WiMax in the USA and Server Based Computing.

Below is a portion of the AT&T web page announcing the availability of WiMax. Click here to view their web page.


What does WiMax have to do with Server Based Computing? Let us review the four components of Server Based Computing and then I am going to add a fifth component.

The first component is a Server. More likely clusters of servers that have high availability and fault tolerance. These servers host applications that are presented remotely and may also provide storage for data.

The second component is a client. It can be thin, fat, a phone, pen, Netbook, actually, almost anything. It is the presentation to the user and input device to the server.

Third, a protocol to allow servers and clients to communicate. Earlier examples are ICA and RDP. Now there are more than I can count.

Fourth, management systems that keeps tabs on the servers and clients. Who can do what, when, where and how. Ever been asked to key on you email address and a password? Now you know your are experiencing SBC.

I would like to add "Transmission Medium" as the fifth component. Connectivity has always been implicit. A benefit often sited for the early Citrix ICA protocol was its ability to operate with bandwidth as low a 20Kb. I had the opportunity to work with wireless thin clients ten years ago. It opened up new ways to place equipment on the shop floor. The distance and bandwidth limitations within 802.11b was not a problem using semi-mobile thin clients with embedded NT.

Now how we connect the server to the client and how much bandwidth is required will be more important. Today we are wanting broadband everywhere. Have broadband at home, at work and at hot spots. At home I have broadband via a cable company. Work is a corporate connection via a proxy server. The hot spots are a mix of open, closed, and browser based systems. Although many of them are client networks, generally I use the wireless network only to access the Internet.

It appears to me that SBC vendors that have the ability to pack more punch into less bandwidth will have an advantage over those vendors that are dependent on wide bandwidth to make their applications work. One ISP is banking on fiber to your door. Nice, except that sales forecasts for this year are that more laptops, Netbooks and NIDs are going to be sold than desktops. I will bet that mobility trumps big bandwidth. Leave carrying the big pipes to the "Blue Man Group"!

For the enterprises of the world this presents a new security challenge. It is possible to be on two networks at the same time. The secured enterprise network and the open wireless network can coexist on the the same device. So do you build a Faraday cage around every structure or do you switch to thin client systems that can access the enterprise system only by the way it is authorized?

There are over 350 WiMax installation world wide. The largest single installation may be the country of Pakistan by Wateen Telcom with at least 22 cites being served. In the US the list is smaller.

MetroBridge Networks serves businesses in Arizona and Greater Seattle with connections up to 2500 Mbit/s with 8000 square miles of coverage area. MetroBridge Networks 197 Cottage Ave.Sandy, UT, 84070.

DigitalBridge Communications launched the first commercially available WiMAX network in the United States in 2007 under the name BridgeMAXX and holds 2.5 GHz licenses in several regions. Current Deployments are in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Indiana, South Dakota, and Virginia. Digital Bridge Communications Corp. 44675, Cape Court Suite, 130 Ashburn, VA 20147 • Phone: 703.723.3566.

Sprint Nextel holds licences in the 2.5 GHz band covering most of the U.S. Sprint plans to build a "Nationwide advanced wireless broadband network expected to cover 100 million people in 2008." Chicago, Baltimore and Washington D.C. are named as U.S. cities scheduled to be online by the end of 2008 under the brand name Xohm.

Clearwire holds 2.5 GHz licences in several regions, and is running a test market in the Northwestern United States in preparation to deploy a nationwide network to rival the other nationwide carriers. In May 2008, Sprint Nextel announced a plan to merge their WiMax operation under the Clearwire name, with additional investment from five other technology companies.

NextWave Wireless holds licences in the 1.7 GHz and 2.1 GHz band. NextWave's has portfolio of licensed spectrum holdings in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic and Slovakia. US operations are based in California, 12670 High Bluff Drive, San Diego, CA 92130, (P) 858.480.3100.

NextPhase Wireless holds a national WiMAX license and LMDS in broad coverage areas over Atlanta, Southern California (Los Angeles), Miami/Fort Lauderdale and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania/Wilmington, Delaware/Trenton, New Jersey. NextPhase Wireless 300 S. Harbor Blvd. Suite 500 Anaheim, CA 92805 Xanadoo operates Navini Networks-based pre-WiMax networks in the 2.5 GHz spectrum in 6 markets in the midwest.

Xanadoo operates Navini Networks-based pre-WiMax networks in the 2.5 GHz spectrum in 6 markets in the midwest.

Open Range Communications will build a 17-state WiMAX network providing wireless broadband to 500+ un-served and underserved rural American communities. 1735 Nineteenth St., Second Floor, Denver Colorado 80202, phone: 303.376.2111.

Conterra in Columbia, SC, Charlotte, NC, and nearby areas. Conterra Ultra Broadband, 2101 Rexford Road, Suite 200, East Wing Charlotte, NC 28211.

Quad-Cities Online will use 2.5 GHz spectrum in Illinois. It is currently under construction.

RazzoLink carries WiMax and pre WiMax throughout Monterey County, California on the 2.5/2.6 GHz band. Razzolink 6114 LaSalle Ave, #458 Oakland, CA 94611 800-913-RAZZ (7299), ext. 1.

The list is only going to get longer and the security challenge wider. And the productivity gets better.

Until the next post,

Steve

Digital Pen and Paper, A New Thin Client Part Two

It has been almost a year since I posted about Anoto paper and a digital pen in this blog (click here to read). Chris had called me and wanted to show me something and it was the Anoto paper. He had connected the dots and thought the combination of Anoto enabled paper with a digital pen would make for a rich voting experience and at the same time simplify the back office operations of a board of elections. Just might increase voter's confidence in the voting system also. As with anything that is truly innovative, it a difficult to find people that can see the entire process.

Unlike the “Mariner” in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” we have stopped everyone, not limiting ourselves to wedding guest's, and asked them to try this process. In Taylor's epic poem the wedding guest is bemused by the “Mariner” and also annoyed by the man's tale. But the guest's interest turns fascination as he realizes that the mariner is describing supernatural events.

Two of the more famous passages:

Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.

Digital Pen Voting by PenVote.com is not a supernatural event, but for many it appears to be just that. We have been successful on occasions to explain the process and it is wonderful to watch someone as they experience the “Ah Ha! I get it!” There will be more.

A couple of weeks ago Jeff Bell with Business First of Columbus called and asked about the project. Jeff wrote about digital pen voting by PenVote last summer. Late in the first interview I saw Jeff's eye's roll back and he asked a impromptu strong question and Chris answered. He experienced the “Ah Ha.” Below is a follow up report published last Friday by Jeff Bell.

