Server Based Computing Reaches New High: Flight Level 370.

From Chris Preimesberger at Desktop Linux

May 29

Singapore Airlines is offering access to Sun's StarOffice 8 office productivity suite free of charge to passengers on its new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. StarOffice, Sun's proprietary version of OpenOffice.org, runs on the aircraft's Linux server and is accessed via a seat-back terminal at each passenger's seat, according to Sun.

Passengers run StarOffice from seat-back terminals that connect to a Linux-based server on the plane

Thanks to new USB ports embedded in the armrest of each chair (near the headphone jack), passengers now can use a USB key (aka thumb drive) or other portable drive to access their documents, spreadsheets, and presentation files from software running on the plane's Linux server.

StarOffice 8 supports both Open Document Format and Microsoft Office formats, and can export files to PDF format. Thus, passengers won't need to use their laptops if they are doing work on Word documents, spreadsheets, and presentation-type files -- all they need to do is carry the documents with them on a USB key or other USB storage device, such as an MP3 player.

"With heightened security, access to laptops during flights can sometimes be restricted," said Wong Heng Chew, managing director at Sun's Singapore division. "The availability of StarOffice ... offers Singapore Airlines' customers the opportunity to work on and access their information in an open, secure and freely available fashion independent of any vendor or file formats during their flights."

The first of the new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft was delivered last November and entered commercial services on the Singapore-Paris route in early December 2006, a Sun spokesperson said. Singapore Airlines currently deploys the 777-300ER aircraft to destinations such as Paris, Zurich, Seoul, San Francisco, Milan, Barcelona, and Hong Kong.

According to Sun, StarOffice software is a complete, feature-rich office productivity product that includes powerful word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, database, graphics, drawing, photo editing and web publishing applications. Fully compatible with MS Office, it includes a built-in PDF export and supports XML, Flash, and HTML.

-- Chris Preimesberger

Do not need a laptop on the plane. Hotels are now offering thin clients in room. Several thin client vendors offer portable "laptop" like thin clients. A secure thumb drive is about all you need.

Until the next post,

Steve

BTW; the next post will be about a new class of thin clients. Pen and Paper! Thats right. Pen and paper can replace a thin or fat client console.

CBS, Viacom Give Joost $45M Boost

Already a Joost beta tester. IT works. Still has a few hiccups but on most occasions, when i can view the entire episode, it is Telvision.

Internet TV broadcaster Joost landed $45 million in financing, pulling in capital from a list that includes CBS Corp., Viacom and Sequoia Capital.

"This funding represents a tremendous vote of confidence in Joost's platform," said Janus Friis, co-founder of Joost. "We've carefully selected these investors from a variety of interested parties, as they are best-in-class in their respective arenas and bring unique assets to Joost that will enable us to significantly accelerate growth and development of the Company."

Why an interest with Joost when this blog is about SBC. IP TV is just a heartbeat away from VoIP and SBC. It is biderectional and has a one to many relationship with the users.

Click on an scheduled ad or a link posted in the program for more information regarding the product. A viewer, in a Rich Content Program, can see a necklace being worn by an on screen character and get information about that prop. "My girlfreind would really like that necklance!" Just click on the prop.

Until the next post,

Steve

Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded Edition with help from Intel

Looks like i was not the only person that noticed Intel's recent press release. From Matt Zimmerman at Ubuntu:

At the heart of the Ubuntu project lies a belief that open source software and technology can play a key role in enabling individuals to achieve their potential. A central goal has been the creation of a world-class, free and open source operating system that we have worked to make accessible across notebooks, desktops, thin clients and servers.

Three years on, it is clear that new types of device - small, handheld, graphical tablets which are Internet-enabled are going to change the way we communicate and collaborate. These devices place new demands on open source software and require innovative graphical interfaces, improved power management and better responsiveness.

Intel, specifically, have announced a new low-power processor and chipset architecture which will be designed to allow full internet use on these mobile Internet devices.

To fulfil the aims of our mission and in response to the technical challenges that these devices pose, we are announcing the Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded project.

