This summer I decided to see if it was possible to be productive using an alternative client as my primary device. My choices were a MacBook Air, Dell #Venue 11 and #Chromebook. I knew for the most part that the Air and Venue could keep my connected and working as they had versions of the common applications I used ready and available. What intrigued me more was the Chromebook. The machine of choice was a #HP Chromebook 14, in what my daughter described as shocking white! This #Intel based machine offered a fast processor and clear 14 inch screen, while it has the option to have a cellular-radio, this version only came with Wifi.
So with a good Wifi-connection and Chrome in tow I headed out. The first thing I did was jump on my current laptop and login to my Google Account and synchronize all my important bookmarks. This was an immediate help as with my first login to the Chromebook I had all of my important bookmarks there ready to be tested. I begin by testing my most commonly used Atos bookmarks - and without fail I was able to navigate anywhere in Atos that didn't need URA. We are lucky to have most of important work sites available to us via the browser but alas I am afraid that as we continue to roll-out the PKI cards that this might soon fall by the way (That is for another post and discussion I am sure). So a big check in the box as I was able get working and access my most commonly used Atos sites, Yeah Timecards and Expenses. The next thing was access to all my documents and files. Some time ago I made the decision to move my personal and professional data to the cloud. Since Atos had provided me a ShareFile account I used that application/service to store and synchronize all my professional data across all my devices. This gave me immediate access to enterprise data. OneDrive from Microsoft was used to store all my personal data – now on the Chromebook I had access to all my data. The problem here really is that Google and the Chromebook make it much easier to store and find data on Google Drive – I wasn’t inclined to make the switch as I still have an Air, Ultrabook, WinPhone and Venue all configured and synchronized to these locations, especially for my work data. I figured I would see if I could overcome this obstacle.
The next thing I did was to look at my productivity applications, which really meant Microsoft Office. I was happy to see that Microsoft provided free, but scaled down versions, of the most common office applications in the Google Chrome store. I can only believe that as Chromebooks gain more of a foothold in the market place and Microsoft keeps to the promise and vision of mobility and cloud that we will see Office 365 available natively on Chromebooks, until then I will share what limitations I uncovered. I found the scaled down version provided me with the necessary capabilities to do simple content creation and edit already developed content. I probably wouldn’t have started net new content in these tools for large documents or complex presentations. My biggest challenge, was the location of most of my content for work. As I stated earlier, work content was in #ShareFile and the online version of Office for Chrome looks for documents in #OneDrive. To be able to successfully edit content I first had to download it from ShareFile and then upload it to OneDrive. Ugh was one way to describe it – I could have solved this by moving to Google Drive (plausible and doable) and downloading the Google Drive sync applications, but alas my trusty Windows Phone would have missed out on all the fun. Also I felt comfortable knowing that my critical work data was protected on ShareFile and that if one of my devices was lost or stolen I could quickly protect that data. An observer in my venture said I would have just stuck with Google Docs and that might have simplified things, but I wanted to stay as close to the experience I would have with my company provided device or the BYOD devices which all ran my Microsoft Office suite of applications.
So with a good Wifi-connection and Chrome in tow I headed out. The first thing I did was jump on my current laptop and login to my Google Account and synchronize all my important bookmarks. This was an immediate help as with my first login to the Chromebook I had all of my important bookmarks there ready to be tested. I begin by testing my most commonly used Atos bookmarks - and without fail I was able to navigate anywhere in Atos that didn't need URA. We are lucky to have most of important work sites available to us via the browser but alas I am afraid that as we continue to roll-out the PKI cards that this might soon fall by the way (That is for another post and discussion I am sure). So a big check in the box as I was able get working and access my most commonly used Atos sites, Yeah Timecards and Expenses. The next thing was access to all my documents and files. Some time ago I made the decision to move my personal and professional data to the cloud. Since Atos had provided me a ShareFile account I used that application/service to store and synchronize all my professional data across all my devices. This gave me immediate access to enterprise data. OneDrive from Microsoft was used to store all my personal data – now on the Chromebook I had access to all my data. The problem here really is that Google and the Chromebook make it much easier to store and find data on Google Drive – I wasn’t inclined to make the switch as I still have an Air, Ultrabook, WinPhone and Venue all configured and synchronized to these locations, especially for my work data. I figured I would see if I could overcome this obstacle.
