Revived Fervor for Smart Monitors Linked to a Server =

Revived Fervor for Smart = Monitors=20 Linked to a Server

By ASHLEE VANCE

SAN FRANCISCO =97 Instead of having a big, loud and complex computer = on your=20 desk, what if you could have a quiet, thin machine that rarely needed an = upgrade=20 or a fix?

That has been the goal of many technology companies over the last 15 = or so=20 years. They have tried to disrupt Microsoft=92s dominance of the PC desktop by creating what = amount to=20 intelligent monitors.

Rather than relying on their innards for handling work, these = so-called thin=20 clients send it out over the network to much larger servers that hold = all of the=20 necessary software and handle data-processing jobs.

For a variety of reasons, including slow data connections and clunky=20 software, this model failed to live up to its promise and turned into an = industrywide joke. But now the technology is making a comeback, and = large=20 companies like Hewlett-Packard,=20 Sun=20 Microsystems and Samsung are increasing their investments in thin = client=20 systems. Plenty of start-ups are looking at the market as well.

Thin-client backers have by now mostly given up on challenging = Microsoft =97 in=20 fact, in most cases they make it easy to use Windows over the network. = But they=20 continue to bill thin clients as a way to save companies money and make = their=20 systems more secure.

=93The hype cycle that has followed thin clients started at this = enormous=20 level, disappeared into negativity and now is bubbling back up,=94 said = Bob=20 O=92Donnell, an analyst at the consulting firm IDC.

The benefits of the technology seem obvious. Software glitches, = updates and=20 security are much less of a problem. The thin-client model places the = burden of=20 managing computers on professionals monitoring servers in a large = warehouse.=20

Perhaps best of all, the users=92 data is stored on the network. If = the machine=20 on your desk breaks, you just get another one and connect to the data = warehouse,=20 and off you go.

The biggest changes driving the interest in thin clients stem from = networking=20 and software improvements. The spread of high-speed Internet connections = means=20 that people working in a cubicle and at home can rely on an effective = link back=20 to the data warehouses.

H.P., Citrix=20 Systems, Microsoft and others are also fine-tuning the software that = controls communication between thin clients and the servers. This has = led to=20 smoother-running machines that can handle even video and audio = applications.=20

Most significantly, the pool of programs thin clients can use has = grown=20 thanks to so-called virtualization software, which lets companies = package up an=20 entire operating system and all of its applications. Instead of picking = and=20 choosing certain software to send over the wire, companies can ship = entire=20 =93virtual desktops.=94

The reinvigorated buzz around thin-client technology has caused a = scramble to=20 address the market in innovative ways.

For example, Teradici, a start-up near Vancouver, produces a = microprocessor=20 that can speed the flow of software from data warehouses to thin = clients. Dell=20 and I.B.M.=20 offer systems based on this chip and say that they can deal with even = the most=20 demanding software, like design programs.

Next month, Samsung will ship the 19-inch SyncMaster 930ND monitor, = which=20 relies on Teradici=92s chip. Business customers can plug an Ethernet = cable into=20 the monitor and turn it into a full-fledged computer by connecting back = to their=20 data centers.

Customers of the Silicon Valley start-up Pano Logic plug their = monitors,=20 keyboards and mice into a small device that manages connections with = servers=20 holding full virtual desktops. The Hot-E from the Australian company = ThinLinX is=20 similar. One longtime player in the thin-client business, Wyse, = manufactures an=20 array of slim hardware, including laptops, that handle much the same = work.

Noting rising interest in thin clients and virtual desktops, H.P. = created a=20 new group six months ago to address the technology, after buying the = thin-client=20 company Neoware for $214 million in late 2007.

=93What you are seeing is that a lot of the right technology elements = are=20 starting to be there,=94 said Roberto Moctezuma, the vice president in = charge of=20 H.P.=92s =93desktop solutions=94 organization. =93I think five years = from now you will=20 see a lot of thin computing in businesses.=94

JetBlue=20 has bought into thin clients for 20 percent of its computers using a = combination=20 of H.P.=92s hardware and Citrix=92s software. The technology will take = center stage=20 at the airline=92s new terminal at Kenne= dy=20 Airport.

=93Thin clients represent a strategic direction for us,=94 said Pat = Thompson,=20 director of technology operations at JetBlue. =93They are pretty much = behind every=20 customer-facing piece of technology that you see out there.=94

By next January, the Regional Transportation District of Denver, = which=20 handles public transit in the Denver area, plans to replace about = one-quarter of=20 its systems with thin clients from Wyse running virtualization software = from VMware.=20

=93We=92re looking at saving about $30,000 per year just in energy = costs,=94 said=20 Trent Ratcliff, the technology infrastructure manager. =93And we=92ll = probably=20 replace these every seven to nine years instead of every three years = with=20 PCs.=94

Despite the budding interest, thin clients remain a tough sell for = cultural=20 reasons. People are used to keeping confidential and personal = information on=20 their own machines, and many companies see moving away from traditional = desktops=20 as a risk. In 2008, only 3.7 million thin clients were shipped, compared = with=20 300 million PCs, according to IDC.

That should start to change in 2009 as companies begin a number of = test=20 projects and in 2010 when large-scale commitments to the technology = begin, Mr.=20 O=92Donnell said.

Wall Street firms looking to make things easier for employees and = save money,=20 especially in these tight times, are driving some of the early tests. =

=93Financial services companies in the U.S. are very interested in = using thin=20 clients,=94 said Scott Woodgate, director for the Windows business group = at=20 Microsoft.

Microsoft has developed its virtualization software and acquired a = pair of=20 software makers =97 Calista Technologies and Kidaro =97 whose products = could=20 complement thin client technology.

Looking ahead, the thin client model could creep into the home, with = PC-like=20 functions arriving via TV set-top boxes or through devices that plug = into the=20 back of televisions. Internet service providers have started to explore = the idea=20 of selling these products to consumers and then offering monthly = subscriptions=20 to computing services.

Consumers would benefit by buying a device that=92s cheaper than a PC = but can=20 still tap into a full virtual computer back in a managed data warehouse. =

=93There are companies that are talking about peeling off an infinite = number of=20 virtual systems and renting them to consumers,=94 said Roger L. Kay, = president of=20 the analysis firm Endpoint Technologies. =93This is an idea whose time = has come,=20 and the argument is growing every day in favor of thin computing of some = sort.=94

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