HP has acquired NEOWARE the maker of 'thin clients' (Oct 1, 2007)

What is a thin client?

"Thin clients are computing devices that function as an access device on a network. These solid-state devices connect over a network to a server where the bulk of the processing takes place. Thin clients have no hard drive, allowing for more secure storage of data and applications on the server. In fact, keystrokes, mouse events and screen images are all that is sent between the client and server. This makes the device much more secure than a standard desktop or notebook computer.

With no hard drive, fan or other moving parts, thin clients have a much longer lifespan than standard computers and use significantly less power. Lower maintenance costs are another benefit as software application updates, virus scanning and patches can be executed on the server. Deployment costs are also reduced as thin clients can be remotely configured and do not need to be set up individually. Break-fix simply requires replacing the thin client."

Why should I consider a thin client solution?

You need to learn more about the HP thin client solution if your business is faced with issues such as:

• Desktop replacement costs
• Network security
• Data access to mobile or remote workers
• Supporting application software on diverse hardware, or
• Ensuring your data remains accessible and secure

Lower total cost of ownership

The increased security, reliability and ease of management contribute to a lower total cost of ownership for your client computing devices. With a longer useful lifespan, thin clients contribute to cost savings. According to a study by Gartner (TCO Comparison of PCs with Server-Based Computing, June 2006) thin client TCO annual savings have been measured as high as:

• 79% less downtime cost per user
• 16% capital cost savings
• 34% less in maintenance
• 19% less to operate
• 48% overall lower total cost


www.hp.com/go/thinclient

Thin clients have varying and legitimate purposes in some environments. Even though they may be capable of processing various items on their own if set up to do so, they are generally not designed to do heavy duty processing on their own. Hence the heavy duty processing is on the "server where the bulk of the processing takes place." They operate generally as a window(gateway,portal) into a bigger faster machine or group of machines. Because of their design they are very reliable and cheaper than a full fledged PC. Used to work with Wyse equipment years ago and it did what it was designed to do.

Cheers