Image: ASUS Google Chromebooks have seen their, but Chrome devices still haven't been able to grab a sizable market share in the enterprise. With the looming, Chrome devices offer a low-cost alternative for companies looking to transition off old Windows XP machines but are worried about the cost and complexity of upgrading to Windows 8. Today ASUS unveiled their Chromebox, a $179 desktop version of the Chromebook. Felix Lin, Director of Product Management at Google, called it, 'the most compact and powerful Chrome device to date.' The Chromebox is account-based like the Chromebook and users get access to 100GB of Google Drive space.
The box has a small SSD and access to four USB 3.0 ports, Bluetooth 4.0, an SD card reader, and it comes with integrated malware and virus protection. At 4.88' x4.88' it is only slightly larger than an Apple TV and can be mounted behind a compatible display using a Vesa mount. 'We firmly believe the ASUS Chromebox addresses the need for an extremely cost effective computing solution in the education, small and medium-sized business and home markets,' according to Gary Key, Senior Press Relations manager for ASUS. With the impending, many firms are looking for a way out.
The question is whether or not many organizations in the enterprise space are ready to make the leap to web-based applications. Options like the have been available for years and have provided a means for employees to access Windows desktops and applications through devices like iPads and Chromebooks. Last year in a blog post, Citrix even said they were.
Image: ASUS Despite these options, some analysts do not feel that the enterprise is entirely ready to move to the cloud. Steve Kleynhans, Vice President of Mobile and Client Computing Group at Gartner said that clients with a legacy of Windows applications won't see a device like Chromebox as a better option. 'The Chromebox (or Chromebooks) are well suited to organizations who have a 'green field' of new web-based applications and don’t have to deal with any legacy of Windows applications,' Kleynhans said.
'That describes a relatively small group of companies, most of whom are themselves quite small. While the long-term trend is moving towards web-based applications, (a space where Chromebooks/boxes do quite well), most organizations still have a large collection of Windows applications or Windows-dependent applications to deal with. For those organizations, the Chromebox is just another thin client; no better than the existing options from vendors who are better positioned for enterprises (Dell/Wyse, HP).' Kleynhans mentioned that enterprises have had these remote options for 15 or so years. The use of options like the Citrix Receiver and Microsoft's Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) has seen steady growth, however, Kleynhans noted, ' it is seldom used to completely replace local execution of Windows applications and requires an investment in the data center that some companies aren’t prepared to make.' Regardless of what option a company chooses when they move on from XP, there will be a culture shift involved.
Windows 8 has as an alien entity to regular Windows users. Windows 7 is a more familiar option and would come with an easier transition for companies that wanted to stick with a Windows product. Chrome devices are often low-cost and have the potential to increase collaboration, but they force businesses into the cloud—still an uncharted and misunderstood territory for many companies. Only time will tell what will replace Windows XP in the that still don't plan to replace all of their XP machines by April 8, 2014 when official Microsoft support ends. What do you think?
We want to know your take on this issue. Does Chrome have a place in the enterprise? What do you think is the best option for companies leaving XP?
Also see. (ZDNet) Related Topics.
Option One: Access a Windows Desktop Remotely Google’s Chrome OS is meant to be a lightweight operating system, so why not embrace that? We recommend running Windows software on your Chromebook by accessing a remote Windows computer and doing it there. There are two different approaches you can take. Access Your Own Windows Computer: If you already have a Windows computer, you can access it remotely and use it to run your Windows software.
You can do this using Google’s. You’ll be able to connect to your Windows desktop from your Chromebook (or any other computer running Chrome) and have complete control over your remote machine, allowing you to work with Windows applications. The downside here is that your Windows computer will have to be running at home whenever you need to access it from your Chromebook. It’s a convenient solution for personal use, but businesses won’t want to manage a separate Windows computer for each Chromebook user. Host Windows Applications on a Remote Server: Chromebooks can use to access Windows applications hosted on a Citrix server, or use an RDP client to access a remote desktop hosted on a Windows server.
This is ideal for businesses that want to host their own servers and give their users light, thin clients that allow them to remotely access the hosted software. As a home user, you could choose to purchase service from a company that would host a Windows desktop for you and allow you to access it remotely, but you’d probably be better off using your own Windows computer instead. Option Two: Use Developer Mode and Install Wine is an open-source compatibility layer that allows Windows applications to run on Linux and macOS. Wine is desktop software, and there isn’t a version of Wine designed for Chromebooksbut there are workarounds. Since Chrome OS is based on Linux, there are two ways to run Wine on your Chromebook: using to run it in Linux, or by using the new Wine Android app. Important: Wine in Linux won’t run on ARM Chromebooks, and the Android version only supports Windows RT apps. Wine should work properly on Intel Chromebooks, however.
Use Wine with Crouton: To install the desktop version of Wine, you’ll need to to get a Linux desktop alongside your Chrome OS system. You can then install Wine on the Linux desktop and just as you’d use Wine on a typical Linux desktop. This would allow you to, although you’d be better off with —unless you require advanced features. Whenever you want to use a Windows program, you could just switch between your Chrome OS system and Linux desktop with a keyboard shortcut—no need for rebooting. Use Wine for Android: Wine also has an Android app that’s, but if you have a Chromebook that runs Android apps, it can allow you to run Windows programs without installing Crouton. It’s not yet available in the Google Play Store, so you’ll need to. Once Wine is installed on your Chromebook, just launch the app like normal get access to a minimal, emulated version of Windows.
