks with third party solutions such as Ericom AccessNow, an HTML5 RDP solution that enables Chromebook users to connect to any RDP host, including Terminal Server and VDI virtual desktops, and run Windows applications or desktops in a browser tab. You can even open up an Internet Explorer session inside a Chrome browser tab, and then connect to the applications that require Java and run them on the Chromebook. For more information about AccessNow for Chromebooks in Education, visit: http://www.ericom.com/Education-ChromebookRDPClient.asp?URL_ID=708 Please note that I work for Ericom

The Chromebook definitely has it's place, as there are many people that would be happy with an easy-to-use, fast starting, inexpensive laptop. That being said, not everyone is willing or able to give up on their Windows applications. But there are solutions to overcome that. For example, Ericom AccessNow is an HTML5 RDP client that enables Chromebook users to securely connect to any RDP host, including Terminal Server and VDI virtual desktops, and run their applications and desktops in the Chrome browser tab. Check out this link for more info: http://www.ericom.com/RDPChromebook.asp?URL_ID=708 Please note that I work for Ericom

They could have at least used their own damn implementation of the NX protocol and got work going around porting it to Windows and Mac. Maybe then NX would finally start to replace VNC and the FLOSS community would have a high quality remote desktop environment (and by high quality I mean HDX responsiveness). Or, god forbid, an HTML 5 client -like Ericom's AccessNow which is marketed for Chromebooks. You know, anything other than reinventing the damn wheel.

I find these much more impressive:

http://www.thinvnc.com/index.html
http://www.ericom.com/html5_rdp_client.asp

Not the least because every Windows machine has an RDP server on it (that is very easy to enable in Control Panel even for a clueless casual user), and most Unixen are easy to configure with VNC.

If you are considering Chromebooks but acces to your Windows apps is important to you, you should look at Ericom AccessNow, a pure HTML5 RDP client that enables Chromebook users to connect to any RDP host, including Terminal Server (RDS Session Host), physical desktops or VDI virtual desktops – and run their applications and desktops in a browser. Ericom‘s AccessNow does not require Java, Flash, Silverlight, ActiveX, or any other underlying technology to be installed on end-user devices – an HTML5 browser is all that is required. For more info, and to download the beta, visit: http://www.ericom.com/html5_rdp_client.asp?URL_ID=708

The are several alternatives that provide 80% of Citrix functionality at 30% the cost. It will up to you to verify that the 80% will include everything you need. Interesting options include Ericom Software, Jetro and others. There are also some online resources for this type of information such as Brian Madden, and DABCC.

PowerTerm

I use Powerterm on Windows, OSX, and Linux! In fact, I cannot live without it. It does keymapping, which is very useful for my application, and emulates a wide variety of systems. I was tired of messing with termcap files, and Powerterm just plain works. It does SSH, telnet (if you are brave enough), and I use it on my laptop through the modem.

It also does on the fly switching to 132 column mode, for those wide reports that you output to your screen, and a history buffer up to 5MB. Along with a print screen feature, and script recording, it does everything I need it to do, when at the CLI of any host.

Have a look: http://www.ericom.com/pti4linux.asp

There are very few clients (puTTY and Powerterm) on the PC that can handle our product. The Mac situation is much worse. It took me a few months to find an appropriate solution for working with our clients from my Mac. The winners are:

Eterm -free- Get version 0.9 through Fink. It's much faster than Apple's terminal application and is much more configurable.
Here's a shot of a typical Eterm on my machine

DataComet -not free- but worth it. This program is similar to Powerterm on the PC side. It can handle just about any emulation you throw at it. Powerterm and DataComet both include their own font suites which allow for full PC-ANSI emulation, for example. Very comprehensive package. It integrates with the built-in shell and even handles my company's software.
Here's a screenshot of DataComet on my system

Here's a random screenshot.

Note: There is a Powerterm for Mac OSX, but it's fairly expensive, and DataComet performs as well. Hit me up if you have any questions....