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January 28, 2005

Tablet PCs as Thin Client

Motion Computing has converted its M1400 Tablet PC into a thin client device

Jan. 26, 2005

Motion Computing has converted its M1400 Tablet PC into a thin client device, substituting Windows XP Embedded for Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Dubbed the "M1400TC," the device is useful for equipping mobile workers with tablet-style computing resources, while keeping sensitive information on secure network servers, the company says.

(Click here for larger image)

Like the company's standard M1400 Tablet PC, the M1400TC is offered with a choice of a 900 MHz Celeron M, or a 1.1 GHz Pentium M, processor. Instead of the standard model's hard drive, the M1400TC provides a 512 MB flash storage device which only contains the Windows XP Embedded OS and a limited number of essential applications. The device comes with Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), Citrix ICA Client, and Microsoft Internet Explorer with the Sun Microsystems Java Runtime Environment.

The unit includes a 12.1-inch wide-viewing-angle XGA TFT LCD, and is packed with interfaces and expansion ports, including: built-in 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth wireless, a 10/100 Ethernet port, a Firewire (IEEE 1394) port, USB, a V.92 soft modem, and a PC Card slot for additional expansion.

According to Motion Computing, the M1400TC thin client tablet was the result of "close collaboration" with its healthcare, retail, and manufacturing customers. Users wanted to walk and compute with a lightweight slate tablet with pen input, but required the high data security, networked data access, centrally managed administration, and high system reliability associated with thin client computing, the company says.

Motion lists the following key hardware features and specifications, which apply to both the M1400 Tablet PC and M1400TC thin client:
Processor -- Celeron M at 900 MHz or Pentium M at 1.1 GHz

Memory -- 256 or 512 MB of DDR RAM

Display:
12.1-inch XGA TFT LCD, with viewing angles greater than 160 degrees

Intel Display Power Saving Technology

Ambient Light Sensor (ALS)

Intel 855 GME Extreme Graphics controller

Active digitizer pen (no battery required)

Mouse click button
Internal storage:
M1400 Tablet PC -- 20, 40, or 60 GB 2.5-inch hard drive

M1400TC -- 512 MB flash storage device
Communications:
Integrated 802.11 b/g

Integrated Bluetooth

10/100 Ethernet (RJ-45)

V.92 soft modem with RJ-11 connector; 56.6Kbps/14.4Kbps transceiver fax
Other I/O:
Two configurable audio jacks

Microphone in

Headphone out

Two USB 2.0 ports

External VGA display connector

IEEE 1394 Firewire
Expansion -- Type II PC Card slot

Docking connector

Security -- Integrated fingerprint reader with software based password management

Dimensions -- 11.65 x 9.45 x 0.87 inches

Weight -- Approx. 3 lbs.
The M1400TC is priced from $1,649 and is available now

Posted by editor at 04:10 PM

Thin Clients versus PCs

Do thin clients make sense in your corporate security strategy?

Takeaway:
Jonathan Yarden makes the argument that the use of thin clients in place of Windows PCs could improve your security.


Want more advice for locking down your network? Stay on top of the latest security issues and industry trends by automatically signing up for our free Internet Security Focus newsletter, delivered each Monday!
When it comes to reliability and security, few people will argue that personal computing is at its peak. And it really doesn't matter what operating system or application software a PC runs; there will always be software flaws with the potential to cause problems.

Connect a few million PCs installed with buggy, unmaintained software to a network or the Internet, and you've got a much larger problem. Corporate networks protected by firewalls help, but even the best firewall can't stop problems from spreading inside networks.

For areas where high-security computer access is a necessity, a centralized approach to access control and authorization may be the solution.

Many will argue that the mainframe era, despite the relatively simple character-based user interface, was a better paradigm for secure and reliable computing. While centralized, session-based computing that uses character terminals is somewhat dated, it remains stubbornly reliable, particularly when security is a more important factor than usability.

However, thin client computing makes it possible to combine the best of the mainframe terminal approach with the graphical interface required by modern software. You can apply thin client concepts to regular computers running specific software that provides a remote graphical desktop on a centralized system. A number of different methods and protocols are available, and the thin client concept, which uses session-based graphical desktops, offers corporations both security and usability.

Because most wide-scale security incidents occur on Windows machines, Windows thin clients could play an important role in an organization's network. Originally developed to provide remote Windows access, thin clients' protocols and concepts can help companies greatly improve Windows security.