Have also included the report By JANE MCCARTHY with Seattle's KING 5 News further below. She interviews Ken Schneider, CEO of Adapx. He is only the second person that I have read about that recognized that Anoto enabled paper with a digital pen is a thin client/computer. "So what that means is the paper, in effect, becomes the computer and the pen is like a mobile device and it's blue-tooth enabled," said Schneider. Adapx is expanding the depth and breadth of digital paper uses to into new markets. We wish them well.

My take is similar to Schneider's in that the paper is the monitor and the pen is a keyboard. It is the combination of the appearance of low tech with the really easy use of high tech that makes this solution elegant, or is it supernatural?

Friday, April 25, 2008

Election tech startups find common ground

Business First of Columbus by Jeff Bell Business First

Two startup companies in Columbus are working together to see if they can make digital pen-and-paper technology a common tool in Ohio petition drives and elections.

Ohio Petition Co. will invest $50,000 in digital pen hardware, software and other equipment while drawing on PenVote's expertise to deploy the technology on voter-registration forms and petitions in voter signature campaigns, said Ian James, an Ohio Petition principal.

That investment will help PenVote get the certification it needs from Anoto Group AB, a Swedish company that controls the technology for the digital pen-and-paper system, said PenVote co-founder Chris Wilson.

"For us, the funding issue has been the biggest challenge," said Wilson, a former Franklin County elections official who launched PenVote last year with business associate Steve Hilsman.

The first big test of the technology could come as early as May, James said, when the Ohioans for Healthy Families Coalition could begin collecting signatures to place a paid-sick-leave proposal on the statewide ballot in November.

James said he is optimistic his company will land a contract to help collect the 120,683 valid signatures needed to put the issue on the ballot. He worked last year with sick-leave mandate proponents on their statewide drive.

PenVote has helped develop a digital pen-and-paper voter registration form that would be used in the sick-leave signature drive and other petition projects to be taken on by Ohio Petition Co. It fits well with a process the company has developed to provide a line-by-line review of all signatures within 72 hours.

Winning over officials

In a nutshell, digital paper contains thousands of tiny dots that are read by a digital pen. The pen writes in ink and contains a small sensor that records the locations of the pen strokes on the paper. The pen is placed into a cradle, and the data on it is downloaded to a computer for review.

James and Wilson connected shortly after James, Julie Heffelfinger, Chris Kvinta and Stephen Letourneau launched Ohio Petition Co. in January.

Digital pen technology also has potential beyond the elections field, James said. For example, it could it be used to record responses to consumer surveys or register participants at large events. That's fine with Wilson, but he said his focus will remain on election applications.

Like other states, Ohio is moving back to paper ballots because of studies that challenge the security of electronic voting systems. Wilson said PenVote's digital pen-and-paper technology would provide a reliable, cost-effective way to record votes on paper ballots, but he has yet to win over the Ohio Secretary of State's office, which oversees elections in the state.

"We know it will be a long-term battle," Wilson said. "There are pockets of interest around, but the dam hasn't opened for us yet."

Until it does, PenVote will concentrate on the development of voter registration and petition forms as well as a digital pen-and-paper poll book it tested last November in Franklin County. In a field trial at a precinct in New Albany during the November general election, PenVote took existing paper poll books - the ones signed by voters upon arriving at their polling place - and printed them on dot-enabling digital paper. Voters signed the books with a digital pen, which was docked at the end of the voting day. At that point, the digital pen equipment instantly applied the poll-book information to Franklin County's voter registration database.

Wilson said the digital pen technology eliminated the time-consuming and error-prone manual process in which electronic wands read and scan in the data. In a letter to Wilson after the election, Franklin County Board of Elections Director Matt Damschroder said the field test was "exceptionally successful."

614-220-5456 | jabell@bizjournals.com

And Jane McCarthy with Seattle's KING 5 News

Seattle company develops digital pen and paper

08:53 AM PDT on Tuesday, April 29, 2008

By JANE MCCARTHY / KING 5 News

SEATTLE - Over the years, there has been a lot of talk about computers taking the place of good old-fashioned pen and paper. Now a Seattle company is merging the two.

The company is called Adapx (pronounced "adapts"); a prominent technology research company recently named them among the 2008 cool vendors in emerging technology.

From firefighters positioning crews to battle back flames in Southern California to the troops gathering intelligence in Iraq, many are still charting their next moves on a map.

Now, many of them are doing that with a new digital pen from Adapx.

"A digital pen is a much simpler thing for a soldier to carry on the ground than a laptop," said Ken Schneider, CEO of Adapx.

Their capturx software along with a digital pen allows people to print a document off of any normal printer and digitally enable that paper.

"So what that means is the paper, in effect, becomes the computer and the pen is like a mobile device and it's blue-tooth enabled," said Schneider.

As you write, all the information is collected in the digital pen. When you dock the pen in a computer, all the information appears on a screen. Map data that has historically taken days, even months, to update is now done in seconds. The system can also download handwriting and even doodling.

If you ask the people at Adapx, all this talk about pen and paper falling out of favor is a fallacy.

"In many respects, we don't think society has gotten away from the pen at all," said Schneider.

The mapping technology has only been available for a few months and the company now has clients worldwide.

Until the next post,

Steve

Terminal Server and Asus Eee PC

Have been thinking about the UMPC Asus Eee PC and what would compel me to buy it. My needs are access to the internet, Skype video conference and able to remotely manage a Mircosoft Terminal Server. Not a big list. Should be doable.

Went to a giant PC store and found the Asus Eee counter. There were 3 models leashed to the counter and rightly so, they are that small. An easy fit into a coat pocket and out the door.

Unfortunately the sales staff knew almost nothing about the product. Most could not name the software vendor (Xandros) and all said you could install XP if you had a copy. I suspect none of them read the installation instructions to install XP. I would not do it.

Not one knew if you could upload tsclient to the device. You can I found out later. But I was surprised that the 30 day money back guarantee had been shortened to 7 days and a 15% restocking fee applied. What? The sales person said they are getting way to many returns so they went to a more stringent return policy to help keep people from buying the device. Brilliant!!!

Fortunately, standing behind me was a customer that had several of these devices. He confirmed that it was easy to switch to a full desktop version of Xandros. I decided that if I could get the Xandros standard desktop then I could get to a repository with rdesktop and tsclient. We then discovered that rdesktop was actually already in the full distribution, just not in the Easy Mode. Alright, take the plunge and out the door I go with the little package in hand.

