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

Cell Phones meet Server Based Computing

Server Based Computing and Smartphones combine to do more than each can do alone. Good idea.

Server Based Computing Skyfire unveils downloadable mobile browser that delivers the PC Web experience on your phone

Skyfire features full Ajax and Flash to bring the “real Web” to smartphones – users can now experience sites like YouTube, Facebook, and Last.fm at record speeds

January 28, 2008 -- Palm Desert, Calif. – Today at the DEMO 08 conference, Skyfire unveiled a new mobile browser that makes browsing on a smartphone just like browsing on a PC. For the first time ever, smartphone users can experience the “real Web” to access and interact with any Web site built with any Web technology, including dynamic Flash, advanced Ajax, Java and more – at the same speeds they are accustomed to on their PC. With this free downloadable browser, users can finally watch videos from the real YouTube, stay connected with their friends on the full-feature PC versions of Facebook and MySpace, and listen to any Web music service like Last.fm. Before Skyfire, users painfully waited for these Flash and Ajax-heavy sites to render – often resulting in error messages or crashes.

“For too long consumers have been promised the ‘real Web’ on their phone, only to be disappointed by slow rendering, error messages, no Flash support, watered down WAP pages or second-rate mobile versions of their favorite site,” said Skyfire CEO Nitin Bhandari. “Skyfire has remedied those ills at a speed not seen before on the mobile platform. By extending the PC Web experience to smartphones, we fully expect Skyfire to fundamentally change the way people use their phones.”

Users will not have to change their Web behavior on their smartphones because Skyfire allows them to access the same Web content, and interact with that content, exactly as they do on their PC. When users load their favorite sites, they will not encounter unrecognizable content, unfamiliar page layouts, or missing content, like they have with other mobile browsers. To date, Skyfire is the fastest loading mobile browser on the market.

“Many sophisticated technologies are launched at DEMO, and in my many years of hosting the event, it’s the simple and elegant products like Skyfire which seem to have the most staying power,” said Chris Shipley, executive producer of the DEMO conferences. “Mobile browsing has not advanced at the same rate as other mobile technologies, so I am delighted to see Skyfire bring a new product to market which directly addresses one of the biggest pain points in the mobile experience today.”

Skyfire has broken down the two primary barriers for Internet adoption on smartphones – speed and user experience. Recent studies point to the demand for mobile content, but the browsing experience has hindered the potential growth. As prices continue to drop, more users will adopt the full functionality offered by smartphones. According to ABI Research, 115 million smartphones were to be shipped in 2007, and that number will rise to 410 million by 2012.

“Skyfire’s ability to support Flash video can give a shot in the arm to consumption of video on smartphones which currently stands at 18.4 percent,” said Seamus McAteer, senior analyst, M:Metrics. “Technologies that improve the user experience of mobile applications will bolster the adoption of mobile media as it becomes increasingly mainstream.”

Skyfire includes numerous features aimed at simplifying the mobile browsing experience. For example, when a user conducts a Web search from the home page, Skyfire pulls results from multiple search engines and displays the results in multiple tabs that consumers can easily navigate. In addition, users can bookmark specific locations on a Web page to get to the content that matters most to them in one click – such as stock quotes, sports scores, blog messages, etc. Skyfire’s user interface features full screen navigation, thumbnail views and zooming to seamlessly resize the Web content to fit the
mobile screen.

Skyfire Technology
Skyfire’s patent-pending technology is the foundation of Skyfire’s unique ability to support all Web technologies, both current and future, at speeds comparable to the PC. With Skyfire’s proprietary technology, supporting any new Web standard becomes a seamless user experience without the need to upgrade to new releases. This technology allows Skyfire to support real Web browsing while saving precious bandwidth and reducing processing power and memory needed on the phone.

Private Beta Announced
Skyfire announced a private beta to support Windows Mobile phones, both touchscreen and non-touchscreen, in the U.S.. The company will introduce a version for Symbian smartphones in the coming months and other platforms and geographies are on the product roadmap. Users can sign-up for the private beta by visiting www.skyfire.com.

Skyfire was founded by Bhandari and CTO Erik Swenson in April 2006, and has been in stealth mode under the name DVC Labs until today. Based in Mountain View, Calif., the team includes engineering veterans from Adobe, Creative, eBay, Extreme Networks, MobiTV, Pinnacle, and Shutterfly.

About Skyfire
Skyfire is the creator of the Skyfire mobile browser, which extends the PC Web to mobile phones so users can experience the mobile Web exactly like they do on their PC. The company was founded in 2006 by Nitin Bhandari and Erik Swenson, who serve as CEO and CTO respectively. Skyfire is backed by Trinity Ventures and Matrix Partners and has raised $4.8 million in total funding. For more information about the company, visit www.skyfire.com.