However, I'm not advocating the wholesale replacement of Windows PCs with thin clients. What I am suggesting is that thin clients can improve overall security for specific purposes, especially when it comes to desktop consistency.

full story

Posted by editor at 02:00 PM

January 27, 2005

Motorola RAZR V3

New handheld from Motorola packs a punch.

Reference link

The quad-band Motorola Latest News about Motorola RAZR V3 from Cingular Wireless Latest News about Cingular is an ultra-slim, GSM/GPRS messaging phone with an internal antenna that features a 2.2-inch, high-resolution color screen, a 3D graphics engine, a push-to-talk radio and global roaming capabilities courtesy of the onboard SIM card.

Measuring 3.86 x 2.08 x 0.54-inches, the RAZR V3's slim and sleek anodized aluminum shell is literally packed with trendy handset innovations, such as an MPEG-4 video player, anMP3 Latest News about MP3 audio player, a voice recorder and Bluetooth Latest News about Bluetooth wireless technology. The device's built-in digital camera with 4x digital zoom even gives users the option of selecting three different levels of image quality.

Under the Hood

Weighing in at 3.35-oz, the RAZR V3 sports a 96x80-pixel external display that delivers 4K CSN color resolution. When the unit's protective shell is closed, the external screen shows time and phone status information on up to 4 lines of the display. In addition, the external screen performs double-duty as the handset's camera viewfinder whenever the shell is closed.

Nested inside the silver shell is a precision-cut keypad with electroluminescent "cool blue" backlighting, together with a 176 x 220-pixel color display that is capable of rendering up to 260K colors, as well as displaying up to 9 lines of text at a time. The handset's distinctive keypad features slightly raised rubber numbers that deliver just the right amount of tactile feedback.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T
With no Qwerty-style keyboard in sight, the RAZR V3 relies on iTAP software to predict each word as it is being tapped out on the handset's cellular keypad. This helps to simplify and speed up the text-entry process.

The handset's standard keypad is accompanied by a 4-way navigation key with center select, customizable "soft keys" and an "operator" key that takes the end-user to the wireless carrier's Web site in order to access customized content and services.

The RAZR V3 ships with a 680 mAh Lithium-ion battery Latest News about Batteries that is capable of delivering up to 7 hours of talk time or up to 12 days of operation in the standby mode. To further extend battery life, the display can be programmed to switch off when no activity is detected for a user-specified amount of time.

Staying Connected

Handset connectivity options include a Bluetooth Class 1 radio for enabling the Jabra hands-free headset ($71.99) accessory, an infrared port and a CE bus. The handset's Bluetooth capability can also be used to send a picture, sound, video, phonebook entry, date-book event, or bookmark from the handset to other Bluetooth-enabled phones, computers orPDAs Latest News about PDAs. In addition, Cingular offers a USB Latest News about USB data connect kit ($22.99) for the handset that will transform the unit in to a wireless modem.

When it comes to sending and receiving e-mail, the RAZR V3 offers support for standard POP3, SMTP, and IMAP4 e-mail accounts. Onboard messaging capabilities includeSMS Latest News about SMS text messaging, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), EMS 5.0 AOL Instant Messenger Latest News about AOL Instant Messenger; and IM support by way of the handset's Wireless Village 1.1 embedded client. Also on tap: a rudimentary WAP Latest News about WAP 2.0 Web browser; a 1000-entry phonebook; a personal organizer, including calendar, calculator, alarm clock and currency converter; and PC synchronization via SyncML.

The RAZR V3 incorporates a 4-digit unlock code to prevent unauthorized calling, as well as a 6-digit security Latest News about Security code for protecting any personalized information that has been stored on the device. In addition, the handset can be programmed to lock automatically whenever it is switched off.

Show and Tell

When it comes to style, Motorola's new messaging phone is about as cool as it gets. Indeed, the razor-thin, feather-light RAZR V3 puts on quite an impressive mobile light show at night. Moreover, the built-in graphics accelerator allows the handset's 3D Picture Show and 3D Phone Book software programs to really strut their stuff.

But when it comes to getting down to business, Motorola's WAP 2.0 HTML browser is a minimalist offering at best. Moreover, the device is designed to operate over sluggish GSM/GPRS networks, which typically deliver data at snail's pace speeds.

The amount of user-accessible memory also is extremely constrained, which puzzles me, given the attention that Motorola's engineering department has lavished on packing the device with a large number of memory-hungry multimedia recording and playback capabilities. In my estimation, the absence of an expansion card slot is the handset's most glaring oversight.