Unpacked the device, inserted the battery, plugged in the power cable and pressed the ON button. Answered a couple of questions and it was good to go. Firefox and Skype where already available so it was just matter of getting rdesktop and tsclient running.

First thing to do was to enable the Xandros full desktop. Even an old Windows guy like me found it very easy. Here is link to the instructions.

http://code.google.com/p/pimpmyeee/wiki/HowTo

The script once ran enables toggling (think dual boot) between the Eee presentation

“Easy Mode” and the full Xandros desktop. And sure enough there was rdesktop in the full desktop menu system. But it would not connect to my 2003 terminal server. Was it down? Jumped on to a machine with a beta version of Ubuntu and used tsclient to get right in. It was working. Now what? Could I load up tsclient? Not in the Eee repository. Xandros is a fork off of Debian. Using non Xandros repositories just might break something. Was warned that it was possible to “brick” the Eee. Not an option for me.

Could I load Ubuntu? After very little searching the answer is yes but the wireless component needs to be “tweaked”. More research and found eeebuntu and eeexubuntu. Already had the Eee drivers installed and also had “Live” disks. Downloaded and burned the ISOs.

The live DVD version of eeebuntu worked well. But after the install, both the wireless and wired network connections failed to initialize. The Eee does come with DVD rescue disk. Re-imaged the 4 gig drive. Then tried eeexububtu live CD, but I could not get a wireless connection and the web cam did not work. Back to square one.

After enabling the full desktop version with the pimpmyeee script I noticed that another option was to load additional Xandros repositories. Now at the point that I

know how to re-image the drive so why not? Ran the script again and followed the instructions.

Reloaded package manager and searched for tsclient. BINGO! Select apply and YES I was good to go or was I? The application is to large to fit on the 800 X 480 screen. Oh my! Close but not there, yet. The little Eee has a trick up its sleeve. Press the Alt key and hold down the left side of the mouse bar.

The four arrow icon shows up on the screen and you can drag the dialog box all over the place. Eureka!

Now I can connect to my Terminal Server. Select full screen mode and the entire server desktop appears on my little Eee screen.

Nice.

Until the next post,

Steve

First Comparison of MS Terminal Services 2008 and Citrix XenApps

This is the first published comparison of Microsoft Terminal Services 2008 with Citrix Xen Apps. Have also added to the bottom of the post, the conclusion of a white paper about the Microsoft in house implementation of Terminal Services 2008. The white paper in its entirety may be viewed by clicking the linked white paper title.

Rolling Review: Citrix XenApp Vs. Windows 2008 Terminal Services

The first pit stop in our Windows 2008 Server Rolling Review finds Microsoft walking a fine line on presentation virtualization.

By Randy George
InformationWeek
March 22, 2008 12:01 AM (From the March 24, 2008 issue)

Windows Server 2008's eagerly awaited Terminal Services is a respectable presentation virtualization alternative for smaller shops, but for large enterprises,Citrix Systems (NSDQ: CTXS) still reigns supreme. That's the--not unexpected--finding of the first installment in our ongoing Windows Server 2008 Rolling Review. From a product-positioning perspective,Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is walking a fine line, responding to calls for more core Terminal Services functionality in Windows Server, yet keeping its hands mostly off the large enterprises that comprise Citrix's core audience.

While we found many enhancements in Windows 2008 Terminal Services, including better session and print driver management, load balancing, and single sign-on, there are three major functionality additions that companies weighing the choice of Microsoft's versus Citrix's presentation virtualization must consider: Terminal Services RemoteApp, Gateway, and Web Access.

In the past, Microsoft has gotten beat up pretty regularly for the dearth of enterprise-level thin-client functionality in Terminal Services 2003, especially when compared with Citrix's offerings. From a strict functionality standpoint, the criticism was warranted. But functionality doesn't tell the whole story. For every Citrix XenApp (formerly Presentation Server) license sold, Microsoft requires purchase of not only a desktop client access license (CAL), but also a Terminal Services CAL.

In addition, Citrix is one of just a handful of companies with access to the Windows Server OS source code. Microsoft is making millions on CAL licensing no matter which direction Windows shops choose to go, and given that, there's little motivation to go after Citrix in head-to-head competition.

The company's official stance: "Microsoft and Citrix continue to be strong partners; this perception [of competition] arises with each new release of Windows Server/Terminal Services," says Alex Balcanquall, Terminal Services product manager. "Together, over the years, we have continued to deliver great joint solutions to our mutual customers. Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services is about reaching out to net new customers, those that aren't using presentation virtualization today.

PUT TO THE TEST

We built a test bed that would reflect a small organization within our Boston Real-World Partner Labs, deploying a single dual-processor Hewlett-Packard DL 360 server with 4 GB of RAM to act as our core presentation server. Installation of Terminal Services was a snap; it can be added as simply another server role in a full OS installation or Server Core build. We tested Terminal Services RemoteApp by deploying a virtualized version of Microsoft Outlook to a user with a huge Exchange mailbox. Our client was a Windows XP SP2 box.

One thing we love about Terminal Services compared with Citrix XenApp is Microsoft's method for placing an application desktop shortcut. In XenApp, IT must first deploy the full desktop client, run Citrix Neighborhood, and create a connection to the application; only then can the desktop shortcut be created. In Terminal Services 2008, a RemoteApp wizard guided us through the process of publishing our application.

After selecting the app, we were instructed to create an MSI or EXE file, which can be deployed to many clients simultaneously. RemoteApp silently installed all the supporting files and shortcuts needed. However, when we tried to run our application for the first time on our Windows XP SP2 box, we ran into our first caveat emptor moment: You need to install RDP 6.1 before having employees attempt to connect to a Terminal Services 2008 server. If you're a Vista shop, of course, you're all set.

After getting the RDP issue resolved, we ran into an annoying caveat emptor No. 2 in the area of pass-through authentication. In Citrix XenApp, single sign-on just works. It works in Terminal Services 2008, too ... if you have Vista deployed. See a pattern here?

Still, despite the need to manually log on to our terminal session, performance compared quite well with a similar Citrix session, all system and network latency conditions being equal.

We then shifted gears to WebAccess, which was again very easy to configure. One feature of WebAccess we liked is its ability to provide a means to remotely link to any server in the network that can accept a remote desktop session. While this feature may be of limited value for end users, it's certainly helpful for admins who want to perform server maintenance from a variety of PCs. However, there are a couple of gotchas.

