Chromebooks are being utilised by a not-for-profit mental health firm to provide their case workers 24 hours access to their Windows desktops, so that they can access their files and desktop software such as Microsoft Office when visiting those in need of care and support.
Connecticut-based Continuum of Care, Inc has provided Chromebooks to around 700 of their case workers so that they can access the files on their Windows desktops when they need to, and not just when they are at their desk.
Currently, Chromebooks are still perceived by many to be a niche item, and a netbook replacement rather than competing with fully fledged Windows laptops. However, sales of Google’s ultraportable laptops accounted for 35% of all notebook sales in the US to May 2014, a whopping 250% growth year-on-year, according to NPD.
It appears that more and more people are deciding that while they do want a keyboard for easy typing and work, most of what we do on computers today is accessed through the web browser – and that is somewhere that Chromebooks excel. The svelte $300 Google laptops run Google’s own open source ChromeOS, with the Chrome browser central to almost all they do.
The main limiting factors for Chromebooks have been the lack of onboard storage, with most coming with just 16-32GB SSDs, and the lack of features when an internet connection is not available. However, in the years since the first Chromebooks were launched in May 2011, Google has addressed many of these issues, with users now perfectly able to write emails, edit spreadsheets and other documents, edit photos, watch movies, and play games. Many third-party apps are also now offering offline access, with the New York Times and Amazon’s Kindle Cloud Reader leading the way.
In the case of Continuum Care case workers, Chromebooks are being used precisely because of their focus on online connectivity – as they are needed to remotely access their desktops. To achieve this, the company decided on Ericom AccessNow, as Continuum IT manager Peter Mooney explains:
“We tried several remote desktop applications. Only AccessNow had the gateway settings and performance, which allow our case workers to connect to our headquarters and be productive, regardless of where they are located.
“Instead of getting a thousand-dollar laptop that requires ongoing updates and management, the combination of Chromebooks and AccessNow allows us to deliver a Microsoft Windows experience with Office applications inside the browser.”
(Source: http://www.ericom.com/)
As AccessNow is HTML5 compatible, while the case workers currently connect to their desktops remotely with Chromebooks, they are not locked in to any specific product lines, because the HTML interface can be access by any laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
Photograph by Maurizio Pesce