We will start more detailed planning at the Ubuntu Developer Summit next week in Seville and the first release of this edition will be in October with Ubuntu 7.10. If you are interested in the project, please get involved.

We will be working through our normal development processes on Launchpad, the developer mailing lists and IRC.

Finally, we are delighted to be working with Intel on this version of Ubuntu. Intel are making significant contributions of technology, people and expertise to the project. We hope that others who are interested in producing an easy-to-use and open source environment for this class of device will join us in making this a success.

--
- mdz

Until the next post,

Steve

DevonIT and IBM

DevonIt often shows up as an advertiser on this Blog. Received this press release in my email Inbox today from them and thought it appropriate to give them some space. I use one of their thin client devices, 6020A , as a testing device on my test bench. Works good.

2007 Press Releases

IBM Unveils New Blade "Eco" System for Next-Generation Client Computing

Blade.org Partner Devon IT Invests $8M in R&D with IBM BladeCenter;
New Solution Eliminates 90 Percent of the Energy Consumed by Desk Side Computing

ST.LOUIS, MO., PartnerWorld 2007 - May 1, 2007 - Today at its PartnerWorld 2007 Conference, IBM (NYSE: IBM) previewed the latest in next generation client computing with the new BladeCenter "Workstation Blade", developed in collaboration with Blade.org partner Devon IT. The new offering will include the new IBM Workstation Blade and its associated "eco" system of connection broker software and desktop device from Devon IT, designed to help customers host workstation environments remotely to significantly reduce energy consumption in the workplace.

The new blade-based solution from IBM and Devon IT will be ideal for traders in financial services and CAD design engineers, who find themselves traditionally surrounded by several workstations generating heat and noise. By moving desktop and applications to blade servers designed to more efficiently dissipate heat, and utilizing a desktop device with no spinning hard drives for storage or fans needed to dissipate heat, the energy consumed desk side can be reduced by up to 90 percent. While a typical workstation can consume up to 300 watts, a desktop device from Devon IT consumes merely 15 watts, the equivalent of the amount of energy consumed to run an electric shaver.

"Prior to the desktop PC boom 25 years ago, desktop client computing was hosted by networks of connected servers. By the 1990s PCs became connected and played a driving force in server and networking advancements," said Doug Balog, vice president and business line executive, IBM BladeCenter. "Today, new advances in servers and networking is helping to enable efficient hosting of complex client environments on servers allowing centralized management and security under the control of the datacenter. With its highly efficient design, IBM BladeCenter has arrived as the ideal platform for server-hosted client computing."

The new solution will also help improve business security and privacy by moving desktop assets and corporate IP back into the data center. Business productivity can be realized by providing users with a more flexible environment with free seating, and a robust infrastructure that enables access at ranges up to 2500 miles, comparable to the distance between San Francisco and New York. Lower management and traditional desk side support costs can also dramatically reduce IT operating costs.

The IBM Workstation Blade will also offer unique, breakthrough and leading edge remote display and graphics acceleration. Unlike competitive offerings, IBM's Workstation Blade relies on hardware compression techniques in the render and transfer of I/O and graphics from blade server to desktop device, drastically improving the quality of image delivered and the performance and speed of the process. In addition, end users will be able to use a full array of USB devices, beneficial for less demanding graphics applications. The IBM Workstation Blade will extend the infrastructure integration capabilities of IBM's family of BladeCenter systems, and will complement IBM's Virtual Client Solution, introduced in 2005. IBM can offer customers a wide range of 'remote desktop' computing options. These include, publishing server based applications, offering a server based Virtual Client Solution, as well as the ability to offer a high end workstation class blade computing environment.

Investing in the Promise of IBM BladeCenter
When IBM opened up the specifications to IBM BladeCenter in 2004, it took a unique stance in the industry enabling entrepreneurial innovation to drive the development of blade-based computing. Since then customers have benefited from the collaborative approach that has kept IBM at the forefront of blade system design and solution innovation.

Devon IT began its collaborative relationship with IBM in 2005 and has since invested over $8 million dollars in research and development with IBM to drive innovation in next generation client computing.