First, you will, again, need to have RDP 6.1 installed before transporting yourself to a remote system, so don't count on troubleshooting end users from PCs that aren't running Vista or XP SP3. The other, more significant, drawback is the inability to customize applications by user or group security--you either present an application through WebAccess, or you don't. This is a major distinguishing factor between Terminal Services and Citrix's Web services, and we can only surmise that leaving out customization was a strategically placed point of demarcation by Microsoft. Out of the box, Citrix XenApp provides a very simple methodology for customizing applications presented to users.

Finally, we set our sights on Terminal Services Gateway, which is essentially an SSL VPN that enables organizations to securely serve corporate applications over the public Internet. Configuration was somewhat cumbersome, and again you'll need RDP 6.1 to make Gateway work. But once the service was fully configured, we were impressed with how well it performed. There's no doubt that Citrix provides a more scalable and mature SSL service for presentation virtualization, but you'll need to shell out some extra bucks for a Citrix Access Gateway license to get that functionality. In contrast, Gateway is packaged into the core Terminal Services offering.

For small to midsize enterprises with simple presentation virtualization needs, Terminal Services will definitely fill the bill. But organizations that must scale to thousands of users will need the compression, acceleration, load balancing, and management options that only XenApp provides. According to Citrix, a new version of XenApp that will build on improvements within Terminal Services 2008 will be released later this year.

How MSIT Uses Terminal Services as a Scalable Remote Access Solution
Deploying Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services at Microsoft
Technical White Paper

Published: February 27, 2008

Conclusion

The Terminal Services deployment team intended the Terminal Services deployment to act as a test environment to determine the overall scalability and stability of Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services in a large enterprise. Additionally, the team intended this worldwide deployment to generate feedback with regard to features and functionality to include in the Terminal Services program.

The TS Gateway concept proved to be a popular and scalable remote access solution, enabling users to access the corporate network at Microsoft from virtually any location worldwide. Personnel could use this feature to access important files and resources at Microsoft from locations from which they were unable to do so previously. Additionally, the speed of connecting to resources on the internal network improved to such an extent that users preferred the TS Gateway farm over that of the typical remote access VPN connection.

By using fast and easy-to-access terminal server farms, the team was able to achieve a goal of increasing the security of sensitive internal resources such as internal documents and worksheets.

Although this pilot project was deployed as a test environment, the deployment was so successful, and the user response was so positive, that the Terminal Services pilot did not end. Instead, the whole environment was integrated into the production environment at Microsoft IT. This change means that the worldwide Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services deployment is now handled in the same manner as a typical production environment at Microsoft.

Until the next post,

Steve

Mobile Thin Clients and UMPCs or are they Very Small Laptops

It is being reported that ASUS Computer sold about 350,000 EEE laptops in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Click here for ASUS update prediction as of 13 March 2008. Try 3.8 million Eee PCs.

Since then Everex has entered the market with “Cloudbook”, and HCL with “MiLeap”. NorhTec annonuced it will enter the market next month. These devices are minimalist devices designed to access the Internet and provide some local execution of applications. They fall between small a laptop and hand held computer. Not sure if they meet the criteria for UMPC. Some will argue that they are too big. This may be a new class of devices. Maybe just a Very Mobile Laptop that is too small for some and too big for UMPC devotees.

Pictured right is the HCL MiLeap.

Under 1 kg, with a 7” screen and keyboards that you can use with more than 2 fingers, they are the right size for me. Battery life starting at 3 hours and going up to eight hours is more than enough for most users.

But I like the ability to load in RDesktop or RDP and connect to terminal services. Managed TS on Server 2003 using a cell phone. At best it worked, but barely. The screen had to be divided into 5 windows. Not friendly at all. With a resolution of 800 x 480 on these devices the situation improves.

Pictured left is Everex CloudBook.


Pictured to the right is ASUS EEE.

But that is not the subject of this post. It is Laptop Thin Clients. Big Screens and no storage on inside. Must connect to a server to provide functionally. That is the whole purpose of this type of device.

Pictured left is the NorhTec "Gecko".

Below is an article about mobile thin clients. I think there is much room for both Thin Client laptops and the less than 1 kg convergence small laptop or UMPC. In fact, there may be more choices in this space in the very near future. Choice is good.


From Techworld:

January 28, 08
Will we really use mobile thin clients?
Work on the move, but keep the data in the office?

By Peter Judge, Techworld:

When yet another laptop goes missing, along with a ton of sensitive data, IT managers might wonder if there's any way to keep that data off the laptop in the first place. Could that need be pressing enough to make the idea of mobile thin clients work?

On the face of it, the idea of a mobile thin client is bizarre. Imagine a laptop you can't use without a connection back to your office. You wouldn't be able to work on the plane, and you’d lose your connection when your train went into a tunnel!

But the idea has had several incarnations, and shows no sign of going away. HP, who launched a laptop thin client this week, says there are reasons why the time may have finally arrived for laptops that don't work on their own.
Who's tried it?

Thin clients as a while haven't been very visible, but they have been gaining ground. On desktops, they have been taking the place of old-style dumb terminals; like them, they are plugged in and work unnoticed, displaying work that is effectively carried out on remote servers.

As workers become more mobile, it makes sense that some sort of mobile thin client could be useful. Especially as people are carrying around large quantities of sensitive data on laptops - and when those laptops are stolen, so is the data.

HP's 6720t (pictured left) isn't the first mobile thin client. It comes from HP's recent acquisition Neoware, which had itself launched one, two years ago. Wyse, the undisputed leader in thin clients till the HP-Neoware merger, launched one in 2007.

In May 2007, the concept nearly got a boost from a well-known name in mobile computing. Palm announced the Foleo - a thin client of sorts, but more accurately a client-of-a-client, that would act as a big keyboard and screen for a smartphone.

The Foleo was delayed, and then finally canned in September. Palm decided it simply couldn't sell the concept to its consumer customers, especially as the cost would be similar to that of a "full" laptop.

HP thinks it's not going to sidestep the same problem, for two reasons. Firstly, this laptop is going to be much more like a "real" laptop, apart from the local storage. It will use the same accessories, port-replicators batteries and optical drives as HP's normal laptops. "There's no trade-off from the customer point of view," says Andrew Gee, sales manager for HP remote client solutions.

It also runs a familiar-looking Embedded XP - which Gee is pleased to report - comes from a different part of Microsoft to the division that will be axing the regular Windows XP later this year.

