Scan to Chromebook

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A question that I've seen raised regarding the Chromebook is "can I scan documents to my Chromebook?"  Unfortunately, it isn't possible to plug your TWAIN scanner or all-in-one printer directly into your Chromebook because Chrome OS doesn't provide any printer or scanner drivers. However, all is not lost!

Many all-in-one printers that connect to a network with wifi have a web interface that can be accessed from the Chromebook. My HP Officejet 6500A Plus all-in-one printer has an embedded web server that you access by entering the IP address for the printer on my home network. In my case, the IP address is 10.0.1.3

The screen at right is what I see on my Chromebook browser when I get to the webscan page.  Simply place the document you want to scan on the scanner, choose whether you want to scan the document as JPEG or PDF, the page size, and other settings.  Then choose "start scan" button.  When the scan is done, right click on the preview image and either select "save as" to save the scanned document to local storage on the Chromebook.  Once saved to local storage, you can upload the document to Google Drive or Dropbox.  If you'd prefer, you can right click on the preview image and choose "print".  Then select "cloud print" and choose "Google Drive" as the cloud printer. It will save the document as a PDF in your Google Drive.

Another option is to scan the document to an SD card if your all-in-one printer has an SD card slot and a "scan to card" option.

Of course, an other option is to take a picture of the item and transfer it to your Chromebook by removing the SD card from the camera and inserting it into the Chromebook or by connecting the camera to the Chromebook via USB cable.

So, it is possible to scan documents to a Chromebook.  It just takes a little creativity.

Chromebook for Accountants: Taking it To the Cloud!

Does Google Chrome OS and the Chromebook work for accountants? It depends.

Since so many tax and accounting applications that I depend upon are Windows applications, I never saw myself as the Chromebook type.  Lately, I've been reconsidering.

What changed? About a year ago, I moved all of my critical Windows applications and client data to a virtual server hosted by Cloud9Realtime.Com.

With all of my applications and data on the cloud, it really doesn't matter whether I access the server with a Windows computer, a Mac, or even a Chromebook.  To access my Cloud9 server from the Chromebook, I use CloudRDP from Ericom.  This is an HTML5 based RDP client that works great from Google Chrome or Chromium browser in any operating system. You can configure the app to use full screen or to fit in the browser window.  You can even toggle between the two views, if you need to get information from email or another browser window.

One of the advantages of using the Chromebook to access my server is instant access.  The Chromebook boots in about 8 seconds directly into the Chrome browser.  A second advantage is security.  Critical client data is not stored on my notebook if I have a senior moment and leave it somewhere or if it gets stolen.  Plus, all my stuff is there when I log into a replacement Chromebook or even a Chrome browser on another computer.

Challenges include printing and using dual displays.  CloudRDP includes a print driver that causes anything I print to show up as a separate browser window in the browser.  From there I can  either print using Google Cloud Print Services or save the document as a PDF.  From within my server environment, I can print directly to Nitro PDF driver and save the output to my client directory or attach to an email.  Dual displays are also a challenge because the Chromebook doesn't support extended desktop displays, only mirroring.

My experiment with a Chromebook has been short-lived but instructive.  Chromebooks are small and portable with instant on and good battery life, perfect for when you are on the go.  I can do many of the same things with my iPad using an RDP app, but the iPad doesn't support a mouse. Poking at icons on my screen inside the Windows server environment on the iPad can be frustrating for all but the briefest interactions whereas I can work for hours on the Chromebook.

CloudRDP works in your Chrome browser on any platform so you can check it out before you commit to going ChromeOS.  You can also install Chromium (the open source foundation for Google's Chrome OS) on a USB stick and run it on many common notebooks or netbooks to try before you buy.

My Cloud9RealTime virtual server is the key to my mobile strategy and makes any computer or tablet capable of doing "real work."  Don't listen to the haters.  Consider whether Google Chromebooks may have a place in your firm's mobile IT strategy.

Chrome Application Shortcuts FTW!

I love being able to launch my Gmail, Twitter, Reader, etc. as separate application shortcuts in Google's new Chrome browser.  I prefer this to Firefox, IE, or Safari tabs.  It works in Parallels on my Mac too.