| What are the benefits of a thin client... --- The PC requires a tremendous amount of administration; futzing, and in the case of enterprise computing, redundancy. The fact is that most of us use our PCs nowadays to access the Internet, not Office 'productivity' apps. Thats why MS is moving toward (or *saying* they're moving toward) a service model where the software gets executed on the server. --- The browser doesn't require a local HD, nor whirring fan more loud than a refrigerator. The Internet is basically a menu of UNIX services. UNIX is a multiuser OS where all the 'futzing' is done not by the local user but by a trained and dedicated Bastard Operator From Hell (SysAdmin). --- As bandwidth increases to where the type of graphical interface we now do and are used to locally can be executed remotely, the less one would need or want the redundancy of having to futz with the local HD (the main pronlem with the PC). A lot of people have gotten used to the idea of running scandisk and rebooting all
the time and just assume it's a natural part of this 'computer' thing. And a lot of other people actually *need* to run a PC/workstation to perform a particular job (like audio/visual production). MOST people though, in the office and in the home, don't need a local HD and wouldn't miss it if it wasn't there. --- In order to fully appreciate this you need to imagine what it's like to access a server(s) at speeds more than 10 times faster than you currently do via your telephone modem. Then, imagine that you could go to ANYONE's computer ANYWHERE and use it as if it were your own old time PC at home. --- The 'thin client' though, isn't just a desktop device without a HD. It's an internet enabled cell phone. It's a PDA. it's a set top box. It's a wristwatch with an IP address. --- I'm typing to you now using a browser located more than 10 miles from where I sit. It's a (fast) text browser without graphics. I still just have a modem connection. But, it's a great example of how graphical computing will be done,
shortly. I haven't turned a cycle on this HD in more than 6 months. Some junkie werewolf could bust through my front door after feeding my rescue dog a small tub of mascarpone cheeze, walk of with my PC, mistakenly thinking he could get something for it at the pawn shop, and you know what? There's nothing on it I would miss. All my 'stuff' is spread across various professionally administered industrial computers on the internet. --- I don't want local storage. After more than 10 years of 'futzing', I've gotten a clue. I have better things to do. -JCJ |