Secondly, it's not going to be used by people who would normally get a laptop. "It enables businesses to deliver IT to users who historically haven't had it," says Gee, who suggests thin clients might be used by staff on the road in VANs, giving them the ability to update office systems more effectively than using a handheld terminal.
Practical issues

Alongside these issues, two practical points may come to the aid of the mobile thin client. Firstly, the price is better than one might have feared. The first wave of wired thin clients, in the 1990s, was scuppered because they were promoted on the basis of saving money over expensive PCs - but then turned out to be more expensive than those PCs.

This time round, all thin clients are sold on the basis of lifetime costs, so even though the client may not be vastly cheaper than a PC, it will save money be outliving any PC, since no hardware upgrades will be required. "It's about total cost of ownership," says Gee. "If you're going out there trying to reduce acquisition cost, that's not the right way to go about it. This has no moving parts, memory and flash disk is upgradeable. It's a piece of glass."

This sort of emphasis on lifecycle costs is usually a preamble for a high purchase price - but the HP laptop thin client turns out to be reasonably priced - with an entry price of $725 - and the one we found online costs $837.89.

Secondly, connections are much easier than they used to be, so mobile working on a thin client is more practical, says Gee. The 6720t includes both Wi-Fi and an Ethernet socket, as well as a card slot for a 3G modem. Some of Gee's Neoware/HP colleagues have already worked a full day on a 6720t, using 3G and GPRS while travelling from Manchester to London on the train, then working in offices, plugging in a spare battery and working on the way back.

"If we had tried to launch mobile thin clients three or four years ago, it would have been difficult for the market to accept," says Gee. "Now, network connnectivity is more prevalent and becoming cheaper. If you are using an efficient server-based protocol, even GPRS is quick enough for email and diary."

The bigger picture

Behind all this, there is a possibility that we are all moving towards a more thin-client mentality. People are using Google and Hotmail in order to be able to work on any terminal, and the mobile versions of services like Google mail bring thin client working into the mobile world. On some handsets, mobile Google mail is a really usable thin computing service, where messages are
manipulated remotely.

Craig Mathias has suggested that phones could be mobile thin clients.

Pictured right is the DevonIT Safebook.

However, on laptops, the concept may need tweaking to match the reality. "It's a matter of thin client computing, not a thin client computer - as always," says analyst Clive Longbottom of QuoCirca. "Yes, too much information is being held locally on clients, but some of this is necessary. The key is that some of it is necessary, not all of it - and yet the user carries it all around 'just in case'."

Longbottom suggests that a really useful mobile thin client would sort data out into two kinds: "Use thin client computing to give access to the information that is only touched once in a while, use the device to store - encrypted and digitally controlled for lifecycle - that information that is required on a more continuous basis."

That will take a bit of thought - but the idea is simple, and maybe IT managers at places like the MoD could give it some thought.

Until the next post,

Steve

FREE Computer-as-a-Service

Yes!!! FREE!!! Get a little advertising in an ad box on the right side of the presentation and pay only 9.95 USD for shipping.

Everyone knew that someday computers would be free. We just did not know what day. Got a press release in the email advising me today is the day to get a free computer. The computer is in the cloud and that is good for me. Ordered one and will let you know about my experience with Screen PC and Nimbus Cloud Computing.

Norwalk, CT (PRWEB) March 6, 2008 -- Experienced entrepreneurs Vern Kennedy, John Crowley and Vijay Das created ScreenPC, Inc. to tackle the problem of costs and complexity in home computers. ScreenPC, Inc., funded by Columbia Ventures Corporation, today launches its nimbus cloud computer as a monthly subscription service with both paid and free versions.

Mr. Kennedy left Broadview Networks in 2005, a company he founded in 1996 as the first local telephone competitor in New York City and built up to $200-plus million in revenue at the time of his departure. During his tenure at Broadview Networks, Vern served as President, CEO and Chairman of the Board.

Forced to field a few calls a day from frustrated friends who needed help with their computers, Vern wondered if there was a better way. An electrical engineer from Princeton, Vern immediately began to tinker with an idea for a new way to look at how computers are delivered to home users. "If the costly and complicated parts of a computer could be hosted in a central data center that was managed by experts and only a screen was delivered to a home user, then things would be a lot simpler and less expensive for everyone involved. I wanted to make this happen."

There was an immediate challenge. No cost-effective device existed to drive the screen at the home. Existing thin clients would have been a likely starting point but were still far too expensive. "We had to build our own from scratch. Most thin clients are really just an ordinary PC with components removed. Our ultra-thin client was designed from the ground up to focus just on screen and USB management."

Vern assembled a team to tackle the technical and business challenges ahead in creating a new home computer. He enlisted Dr. John Crowley, who had designed the highly regarded back office system at Broadview Networks, to be the Chief Technology Officer. He contacted Vijay Das, who had been responsible for the design and commercialization of new products at Broadview Networks, to be the Chief Marketing Officer.

Dr. Crowley is very pleased with today's launch. "Its been quite an adventure in rethinking and redesigning just about every aspect of the computer and it's great to have the service out today. As someone who has been involved in personal computers for over 25 years as I have, it's amazing how radical a development this company is. We've completely changed the hardware and software of home computing."

Vijay Das thinks that consumers will appreciate the options that a truly affordable computer make possible. New users need not be afraid of the cost or complexity. And if a home already has one or more computers, the nimbus cloud computer is a way you can add a few more in convenient locations. "The nimbus cloud computer represents a complete re-imagination of what home computing can be. But today is just the beginning. We will be announcing new services that we will deliver through the nimbus cloud computer platform are truly unique. Stay tuned!"

The nimbus cloud computer service is available today on the web: www.nimbuscc.com.

Vijay Das

ScreenPC, Inc.
203-842-0460 604

Of course there is the fine print. From the Nimbus website i have included theirs.

Looking for small print!?

You've come to the right place! Its no big deal really but feel free to dig in. Full Terms of Service apply. You will need a broadband connection of at least 768 kbps through dsl, cable or fiber. Service is month-to-month. You may cancel your service with us at any time. Monitor not included. Just about any VGA monitor you have will work with the nimbus. If you don't have one, we can get one real cheap for you so check what we have when you place order. Not all USB devices supported. We maintain a list of USB devices and monitors on our supported hardware page. The nimbus device is yours to use for as long as you are a customer and you will not be charged separately for it. But, these little puppies cost us real cash to make. If you cancel your service and you don’t want to return it, thats fine, just pay us $50 and its yours (thats why we put a $50 hold on your credit card). If you are a free customer and you end up not using the device, then we will ask you to return it as well. There are lots of folks waiting in line and we want our nimbus to go to folks who will use it. Free customers, you will have an Ad Panel.

