Using Chrome OS for a 100+ seat Google Apps enterprise

[MikeOut]

Morning lads!

We use Google Apps in our company and we have accounts for every single employee (500+). All our systems are webbased and using OAuth and Google Apps+API's all our employees login to my systems with their Google Account. I'm proud to say we have a pretty innovative use of enterprise cloud computing built around everyone's Google Account. Combined with the reliability of Google and 2-steps authentication for every google account (use your smartphone as a token) things have been pretty good.

The main working force in our office is in our servicedesk/callcenter (~100), rest works in the field. Due to the use of websystems all are users only need a browser in order to work and their Google login to gain access. Most of them work on WindowsXP or Windows7 but don't need anything other then Google Chrome in order to work. We even went so far to create Google Chrome Extensions to integrate our telephony and other ERP systems within the browser (HTML5 desktop notifcations with incoming calls for example).

Since the biggest chunk of the people in the office only need a browser and since I'm allergic to software and Windows XP in general I have been following the developments of Chromium, Chromebooks and Chrome OS closely. Before the 1st of january 2012 I want to migrate all the callagents form Windows to Chrome OS.

There's that for some context! Now for some questions:

1. In the latest Download Chrome OS Linux 1.5.849 RC (x86) Live CD build. Am I able to login with a Google account?
2. If 1 = yes then I'm sure it doesn't support 2-step authentication (ask for a security code generated by smartphone app after password)
3. Ideally I want it so that you login with your Google acount and your automatically logged in to all the Google services (and possibly my systems). Is this possible (now, or in the near future)?

Hope you guys can help me out!

[CBowley603]

Contrary to the name, "Chrome OS Linux 1.5.849 RC (x86) Live CD" is actually not Chrome OS.

• Linux kernel 2.6.37
• GNOME 2.32 desktop environment
• Experimental GNOME Shell desktop environment
• Google Chrome 15.0.874 web browser New!
• Google Picasa 3.0 photo manager
• LibreOffice 3.3 office suite
• GIMP 2.6 image editor
• Wine 1.3 Windows emulator
• Cheese 2.32 webcam app New!
• Pidgin 2.7 instant messenger
• Dashboard with social toolbar
• Control Center
• revamped new tab page New!
• and much more!

You see, chrome OS is ONLY Chrome with a Linux kernel. This is just a linux distro with Chrome included.

[MikeOut]

Yeah I kinda realised that an hour after I posted it and trying ChromeOS. I don't understand the value then of the platform. I mean if I get Ubuntu I can get Google Chrome just as easily and the interface is much better.

What is Chromium OS then and should I look there instead of here?

[res6jya6]

Yeah I kinda realised that an hour after I posted it and trying ChromeOS. I don't understand the value then of the platform. I mean if I get Ubuntu I can get Google Chrome just as easily and the interface is much better.

What is Chromium OS then and should I look there instead of here?

Chromium OS is the open-source project behind ChromeOS. Google uses ChromeOS / Open source developers use ChromiumOS. They are largely the same thing... Google just provides some improved features in order to make it largely compatible with their vendor's hardware. (Fairly certain of this, at least...)

The platform is actually very valuable to companies who don't want to continue paying for the support required of Windows or Mac based machines. There's a large audience of people out there who do most of their work on the web, who don't need a Windows machine with all of it's software - they just need a web browser and an internet connection.

It's ingenious, really, and I'm surprised it hasn't changed the game a whole lot just yet.