Neverware Cloudready

[FN-GM]

Hello,

 

Is anyone running Neverware Cloudready in a production environment please? I am curious to see how you are getting on with it please?

 

@rogerdnixon assuming it is your YouTube channel I have been stalking, I think you have?

 

Thanks

[rogerdnixon]

Yes - we use it. I have popped it on some old Apple Macs. Turns them into great Chromebases. We use them in our library. Pretty simple to do - just make a usb boot disk and follow the install prompts. Enroll like any other ChromeOS device once its installed.

 

I'm considering moving more of our workstations to it to get rid of as much Windows as possible.

[FN-GM]

Are there any real differences between this and real ChromeOS?

 

I am also finding a lack of ChromeBoxes and ChromeBase an issue so considering this for the feature.

 

Thanks for the reply.

[rogerdnixon]

It is ChromeOS - there is no real difference. On the Cloudready management console, there are a few options to control Flash and the like - thats it. It tends to be one or two versions behind the current stable channel.

 

We buy Chromeboxes/bases from Getech/C-Learning or lambda-tek.com (e.g. https://www.lambda-tek.com/ASUS-CHROMEBOX2-G083U~sh/B4235470)

[FN-GM]

It is ChromeOS - there is no real difference. On the Cloudready management console, there are a few options to control Flash and the like - thats it. It tends to be one or two versions behind the current stable channel.

 

We buy Chromeboxes/bases from Getech/C-Learning or lambda-tek.com (e.g. https://www.lambda-tek.com/ASUS-CHROMEBOX2-G083U~sh/B4235470)

 

I did see them, but they only have 3 years of updates left.

 

I wonder if I could load CloudReady when a Chrome device has run out of support?

[rogerdnixon]

I'd not worry too much about the end of life thing. We have black Samsungs that went end of life last year - they still pick up updates and work fine.

 

Not sure if you could go Cloudready on them. You can install other OSs - but in involves developer mode - so maybe not for general use.

[FN-GM]

Cheers

[dhicks]

Are there any real differences between this and real ChromeOS?

 

We have CloudReady on some older machines set aside for our Reception classes. They work very well, although it did take us a few minutes to figure out what was going on with Flash the other week when the Flash settings on ChromeOS got updated - we had to separately enable Flash on the CloudReady devices again.

 

CloudReady devices don't run Android apps. That's fine, they work very well as web browsers, but we figured it would cause some confusion if we started having some laptops with one set of apps and some without, so we've stuck with buying new Chromebooks capable of running Android apps.

[FN-GM]

Cheers,

 

What does the NeverWare management settings do?

 

Thanks

[rogerdnixon]

 

Under devices - you can see all licenced devices and revoke licences.

[FN-GM]

Is that it? Is there anything under the user settings?

 

Thanks

[rogerdnixon]

You manage them as any other ChromeOS devices - the user tab is just me as a Cloudready user. You need this + ChromeOS management licence. So all use management is done in the G Suite management console.

[Primus]

At which point it becomes (IMHO) unjustifiably expensive to re-use ageing equipment using Neverware rather than just buying new equipment with warranties etc.

[FN-GM]

Cheers.

 

One thing that is holding me back a little is you can't schedule a shutdown. Not really an issue for laptops as when they close the lids they will go to sleep.

 

Cheers

[rogerdnixon]

At which point it becomes (IMHO) unjustifiably expensive to re-use ageing equipment using Neverware rather than just buying new equipment with warranties etc.

 

Well we turned useless old Macs into useful Workstations for about £35 a pop - won't get much new for that....

[Primus]

Sorry but my understanding was that it costs either $15 per year per device or $59 per device perpetually.

 

Plus the Google management licence of circa £18.

 

So that would be £46 perpetually plus the £18 Google fee = £64 per device.

 

Not as cheap as it would need to be IMHO.