Until the next post,

Steve

Shaklee Cleans Up with SAAS

The eWeek.com article by Debra Donston is one of the best SAAS articles i have read. The article covers many of the topics that decision makers must evaluate before moving to SAAS. Writers are going to be writing books about how far and how fast the pendulum swings back to one of the new Server Based Computing solutions.

With more choices for IT managers it is now how much of which solution is right for them to achieve their organization's objectives. SAAS is just one of many options in the IT payoff matrix.

Click here to go to the Debra's eWeek.com article or continue to read below.

Shaklee Cleans Up with SAAS
By Debra Donston
2008-03-02

Shaklee looks to the cloud to effectively align IT with business requirements.

Shaklee was green before green was cool. Now the company is applying that forward-thinking philosophy to SAAS.

Shaklee, based in Pleasanton, Calif., has been around for more than 50 years. What started with a vitamin formulation developed by Dr. Forrest Shaklee has evolved into a broad spectrum of all-natural cleaning, nutritional and skin-care products that have recently won accolades from no less than Oprah Winfrey and nods in Time, Woman’s Day and In Style, among many other magazines.

This is something of a resurgence for the company, which was taken private almost four years ago by Roger Barnett (now the company’s chairman and CEO) and private equity organizations. In 1982, Shaklee was a Fortune 500 company, but between then and 2004, when the company was acquired, Shaklee had been shrinking, according to the company’s CIO, Ken Harris.

Shaklee’s new owners brought in a management team to turn the company around, including Harris, who was formerly CIO of companies such as Gap, Nike and PepsiCo.

One key objective for the company’s new management was to make Shaklee relevant to a new generation of consumers, as well as to a new generation of independent sales representatives—the major channel through which Shaklee products are sold.

“When the new management came on, they really were looking to turn the company around in a number of different ways,” Harris said. “I would say one of the most important things was to appeal to a younger demographic—to reach out to a younger demographic—in addition to the demo they had, which is an older generation. What we were looking to do was make sure that the current generation was joining on as reps as well as our existing reps. That meant, frankly, investing in a lot of new technologies.”

The challenge was that Shaklee had under-invested for a number of years in its infrastructure. “Most of the systems were COBOL- or mainframe-based or client/server technologies coming out of the ’80s,” Harris said. “The technology here was very, very dated.”

In addition, Shaklee is significantly smaller than other companies Harris has worked for. This meant Harris’ budget was relatively smaller, but the breadth of applications he needed to implement wasn’t.

“[At Shaklee,] we had the basic ERP [enterprise resource planning], finance systems, supply chain systems and HR [human resources] systems that we needed to support,” he said. “We had a very active Web community that we needed to support. We had e-commerce. We had the full expanse. We didn’t have maybe the same number of transactions, but the same kind of breadth.”

Harris needed to set some priorities and find a way to be more efficient in his spend of IT tech dollars.

The first thing he did was build a map of the company, aligning business activities with the technologies underlying them.

“I created a picture of the business, using English words or business terms—not a lot of tech-speak,” Harris said. “I used it to talk with the businesspeople about the key things we do to run this business. And then I mapped the techs we have that supported these business activities and color-coded them red, yellow or green for the state, or the condition, of the technologies.”

Anything that was red, for example, had a higher priority than any technologies that were green.

This document gave Shaklee’s IT department a good understanding of the business and its priorities, and it communicated to the business side in a clear manner what the state of each technology was.

“[The document] enabled us then to put forth a road map for the rest of the business—where we needed to make investments, how and when,” Harris said. “It was kind of that process that we used to get alignment.”

At the same time, Harris came up with a number of technology architecture principles. One of them was that, wherever possible, the company would leverage new technologies that enabled faster time to market, a reduction in the amount of infrastructure that needed to be built and maintained, and a reduction in costs.

Fortuitously, Harris said, at the same time, software-as-a-service technologies and the SAAS marketplace were starting to take off.

Harris had worked with SAAS applications, including Salesforce.com, before he came to Shaklee. He was hopeful that leveraging the SAAS model would help him update aging applications quickly and relatively inexpensively.

“We had our map of the entire business spectrum, and what we said was that every application that we need to look at replacing, we’re going to try to replace with a SAAS-based solution, including strategic applications,” Harris said. “We look at all the potential apps, but it’s usually the case that a SAAS vendor can deliver faster, cheaper and better than a traditional vendor.”

The SAAS model is gaining steam. In a July 2007 survey conducted by eWeek sister publication CIO Insight, 27 percent of respondents said their companies’ IT architectures were fundamentally based on SAAS, while 73 percent said they planned to expand their use of SAAS applications.

While Harris and his team were aware of SAAS’ benefits, they were not without initial trepidation.

“I clearly had a number of concerns, and my business partners had additional concerns—or the same concerns more intensely,” Harris said. “In my experience, the economics of SAAS are better than the economics of buying technology, implementing it yourself, hosting it yourself, etc., but you can’t just walk willy-nilly into SAAS and expect that it’s going to work, because it won’t.”

Service levels and security were two major concerns, he said.

“If I have some other company running key technologies of mine, if there’s a problem in the middle of the night, are they going to respond to it the same way we would? … What if they have access to all my data? Or, if my data is on their systems, what if somebody else accesses it? Does it expand the data risk, the security risk?”

Other concerns included business viability and integration.

“What if they go out of business tomorrow? What if they start running into economic problems and they shortchange their service as a result? … How easy is it going to be to get third parties to integrate all of our systems?”

In the end, Harris determined that three of those four main concerns—service levels, business viability and integration—could be taken care of with good contractual arrangements. The fourth—security—could be resolved through technology, such as encryption. Harris added that any vendor must demonstrate that its offerings can enable Shaklee to adhere to PCI (Payment Card Industry) and other regulations, further ensuring that security standards are being met.

That said, Shaklee initially took SAAS baby steps: “When we elected to go with software as a service, we said, ‘We’re not going to jump in the water; we’re going to put our toe in first and make sure the water’s not freezing cold.’”

Shaklee’s first SAAS venture was a simple address verification application from StrikeIron. The application was brought in to help Shaklee clean up the addresses in its database and was also intended as a SAAS proof of concept.

