M. Heim,
I use to use the laptop I now use at home at the office. I don't use it much except on Fridays when I take off over the summer, or once in awhile on the weekends (at home). It takes about 2-3 minutes to power on, quite a bit heavier, clumsier than the chromebook. When I use the VNC viewer on the chromebook, it is easy to click out and use the native linux os to go out onto internet and google with patients. And then click right back into my simulated desktop with AC on the chromebook. But most importantly about 1/4 the cost of the laptop and easily replaceable, and dummy proof, no upgrades or antivirus--so cheaper to maintain than the laptop--ie. don't worry about upgrading to windows 10.
Maybe Indy or Sandeep can answer your second question, I am not an apple fan, overpriced in my opinion,so I don't know. For what I need the laptop for at point of care the chromebook can do everything I need and in some respects better because of the solid state drive, noise free and fast on & off. Plus the battery on the chromebook can out last the laptop by two fold, up to 12 hours according to some of the reviews I have seen. Cost is the main reason I choose a chromebook over a macbook.
Your third question also may be better answered by Indy or Sandeep but my understanding is that VNC viewer remote controls the desktop whereas RDC is like the actual desktop imaged on the device you are using. So I wanted to differentiate using RDP from home on laptop versus VNC viewer from office with chromebook.
Also, one can port in through the firewall and I could connect to the office desktop with the chromebook from home with the VNC viewer for chrome too, but don't because I already had the laptop, and since I don't use it much don't mind using that as my device of choice from home, but could easily use my chromebook too.
One of my partners did use GoToMyPc with an I-pad but now uses the HP-stream as device at point of care with GoToMyPC, she likes having the keyboard on the stream.