About DEMO
Produced by Network World Events and Executive Forums, the semi-annual DEMO conferences focus on emerging technologies and new products, which are hand-selected from across the spectrum of the technology marketplace. The DEMO conferences have earned their reputation for consistently identifying tomorrow's cutting-edge technologies, and have served as launch pad events for companies such as Palm, E*Trade, Handspring, and U.S. Robotics, helping them to secure venture funding, establish critical business relationships, and influence early adopters. Each DEMO conference features approximately 70 new companies, products and technologies. For more information, visit www.demo.com.

For more information, please contact:
Nick Leahy
Sparkpr for Skyfire
415.846.1715

Nick@sparkpr.com

Until the next post,

Steve

Google Partners with Wireless Provider Clearwire Communications

When Clearwire entered into their first four markets almost 4 years ago, I called their Jacksonville, Florida office and suggested they offer applications on top of their high speed wireless product. Of course they thought i was crazy and told me to call their corporate office in Washington state.

No response from HQ.

Anyone want to guess who had the ability to offer over the web on Clearwire wireless connections, at a low bandwidth, most of their products without modifying any code?

And they still do have that capability. Something is holding them back. But what?

Google now has a partner than can manage a nationwide wireless network for mobile devices. Now if just Google could get a very nice piece of bandwidth! Oh, the "beach front property" of the radio spectrum goes on auction this week. Ready, set, go.

KIRKLAND, Wash., Jan 15, 2008
(BUSINESS WIRE) --

Wireless broadband pioneer Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) today announced it is teaming up with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG: 600.25, -0.54, -0.08%) to deliver the company's popular Google Apps(TM: 99.70, +1.10, +1.11%) communication suite to Clearwire customers. Clearwire will begin migrating its current customers to Gmail(TM: 99.70, +1.10, +1.11%) and Google Calendar(TM: 99.70, +1.10, +1.11%) in the first half of this year. In addition, Clearwire customers will also have access to Google Talk(TM: 99.70, +1.10, +1.11%).

"Clearwire is excited to launch our relationship with Google to further our commitment to deliver all the Internet has to offer to a person rather than a place. Both companies are built on the foundation of providing a simple to use, rich and open Internet experience and we believe the addition of these communications tools will be a tremendous benefit to Clearwire's customers", said Scott Richardson Clearwire's chief strategy officer. "We look forward to expanding our working relationship with Google further enhancing our customer's access to the Internet -- anytime and anywhere."

In addition to Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Talk, Clearwire will use AdSense for Search(TM: 99.70, +1.10, +1.11%) to provide Google search capabilities on future Clearwire portal applications.

"We're pleased to work with Clearwire to offer its high-speed wireless broadband customers access to our leading search and communications tools," said Dave Girouard, vice president and general manager Google Enterprise. "Our companies share a vision of giving consumers innovative choices that will the change the way they interact with each other."

Clearwire is building and operating one of the world's most capable wireless broadband networks. The company is building from the ground up a single network that bridges the gap between today's wire line and wireless networks by delivering a true broadband experience to a person rather than a place. By collaborating with world-class companies like Google that are committed to innovation, Clearwire and its customers will enjoy all that the Internet has to offer at home as well as in a mobile environment within the Clearwire coverage area.

About Clearwire

Clearwire, founded in October 2003 by telecom pioneer Craig O. McCaw, is a provider of simple, fast, portable and reliable wireless high-speed Internet service. Clearwire customers connect to the Internet using licensed spectrum, thus eliminating the confines of traditional cable or phone lines. Headquartered in Kirkland, Wash., the company launched its first market in August 2004 and now offers service in 16 states across the U.S. as well as in Europe and Mexico. For more information, visit www.clearwire.com.

About Google

Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top Web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall Web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

Google, Google Apps, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk and AdSense for Search are trademarks of Google Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations and beliefs, as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events made with information that is currently available. The forward-looking statements include the anticipated migration of Clearwire's customers to Gmail, Google Calendar and other communications tools as well as Clearwire's anticipated use of AdSense for Search on future portal applications. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, manyof which are outside of Clearwire's and Google's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted include, among others, unforeseen technical challenges and economic factors, as well as those risks and uncertainties included in each of Clearwire's and Google's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the information under the headings "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in each of Clearwire's and Google's most-recently filed Form 10-Q. Clearwire and Google do not assume any obligation to update or supplement such forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Clearwire

Clearwire
Helen Chung, 425-216-4551
helen.chung@clearwire.com
or
Google
Andrew Kovacs, 650-253-8899
akovacs@google.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008

Until the next post,

Steve

India's HCL to Lauch 7" Screen UMPC "MiLeap"

More choices the better the market space becomes. Asus, Everex and now HCL to bring to market Ultra Mobiles PCs at less than 1 kg.