“We have over 750,000 members—people who buy our products, and we ship a lot of products,” Harris said. “We had a number of addresses in our database that were just, frankly, wrong, so things got shipped to the wrong places. So we implemented an address verification module for one of the things that we were doing, across all the systems that were collecting addresses.”

Harris said it took about 60 days—and very little cost—to implement the StrikeIron service.

That SAAS success led to relationships with two other SAAS vendors: RightNow and Visual Sciences.

Shaklee is using RightNow’s technology for all its customer interface applications, mass-mail marketing, call centers, telephone order entry and Web knowledge content capabilities. “Basically, the front-end picture to our customers,” Harris said.

The company is using the Visual Sciences service, now owned by Omniture, for all its Web analytics, Web search and, most recently, Web marketing presentations. “It’s a fully hosted service, so when you do Web search, you end up getting a page that looks just like Shaklee’s Web site; it just happens not to be Shaklee’s technology,” Harris said.

Shaklee then waded more deeply into the SAAS pool by betting its data on the model.

“At the core of any business map, in my opinion, is the data—the database and the data warehouse—because all the apps end up using and sharing the data,” said Harris.

Shaklee implemented a fully hosted data warehouse solution from PivotLink, so “at core, our architecture and infrastructure are on a SAAS platform,” he said.

It took less than 120 days to implement the PivotLink application, for “low six figures,” Harris said. On-premises data warehouses he’s implemented in the past have each taken up to two years—with seven-figure price tags—to implement. “[With PivotLink,] we didn’t have to buy any hardware; we didn’t have to buy any software. We had to negotiate certainly service levels, but we didn’t have to build up the expertise and the technology,” he said.

Shaklee is also using the Lenos Software on-demand solution for event and convention management, and Virtela’s management service for Shaklee’s global network. (“They not only provide the network, but they also manage it, down to the router,” Harris said.)

As for future projects in the cloud, Shaklee is evaluating the Workday service for its HR and payroll activities.

HR and CRM (customer relationship management) topped the list of enterprise applications licensed in the SAAS model, according to the CIO Insight research, with 36 percent of respondents saying they were using a hosted CRM solution and 36 percent saying they were using a hosted HR solution. Billing/
accounts payable, collaboration and e-commerce were next on the list, with 24, 22 and 21 percent of respondents, respectively, saying they were using such hosted solutions.

Different role for IT

Harris said SAAS really changes the job of IT.

For one thing, the model places a greater burden on getting vendor contracts right—having the right relationship and managing the relationship on an ongoing basis, he said.

“You go back to your businesspeople and say, ‘What are the requirements for a service-level agreement?’ You don’t always do that internally,” Harris said. “You put into the contract detailed service-level specs, and you put around them incentives and consequences. Usually the metrics need to be uptime, response time, severity Level 1 problem resolution and disaster recovery time.”

In addition, working with a SAAS provider shifts the burden of integration.

“If you work the relationship so that you don’t pay until you’re using the service, now the SAAS provider has an equal share—if not a greater share—in making sure that software gets up and running and works,” Harris said. “They don’t get any money until it does, and that means they have to be involved in solving the integration problem.”

Harris added that it’s important to build an exit strategy into the contract if the relationship with a vendor does not work out or if the vendor folds.

“We’ve had a couple of arrangements that didn’t work out as intended, so, as part of our negotiation process, we negotiate some kind of out in case it doesn’t work,” he said. “With one of our SAAS relationships, we negotiated the out to take over the technology and run it internally. And, in that particular situation, we ended up doing that.”

As with any vendor, Harris said, it’s important to conduct reference checks before beginning a relationship with a SAAS provider.

He added that not all vendors that have SAAS offerings can be good SAAS vendors.

“It’s not just about having a solution that can be applied or delivered over the Web; it also requires a major change in culture from what tech providers have done in the past,” he said. “To be a good SAAS vendor, you have to have a model that says, ‘I never walk away from my customers. I have to provide a service, and I have to provide a standard of performance.’ Not all companies understand that because it hasn’t been in their genetic makeup.”

Green benefits

So, with Shaklee’s heritage—including the distinction of being the first company in the world to totally offset its CO2 emissions and be certified as Climate Neutral—were SAAS’ power-
saving advantages any factor in the move to the cloud model?

In a way.

“It’s interesting,” Harris said. “Our first product, in the 1950s, was the first totally natural cleaning product, and all of our products since then have been all-natural. We didn’t go to SAAS because of green—I wish I could tell you otherwise—it only turned out that SAAS is more green because I’m not using nearly as much energy. I’m leveraging the capability of aggregation, which definitely has a positive impact.

“It happens to coincide with our original direction and mission, but it’s coincidental, not causal. But that’s part of the reason it was easier to sell.”

Maybe in the next week or so we might here that Microsoft maybe moving into this space. Just maybe?

Until the next post,

Steve

Termianl Services In MS Server 2008

Dennis Chung, a Singapore based Microsoft MVP posted a success story about an early adapter of Terminal Services using MS Server 2008. With permission from Dennis, have reposted his commentary. Click here to visit Dennis Chung's Live Site.

ITC Solutions, uses and recommends Terminal Services

Hey, Lunar New Year holidays has just passed, and I took a much deserved break. Well, at least that’s what I think. Alright, back to work. There are so many things I am working with right now. Windows 2008, SQL 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 are products that Microsoft is launching real soon. Saw an email internally mentioning T-16. In another 16 days, Microsoft, we will launch the 3 products... Wow… time flies. In Singapore, we are launching on the 26th Mar 2008.

Anyway, I am not blogging about this launch. Let me put some attention to an IT Pro. He is William Lam, Technical Manager of ITC Solutions. He provides infrastructure advice and consultancy services to many SMBs in Singapore. A huge majority of his customers uses the Windows platform. In a bid to expand their businesses, including his own, he provides remote connectivity infrastructures. He provides the services to source and implement the solutions for his customers.

Using the RC versions of Windows Server 2008, he implemented Terminal Server. He was able to implement Terminal Services Remote. Using a HP Proliant DL380G5 Server (Intel Xeon Dual-Core CPU, 4GB of ram), he provided a remote application infrastructure providing MS Office 2003, Adobe Reader Version 8 and several custom applications. To make the solution more secure, he placed the server behind an ISA2006 firewall and loaded up Terminal Services Gateway. In combination, he offered his customers and users Terminal Services Web Access.