Keep in mind that this is still very much in beta, so it doesn’t work perfectly. That said, I would recommend at least trying this option before going through the trouble of setting up Crouton if all you plan on doing is using it for Wine. Wine isn’t perfect, so it won’t run every Windows application and may not run some applications without manual tweaking. Consult the for more information about supported applications and tweaks you may need. Option Three: Use Developer Mode and Install a Virtual Machine RELATED: If Wine doesn’t support the program you want to run, or it’s just too much of a hassle, you can also from the Linux desktop with Crouton.
Much like the above option, you’ll need to to get a Linux desktop alongside your Chrome OS system, then install a virtualization program like. Install Windows inside VirtualBox just as you would on a typical computer—you can switch back and forth between your Chrome desktop and Linux desktop with a keyboard shortcut. Important: Typical virtual machine software like VirtualBox won’t function on ARM Chromebooks.
You’ll want to have an Intel-based Chromebook to try this out. Virtual machines are the heaviest way to do this, so you’ll need powerful enough hardware to drive the virtual machine software, Windows, and your desktop applications.
Newer Chromebooks modern processors may be able to handle this better than older, slower Chromebooks. Virtual machines also take up a lot of disk space, which Chromebooks don’t often have—not a good combination.
Option Four: Use CrossOver for Android If you’re using a Chromebook that supports Android apps, an Android app called will let you run Windows programs alongside your Chrome apps. It’s still beta, but early testing has been positive. CrossOver works similarly to Wine on Chrome OS, but it takes more of a hands-on approach in walking you through installing applications. When you open the app, you can search for specific Windows software and it will walk you through installing them. It will search for the appropriate installation files and even download them for you in most cases. It’s pretty simple to use. Once the application has been installed, you can run it alongside your Chrome apps as if it were native.
Install Windows 7 On Asus Chromebox
In my experience with CrossOver, apps were hit and miss—which is to be expected since the app is still in beta. It still shows a lot of promise for the future of Windows software on Chromebooks, especially if you only need one or two specific programs. Option Five (Sort Of): Run Linux Software in Developer Mode Lastly, you may not need to run a Windows program at all—many Windows programs have their own Linux versions, and can run on a Chromebook without much fiddling.
For example, if you want to run games on a Chromebook, Steam for Linux offers many games for Linux, and its catalog continues to expand. So this technically isn’t “running Windows software”, but in some cases, it’s just as good. Bear in mind that many Linux programs, such as Minecraft, Skype, and Steam, are only available for Intel x86 processors and won’t run on devices with ARM processors. Can I Just Install Windows on My Chromebook? RELATED: I know, none of the above options are really ideal. If you find yourself wishing you could just install Windows on your Chromebookwell, you might be able to.
There are some projects out there that allow users to install Windows, but. Not only that, it only works on a specific set of Intel Chromebooks, so the majority of the options out there don’t actually have support. But check out that guide for more information, if you’re curious. Otherwise, you’re better off using one of the options above—or just getting a Windows laptop, if you absolutely need to.
Hey, I did this too and am now doing a triple boot! I was able to get sound working, but not over HDMI. Curiously enough, I cannot get sound working over HDMI on chrubuntu either. Anyways, I think the issue is with Windows 7 is that the SeaBios has been updated to no longer support Windows 7 (so I have been reading). So if you find a way to flash an older one, then you should be able to install Windows 7 (working on it). Incase anyone was interested, I tried the same thing with a mavericks installer:) It booted, but I can't install it anywhere. If anyone knows how to install Mavericks to an External, I'll make the first Hackintosh guide.
Asus Install Windows 10
Thanks for the report! HDMI sound has been a curious thing for me, it did not seem to work in chrubuntu. Chrubuntu hooked up to my TV worked great though, I'm wondering if my monitor is reporting something weird with the sound or if the volume was just not adjusted.
I tried Windows 8 hooked up to my TV and it still did not work however. I installed the latest Intel HD and HD audio drivers from the website and that did not fix things.
HDMI audio does not show up in the sound playback devices at all, not even as disabled. If someone gets Windows 7 working I'd go for that since media center is the only app on Windows I really care about that would be great, but I don't have a problem paying for it from the app store if there is sound. Lifehacker and probably a hundred other websites have guides on how to boot Mavericks from a USB if I recall correctly. You need to start from a working Mavericks machine though, and I'm guessing if you make the drive from a non-hackintosh you are in for a beastly load of work to get the drive working on non-Mac hardware though. Hey Man, Just reporting my findings, Could not get Windows 7 to Boot, no matter what, 0x0000007 something error each time. I then tried to Install Windows 7 to the SSD by booting to the install USB, but theres no USB 3.0 drivers for the setup so you can't click anything. Tried integrating them with R7Lite, tried doing an unattended setup, but each time, it gets stuck on the select language starting screen.
My next step is to format all of the internal drive, and then boot from a USB to a Live CD and then copy all the files over, then boot from a Windows install disc into a recovery console and repair the bootloader. Ideally I just want a windows version running off the 16SSD, and thats it.
Hi there, I've done the developer mode, firmware write-protect, and factory reset steps. I have also changed the crossystem settings. However, when I get to the OS verification screen, I press Ctrl-L, but pressing Esc doesn't do anything in SeaBIOS. Other notes: I haven't installed OpenELEC, and I had to set up the chromebox with my account so I could put my recovery USB back to its original state. EDIT: ESC is working now, but it's telling me that it could not boot from my hard drive. Any ideas for this? Body tech by formula dual weight stack manual.
Gotta confess I haven't looked at it since the initial try months ago. I assumed wrongly there would be more interest in this, especially getting so close. I'm itching to take another look at it, hopefully near the end of the week.
I have limited kernel mode experience, I should be able to at least look at the event logs and turn on setupapi logging to get some sense of what is falling down. If I'm lucky intel has updated drivers that just work, or it won't take more than an inf hack. Not holding my breath though.