HCL UNVEILS THE FUTURE OF PERSONAL COMPUTING LAUNCHES NEXT GENERATION, ULTRA PORTABLE, SUB RS.14000/- LAPTOPS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN INDIA

• 7” (17.74 cms) screen size
• Weighing less than a kg
• Offering a true mobile internet experience with full PC functionality

Among the products showcased today the HCL ‘MiLeap’ X Series Ultra Portable range of Leaptops breaks the Rs. 14,000/- price barrier. With prices starting at Rs 13,990/- the HCL ‘MiLeap’ X series, which is specially designed for the Indian environment delivers exceptional value at a very affordable price.

Available with both flash-based and disk based storage versions, its sturdy design incorporates features that make it dustproof, shock-proof and durable. Both the models have network ports, are Wi-Fi ready, have the option for “Data card” and are available with GUI enabled user friendly Linux OS.

Click here to view the product video from India's IBNLive.

Also launched today is the HCL ‘MiLeap’ Y Series Ultra Portable Leaptops breaking the sub Rs 30,000/- price barrier. Ranging from Rs 29,990/- onwards this range of Ultra Portables are at half the price point of current similar products available in the market.

The HCL ‘MiLeap’ Y Series, powered by the latest Intel Ultra Mobile Platform & Microsoft’s Vista Home Premium, operating system weighs just 960 gm. This ultra Portable Leaptop comes with a Swivel 7’’ touch screen, 80GB HDD, wireless connectivity, Data Card option, blue tooth & Ethernet network port offering full PC functionality with true internet experience on the move.

The MiLeap Top Y Series incorporates a unique Navigational Pad that offers multiple navigational features such as touch screen, thumboard, stylus, keyboard, mouse and One touch buttons, making it one of the most intuitive products. It also features a Swivel 7” display cum note pad, making it a pleasure to input using a stylus and hand writing. The Microsoft Windows Vista Home premium powered MiLeap Y series is priced at Rs 33,990/-

Designed using the latest Intel Ultra Mobile platform- Intel processor A110 & Intel 945GU express chipset- this energy efficient lower power silicon design consumes less power, reduces thermal impact and gives an extended battery life. HCL being a socially responsible organization and conscious of the environment, both products are fully RoHS compliant with low energy footprint design.

Marking the occasion as HCL’s tribute to the nation, the company announced that the new range of HCL Leaptops will start shipping on 26th January coinciding with the Indian Republic day celebrations.

HCL also shared that they are going to come out with even more exciting products in this new category.

About HCL Infosystems

HCL Infosystems Ltd, with revenue (TTM) of US $ 2.9 Bn (Rs. 12162 Crores) is India's premier information enabling and ICT System Integration company offering a wide spectrum of ICT products that includes Computing, Storage, Networking, Security, Telecom, Imaging and Retail. HCL is a one-stop-shop for all the ICT requirements of an organization.

India's leading System Integration and Infrastructure Management Services Organization, HCL has specialized expertise across verticals including Telecom, BFSI, E-Governance & Power.

HCL has India's largest distribution and retail network, taking to market a range of Digital Lifestyle products in partnership with leading global ICT brands, including Nokia, Apple, Casio, Kodak, Toshiba, Bull, Ericsson, Cisco, Microsoft, Konica Minolta and many more.

HCL today has India's largest vertically integrated computer manufacturing facility with over three decades of electronic manufacturing experience HCL desktops is the largest selling brand into the enterprise space.

With India’s largest ICT services network that reaches to every corner of India, HCL’s award winning Support Services makes it the preferred choice of enterprise and consumers alike. For more information please visit us at www.hclinfosystems.in

About HCL Enterprise

HCL Enterprise is a $4.4 billion (Rs. 18,525 crore) leading Global Technology and IT enterprise that comprises two companies listed in India - HCL Technologies & HCL Infosystems. The 3-decade-old enterprise, founded in 1976, is one of India's original IT garage start-ups. Its range of offerings span Product Engineering, Custom & Package Applications, BPO, IT Infrastructure Services, IT Hardware, Systems Integration, and distribution of ICT products. The HCL team comprises approximately 51,000 professionals of diverse nationalities, who operate from 18 countries including 360 points of presence in India. HCL has global partnerships with several leading Fortune 1000 firms, including leading IT and Technology firms. For more information, please visit www.hcl.in

For further information, contact:
Sanjay Chaudhary/Romita Kumar/ Saumya Upadhyaya
Vaishnavi Corporate Communications
romitak@vccpl.com/ supadhyaya@vccpl.com
9810203810/9958100403/ 9810488225
011-42393500

No word on which Linux distribution is being bundled with the "MiLeap". Can only assume that RDesktop will be available. Windows Vista is being offered with the Y series.