He used Vista with SP1 and Windows XP with SP3, to remotely connect in from anywhere on the Internet through HTTPS. Through a browser, he accesses the TS Web Access page and launched the offered applications. Not only was the access smooth, it was hassle free. No longer do users have to figure out which is the real desktop and which is a terminal services desktop. ;-) No data handled by the Remote applications launched, ever leaves the corporate network, which improves security.

William, his users and customers are so impressed with the functionality and performance of Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008, they plan to extend their tests and roll out TS RemoteApp with their other custom applications such as Supply chain management software and ERP software. So impressed are they that they unanimously believe that it is the perfect solution to their remote access requirements. Through the Terminal Services deployed in his office, he is also using the same to do Proof of Concepts. In the past, William mentioned he could only recommend Citrix solutions, which is costly, and SSL VPN solutions. But now, he said he will drop all those and strongly recommend Terminal Services in Windows 2008.

If you would like to contact William for a discussion, you may email him at itcss@singnet.com.sg.

BTW, WS2008 bits has RTMed (Released to Manufacturing)

/Dennis

Untill the next post,

Steve

No 'tipping point' yet in PC alternatives, Intel says

Found an article on Server Based Comptuing that includes all the current buzzword technologies and the author has a well written opinion with numbers. What is almost unique is a posted comment about the article. The comment is as good as the article. Have posted both of them.

But the chip maker is planning for growth in demand for server-based systems and will have products for it

By Patrick Thibodeau and published by Computerworld

February 1, 2008 (Computerworld) Intel Corp. has released survey data it has gathered in an effort to find out what PC alternatives are winning the hearts and minds of its customers. The short answer from the survey is this: None of them.

Other than Terminal Services, which include Citrix Presentation Server and Microsoft Terminal Server, Intel said that users haven't anointed any other alternative -- including desktop virtualization, application and operating system streaming, or blade PCs -- as a clear favorite.

Finding out which technology will make the most inroads in the enterprise isn't an idle question for Intel, said Mike Ferron-Jones, Intel's manager of its emerging model program. "Knowing this is really important because it informs how we are going to build our products," he said. With desktop virtualization, for instance, the question is, "How do we optimize our server products for dishing out high volumes of client virtual machines to thin clients?"

Intel conducted online interviews with more than 700 IT managers at medium-to-large-size companies to gather its data. The respondents were qualified to ensure they had some decision-making roles, Ferron-Jones said.

The survey found, for instance, that 64% of the companies were using Terminal Services, a well-established technology, and were deploying them to about 26% of their clients. In two years, that will rise to about 34%.

But among the broader spectrum of alternatives, Intel said users have no clear favorite. For instance, 39% of the respondents said they had some current deployment of desktop virtualization, including installations such as testing and pilots. But the survey found that users were deploying desktop virtualization to only 8% of their clients.

Other models looked at include application streaming, with 30% of the users reporting some deployment; operating system streaming, 15%; and blade PCs, 26%.

But when asked what percentages of clients were using any of these models, as with desktop virtualization, the numbers were much smaller: applications streaming, 11%; operating system streaming, 3%; and blade PCs, 6%. But the survey points to increasing deployment in all of these technologies. As a percentage of client deployments, Intel's survey shows increases ranging from 50% to more than 100% over two years, although the overall percentage remained relatively low.

"What the data is showing is we haven't hit the tipping point on one particular model yet," Ferron-Jones said.

Bob O'Donnell, an analyst at IDC, said he wasn't surprised by Intel's findings. "I think they are correct that it's still too early to tell," he said.

"They are all valid technologies," O'Donnell said, and user choice may be based on which is best for the application load. As to why this is an important issue for Intel to explore, O'Donnell said, "I think they are a little nervous about it because it potentially changes their model" by moving to servers and potentially non-Intel-based thin clients.

Intel already has a good idea of what will be needed for these alternatives and has products in the pipeline, such as an upcoming microprocessor, Diamondville, which is intended for low-power devices, including thin clients, Ferron-Jones said. But the direction that users take matters, he said. For instance, if operating system streaming takes off, vendors will have to make sure they are building I/O subsystems "that can really pound out high volumes of OS images in short amounts of time," he said, such as when systems are booted up in the morning.

And here is the posted comment.

Have we gone full circle back to the 60's?
Submitted by Wisesooth on February 1, 2008 - 17:15.


When mainframe computers started interracting with dumb (and later, smart) terminals, the mainframe "timeshared" the terminal activity.

When the PC emerged as a viable alternative, the mainframes morphed from foreground timesharing and background batch-processing into file servers as people adopted the "distributed processing model." Thus began a tug of war between do-it-yourself end users and a centrally controlled IT department. At that time, they called themselves "Management Information Systems" or MIS. Their customers suggested that they add another "S" to their acronym because they missed the boat, but that is another story.

The "mainframe in a glass cage" morphed into a data center with racks of networked servers. The rise of the Internet, point-of-sale, collaboration, contact management, and other server-based applications expanded the role and complexity of the distributed model. Deployment, security, configuration control, and other issues made management of the infrastructure difficult and expensive.

As the relative speed and efficiency of hardware components increased, the processor was so fast, it needed work to do. Storage became so vast that it needed specialized gear to do that specific function. Servers are being consolidated using virtual management software because we now have processors and front-side bus architecture that is fast enough to make that happen.

The emerging "thin client" model gives control back to IT, simplifies deployment and configurtion control, and prevents rogue software from inhabiting client PCs. Of course, the end users have declared war on IT because they have lost their freedom to do their own thing.

Voice over IP and the thin client model has placed a heavy capacity burden on the network infrastructure. That area is in need of the most help and is the emerging "choke point."

Subscription licensing is going to increase the capacity burden on the Internet. This is another potential "choke point."

Sometimes, the IT architects adopt a new model without thinking the project through to its logical consequences. If they fail to do this, the results are predictable (all bad).

Agemain, the CEO of the Chase Manhattan Bank in the 1960s had these words of wisdom to share. He called these principles "ALOPTs" (Agemain's Laws of Prudent Thinking). Here are a selected few.
1. The surest way to make the new system cost more than the old is to pioneer the wrong thing.
2. The surest way to lose in poker or blow a computer budget is to throw good money after bad.
3. It is not against the law for a sales person to puff his/her product. Beware of sales people giving technical advice.
4. If a consultant knows only one vendor's product be assured that the consultant will recommend that vendor's product. If the only tool one knows how to use is a hammer, the solution for all problems looks like a nail.
5. Do not expect 10 technicians to fix a telephone in a telephone booth in one-tenth the time it takes one to do it.

Until the next post,

Steve