Advantages of Windows for the casual consumer continue to erode

There’s no denying that 2013 was a bleak year for sales of Windows 8 devices to consumers. On the other hand, Chromebooks — laptops running Google Inc.’s (GOOG) Linux-based cloud-centric operating system — were picking up steam, particularly on the budget end.

I. Windows Apps on Chromebooks

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) seems aware of Chromebooks’ growing popularity and it appeared eager to nip this trend in the bug airing commercials late last year which inferred that, in part, Chromebooks were useless as they could not run Windows apps.

Well, thanks to VMWare, Inc. (VMW) that’s not really true anymore. VMWare this week announced a new cloud Windows virtualization platform that will specifically target Chrome OS.

VMWare is billing its technology as “Desktop as a Service (DaaS)”. The technology is expected to enable users to run nearly any Windows app in Chrome.

The technology employs VMWare’s Blast software and uses HTML5 to help with the client-side graphics and audio.

VMWare Horizon (shown here running a Windows desktop) makes it a breeze to do 3D modeling on a $300 USD Chromebook client.

Given the cost of Windows licenses for x86 laptops is >$50 USD, Chromebooks are virtually guaranteed to be the cheaper buy. While virtualization may add to that cost, it can be viewed as either a temporary solution from a migration standpoint and for some large business may be effectively free thanks to existing VMWare volume licensing agreements.

The new service is being rolled out as a two-part solution — one part as a free Chrome Web Store client app, and one part as the vendor side paid enterprise VMware Horizon View 5.3 software. VMWare writes that the client app will be “available soon” for Chrome OS.

Customers adopting the solution will have the option of having Windows servers or desktops on premise, which pipe fully virtualized remote desktops to off-site (or on-site) workers using Chrome OS laptops. Businesses can alternatively rent virtualized Windows desktops from VMWare vCloud Service Provider Partners (VSPPs), who are going to be offering DaaS as a new enterprise service.

Full Story: DailyTech – Chromebooks Can Now Run Windows Apps Thanks to VMWare.