[rogerdnixon]

Its $15 per machine for the Cloudready licence (thats the basic annual fee you get renewal discounts). One off £16 for a ChromeOS management licence (thats what we pay). So a little over £30 up front and about £10 thereafter. Thats what we pay.

 

I'd not pay for the perpetual licence for an old bit of kit. If we get loads more I might go for the site licence.

[mjk]

I wish they would do a PXE boot version.

[FN-GM]

We have 23" Dell AIO coming up on the warranty. With the All In One chrome devices being slim pickings it is very tempting.

 

PS: This was posted from one of those machines with Cloud Ready.

[FN-GM]

This has come back on my radar. Does anyone else use it please?

 

Thanks

[p3t3r]

We have 50 CloudReady licenses on older Dell Optiplex 580 hardware and Apple Mac's. It's easy to setup and has been reliable. Have not decided whether to expand the trial yet.

 

I agree it is a shame there are so few Chrome all in one's. I'd really like some in our library. Have some Chromeboxes but all-in-ones would be neater.

[FN-GM]

We have 50 CloudReady licenses on older Dell Optiplex 580 hardware and Apple Mac's. It's easy to setup and has been reliable. Have not decided whether to expand the trial yet.

 

I agree it is a shame there are so few Chrome all in one's. I'd really like some in our library. Have some Chromeboxes but all-in-ones would be neater.

 

There is a lack of Chromeboxes also, there hasn't been anything new in years. Bit of a pain really. Next best thing is cloudready on existing all in ones.

Edited September 12, 2017 by FN-GM

[Paid_Peanuts]

I wish they would do a PXE boot version.

 

They Do! WDS is officially supported and I know a colleague who has successfully deployed using SCCM.

Contact their support and they will provide you with a custom .bin file for deployment which has your neverware account settings "baked" into it so it makes deployment nice and easy. The school I know PXE boots their kit and in a little over 7 minutes it is ready to enrol.

[mjk]

They Do! WDS is officially supported and I know a colleague who has successfully deployed using SCCM.

Contact their support and they will provide you with a custom .bin file for deployment which has your neverware account settings "baked" into it so it makes deployment nice and easy. The school I know PXE boots their kit and in a little over 7 minutes it is ready to enrol.

 

I mean diskless, running in RAM. Some of our servers and all of our thinstation clients boot like this: they PXE boot and run their operating system in RAM with against an NFS share - no local disk and no installation. One image is the master.

[Arthur]

There is a lack of Chromeboxes also, there hasn't been anything new in years. Bit of a pain really.

HP have just announced a brand new Chromebox due for release in April!

 

www.androidpolice.com/2018/01/06/hp-announces-two-new-chromebooks-chromebox-g2-desktop

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-7300U, Core i7-8650U, or Celeron 3865U

RAM: Up to 16GB LPDDR4

Storage: 32 - 64GB m.2 SSD

Connectivity: 2 x USB 3.1 Type-C, 3 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, microSD slot, HDMI, Ethernet, headphone/microphone combo jack

Dimensions: 14.93 x 14.93 x 4 cm (5.87 x 5.87 x 1.57 in)

 

www8.hp.com/us/en/solutions/education/chromebook.html

 

HP Chromebox G2: Bringing the benefits of Google for Education to your school’s desktops

Completely re-designed for 2018, the HP Chromebox G2 is an easy-to-manage device for online assessments, administrative use and computer labs. The HP Chromebox G2 provides a simple, powerful and familiar Chrome OS experience in traditional PC use cases, ranging from checking out books at the library to checking students into school. For assessments, the HP Chromebox G2 can pair with HP Displays, offering students much larger screen sizes during high-stakes tests. The HP Chromebox G2 can help tackle multimedia projects quickly with powerful Intel® 7th or 8th gen processors, up to 16 GB memory, and support for Android apps. The new Chromebox G2 is also ideal for digital signage with support for dual 4K displays via USB Type-C, keeping students, faculty and parents informed about upcoming events, assignments and other important school information.