Until the next post,

Steve

Everex Unveils CloudBook Ultra-Mobile PC at CES

Here is the official press release. Seven inch screen and 9" wide and weighs in at two pounds.

I have loaded the RDesktop client using the gOS on a desktop and connected to a remote server. Should we assume that it will work on the Everex UMPC? Most likely, but we will have to wait for an answer.

7" UMPC model to feature popular Open Source software from gOS

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Everex, a world leader in the design and production of personal computers, today launched their much anticipated Ultra-Mobile PC featuring the latest Open Source operating system from gOS.

Measuring 9" in length and 2 pounds in weight, the Everex CloudBook caters to users seeking the latest in mobile computing. With its 1.2GHz VIA C7-M ULV mobile processor, the laptop averages 5 hours of battery life on a 4-cell, lithium-ion battery. Unlike many of its competitors, the CloudBook also features 30GB of internal storage, digital video output (DVI-I), 4-in-1 card reader and 1.3MP webcam.

With its size, specification and energy efficient design, customers will now find the performance and features of much larger laptops in one of the most mobile computer designs on the market.

"The overwhelming success of our gPC desktop generated countless inquires from customers seeking additional Open Source mobile platforms," states John Lin, general manager of Everex. "With the launch of the new CloudBook our vision remains the same: Provide mainstream users with their favorite applications wrapped in a no-compromise, low-cost, consumer friendly product."

The CloudBook, model CE1200V, showcases the gOS operating system and familiar applications from Mozilla, Skype, Google, Facebook, Faqly and OpenOffice.org. Available January 25th, the computer will be available at Walmart.com for $399.

"The potential of mainstream, Open Source PCs is tremendous," said Lin. "Combine a revolutionary platform like our CloudBook with the stunning graphics and performance provided by gOS Rocket and consumers will be armed with the utmost in mobile computing."

To learn more about Everex, the CloudBook and their entire line of computing products, visit www.everex.com. For information on gOS or to download a free copy of gOS Rocket see www.thinkgos.com.

Key Features*

-- Operating System: gOS V2 Rocket

-- Processor: 1.2GHz VIA C7-M ULV Processor

-- Display: 7" WVGA TFT Widescreen (800 x 480 native resolution)

-- Preinstalled and Linked Software: Mozilla FireFox, gMail, Meebo,
Skype, Google Documents & Spreadsheets, Google Calendar, Google News,
Google Maps, Wikipedia, Google Product Search, GIMP, Blogger, YouTube,
Xine Movie Player, RhythmBox, Faqly, Facebook and OpenOffice.org 2.3
(includes WRITER, IMPRESS, MATH, DRAW)

-- Memory: 512MB DDR2 533MHz SDRAM (1GB Max)

-- Hard Disk Drive: 30GB, 4200RPM PATA

-- Graphic: VIA UniChrome(TM) Pro IGP

-- Audio: VIA VT1708A High Definition Audio Codec with built-in speakers

-- WLAN: 802.11b/g

-- LAN: 10/100 Ethernet

-- I/O: (1) DVI-I port, (2) USB 2.0 ports, (1) RJ45 Ethernet port, (1)
Headphone/Line Out jack, (1) Microphone/ Line In jack, (1) 4-in-1
Media Card Reader (Secure Digital, Multi-Media Card, Memory Stick,
Memory Stick PRO)

-- Battery: 4-Cell (14.4V, 2200mAh), rechargeable Lithium-Ion

-- Dimensions: 9.06" x 6.73 x 1.16" (W x D x H)

-- Weight: 2 pounds

-- Warranty & Support: 1 Year Limited Warranty with 24/7 Toll-Free
Technical Support

-- MSRP: $399.00

*Specifications subject to change


About Everex

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Fremont, California, Everex has established itself as a world leader in the personal computer industry. As a subsidiary of First International Computer, a supplier to many of the world's largest computer companies, a unique and distinctive line of products has propelled the organization to become the eighth largest retail computer brand in the US. For the latest information on Everex, visit www.everex.com.

Everex Media Contact: Paul C. Kim, Director of Marketing, 510-252-8829
(USA), paulkim@everex.com

gOS Media Contact: David Liu, Founder, 310-709-4881 (USA),
davidliu@thinkgos.com

SOURCE First International Computer

Paul C. Kim, Director of Marketing of First International Computer,
+1-510-252-8829, paulkim@everex.com; or David Liu, Founder of gOS,
+1-310-709-4881, davidliu@thinkgos.com