The next thing I did was to look at my productivity applications, which really meant Microsoft Office. I was happy to see that Microsoft provided free, but scaled down versions, of the most common office applications in the Google Chrome store. I can only believe that as Chromebooks gain more of a foothold in the market place and Microsoft keeps to the promise and vision of mobility and cloud that we will see Office 365 available natively on Chromebooks, until then I will share what limitations I uncovered. I found the scaled down version provided me with the necessary capabilities to do simple content creation and edit already developed content. I probably wouldn’t have started net new content in these tools for large documents or complex presentations. My biggest challenge, was the location of most of my content for work. As I stated earlier, work content was in #ShareFile and the online version of Office for Chrome looks for documents in #OneDrive. To be able to successfully edit content I first had to download it from ShareFile and then upload it to OneDrive. Ugh was one way to describe it – I could have solved this by moving to Google Drive (plausible and doable) and downloading the Google Drive sync applications, but alas my trusty Windows Phone would have missed out on all the fun. Also I felt comfortable knowing that my critical work data was protected on ShareFile and that if one of my devices was lost or stolen I could quickly protect that data. An observer in my venture said I would have just stuck with Google Docs and that might have simplified things, but I wanted to stay as close to the experience I would have with my company provided device or the BYOD devices which all ran my Microsoft Office suite of applications.
As remote/virtual workers next thing I had to worry about was communications. Since we had rushed the machine out the door we ordered one without a cellular radio, so I was limited to Wifi. Here is where I will give #Comcast #Xfinity kudos, they have a nifty little applications that shows you where their hotspots are located (and they have a lot in the US), and unbeknownst to their subscribers they have been slowly opening up their customer wireless networks to allow open connections from Xfinity subscribers. If you are a Comcast subscriber for their broadband Internet see if there isn’t a wireless network with SSID of Xfinity broadcasting at your house. My fall back was that my #T-Mobile phone has been provisioned to be a Hotspot in a pinch. Good if you are in a major metropolitan area, or close to major highways, bad if you are in rural area. I would recommend that if you are looking at the Chromebook you order it with the LTE radio and a carrier that has good coverage. The other part of being virtual was communicating with my co-workers. While it was easy to exchange e-mails with Web Outlook and collaborate in blueKiwi the biggest limitation and the one that killed me the most was the lack of Lync. There is an app in the Chrome Store that promises #Lync support in the future, it still isn’t there. Well at least I had Lync on my phone, no wait, I don’t. I had other communications options, but that none that would bridge to our Lync systems. I used Google Voice to dial into Lync Meetings, but that was just a stop gap measure. Here ultimately was the roadblock that put me back on my traditional device – the lack of Instant Messaging via Lync. So maybe Microsoft will solve this when they deliver Office 365 (hopeful) or the guys at #gUnify, a nice Sip-based #WebRTC client for Chromebooks will get their Lync integration working. The WebRTC client is interesting and something I know we are exploring elsewhere at Atos.
So some simple observations. The Intel-based HP Chromebook is nice device, has incredible battery life (9 hours+), a bright clear screen at 14”, and responsive keyboard, a little bit finicky touchpad (you do need to figure out how to right click). I was surprised that it was so damn heavy, but maybe as time goes buy they will change – and as I said earlier I would have ordered it with an LTE-radio. If the web is your world then this device is perfect for you, if you have some content already created you need to determine if Google Docs, Drive, etal could support your needs – if you need to communicate with the rest of the world, then you better hope someone develops a nifty solution (and gets rich). So summer has ended and I back to using my other devices, but I still find myself grabbing the Chromebook, because I know all my links are there, it will always have a charge and well my kids, they are on the Mac.
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