"IBM is clearly the leader in Blade computing technologies, and we are proud to offer our technology as part of the Workstation Blade initiative," said Joe Makoid, president, Devon IT. "As a founding member of Blade.org, Devon IT has collaborated with industry leaders like IBM to help establish a framework for alternative desktop computing methods. This has given Devon IT the opportunity to drive our business and embark on future server-hosted desktop projects with IBM that will continue to reduce desktop computing costs for enterprise IT customers."

Devon IT recently launched its Server Desktop Solution Center at its headquarters in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. The Server Desktop Solution Center is the industry's first facility where companies can bring their own servers - either physically or virtually - to test and implement server-centric computing environments. Customers can test Devon IT desktop devices, IBM BladeCenter systems and servers, software from Citrix, and virtualization solutions from VMware, along with products from other server-based computing companies. Industry experts from Devon IT and CentriServ also offer seminars, classes, and comprehensive solution and integration services to help companies understand and implement server-centric computing environments.

About Devon IT
Devon IT is an information technology company that focuses on offering desktop devices, alternative desktop computing methods, and ultra-secure remote access solutions that provide enterprise customers with greater security, enhanced manageability, improved reliability, and lower costs. Devon IT develops products which support IBM's Hosted Client Infrastructure and Blade Computing ecosystem and is a founding member of Blade.org. More information is available at www.devonit.com

About Blade.org
Blade.org is a collaborative organization and developer community focused on accelerating the development and adoption of blade server solutions. The organization provides leadership to the blade market and fosters a thriving industry ecosystem focused on delivering valuable solutions to blade computing customers.

For more information about IBM BladeCenter, please visit www.ibm.com/bladecenter.

---

Media Contacts

Vineeta Durani IBM Media Relations 415-545-2350 vdurani@us.ibm.com

Paul Mancini Devon IT 610-757-4108 pmancini@devonit.com

Until the next post,

Steve

WiMax Laptop Card Approved by (US) FCC

There are some elements of Server Based Computing that are common to the industry at large. Connectivity being one of them. Have been following Clearwire since it entered the Jacksonville, FL market several years ago. Notice in the last paragraph of this press release a reference to 2 to 4 kilometers. The distance is estimating a "None Line of Sight" distance. With Wifi this distance is measured in meters . How many meters are there in a kilometer? It is that big of a change!

Regulators have approved the first WiMax wireless broadband laptop PC card to be offered by Clearwire.

Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service

Tuesday, May 01, 2007 8:00 PM PDT

Regulators have approved the first WiMax wireless broadband laptop PC card to be offered by Clearwire Corp., and it should be available to users later this year, the company said Tuesday.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved a WiMax laptop PC card that fits into a standard Type II laptop card slot and can be used with the Windows Vista and XP operating systems, Clearwire said in a statement. The card works on Clearwire's WiMax network, which has been built with Motorola Inc. wi4 Expedience wireless networking equipment.

Approval of the high performance WiMax card should propel the use of WiMax by broadening the potential base of customers, Clearwire said in a statement.

Laptop PC users were instrumental in increasing the popularity of Wi-Fi, which WiMax aims to replace with its speedier wireless Internet service and wider ranging access. Wi-Fi became popular because it freed people from sitting at home connected to the Internet by wire, and instead allowed them to sip coffee at Starbucks while reading e-mails wirelessly on their laptop PCs.

Clearwire, of Kirkland, Washington, expects the WiMax laptop PC cards to be available in the second half of this year. The company currently offers broadband wireless services in the U.S. and Europe. Its subscribers rose to 206,000 as of the end of last year, from just 1,000 on Sep. 30, 2004, it said when it filed to list on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC in February. Its subscriber base has grown despite wireline alternatives for users, including broadband cable modems and DSL (digital subscriber line) Internet service.

As of the end of last year, Clearwire services were available to 9.6 million people, including 8.6 million throughout the U.S., and one million in Brussels, Belgium and Dublin, Ireland, the company said.

WiMax base stations can send broadband Internet signals to far greater distances than Wi-Fi technology. Although estimates vary on how far WiMax signals can go, in densely populated cities, where users are not likely to be positioned within sight of access points, the distance should be between 2 km and 4 km.

Until the next post,

Steve