The Bottom Line

Nevertheless, the device no doubt will have a certain appeal for fashion-conscious executives and sales personnel. As for the rest of us, the RAZR V3 may seem like the cellular equivalent of an overpriced pair of Armani jeans.

The Motorola RAZR V3 is available at all Cingular retail and online locations for US$499.99 when the subscriber commits to a two-year service contract. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give the Motorola RAZR V3 a 3.75 rating.

Posted by editor at 03:33 PM

January 21, 2005

Thinner Clients Coming From Wyse

Wyse released the Winterm 5150SE thin client in January and said it will ship the Winterm S50 model in February.

Thursday January 20, 07:01 PM


Wyse plans thinner clients

By Daniel Robinson

Thin client specialist Wyse Technology has announced new Linux-based terminal devices and outlined plans to make its thin clients even simpler to deploy and operate, to help firms provision terminals appropriate to the tasks for which they will be used. This is part of Wyse's ongoing strategy to make thin clients a more cost-effective alternative to PC desktops.

Wyse released the Winterm 5150SE thin client in January and said it will ship the Winterm S50 model in February. Both are based on Wyse Linux version 6. The new models are customisable and offer increased flexibility for mixed environments that include both Linux and Windows host application servers, according to the firm.

David Angwin, senior marketing manager for Wyse in Northern Europe, said the 5150SE will be attractive to companies that need a more capable terminal than Wyse's entry-level models, and noted that at £239 +VAT it is cheaper than high-end devices running Windows XP Embedded. "It also benefits from good driver support because of Linux on the PC," Angwin said.

The S50 is a Linux version of the S30, which also began shipping this month. Both models are based on faster processors than earlier Winterm models yet are much simpler and more compact.

Wyse plans to ship these models with no built-in operating system in the near future, allowing large organisations to provision the devices as they see fit. This will also enable firms to switch their terminals between Linux, Windows CE, Windows XP Embedded, and Wyse's own Blazer platform, depending on which apps they use.

"It allows firms to manage thin clients as assets that can be re-usable," said Curt Schwebke, vice-president of Wyse. This will be enabled by a new version of the firm's Rapport management suite, set to ship in the third quarter of 2005. Under the control of Rapport, a terminal will install its operating code from a server when first connected to the network, and an administrator can use Rapport to re-boot it with a different software image whenever necessary.

Schwebke said the moves will make Wyse a more network-centric supplier. "Rapport is being re-architected as a service concept within the network infrastructure, which is necessary to expand the number of concurrent nodes it can manage."

The barriers discouraging firms from adopting thin clients are gradually disappearing as corporate network infrastructure is upgraded and applications are inc- reasingly hosted on servers instead of the desktop, Schwebke said.

Posted by editor at 02:22 PM

January 13, 2005

New PCs for old people

New dedicated function and very inexpensive appliance PC announced by SIMpc.

Dutch company has developed a PC to ease old people's fear of computers. In May 2005 Secure Internet Machines (SIM) will introduce three versions of its simPC, which comes preloaded with software and services, such as online banking.

The basic model costs €299. One model is just a flat screen with all electronics built-in. There is also a wireless model. However, users have to pay €10 a month for services such as spam filters, virus scanners and online storage. They also need a DSL line.

The PC will be idiot-proof, simPC promises. It runs on a proprietary OS; and to prevent problems, users won’t be able to install software, download big files, burn CDs or DVDs or edit videos. The PC also comes with accessories such as a old-user-friendly printer and a simPhone to make VoIP calls. The makers of simPC, founders of unified messaging firm XOIP (sold off to Tiscali), guarantee a boot up-time of less than 40 seconds.

Initially, the PC will be available in the Netherlands and Belgium only, but SIM plans to expand beyond the Low Countries.

Posted by editor at 02:49 PM

Cisco Buys Airespace

Cisco Systems Wednesday said it plans to acquire privately-held WLAN vendor Airespace in a $450 million deal. Airespace is one of a number of start-ups to espouse a "thin" WLAN architecture, which centralizes network intelligence on a WLAN switch paired with stripped-down access points instead of building the intelligence into stand-alone access points. Cisco has been a vocal proponent of the latter architecture.

Posted by editor at 02:46 PM

Neoware Buys Televideo

Neoware Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: NWRE) agreed to acquire the thin-client business of TeleVideo Inc. (Pink sheets: TELV) for $5 million in cash plus an additional amount based upon performance, the two companies said Monday. The deal is to close in March.

Posted by editor at 02:44 PM

January 11, 2005

Tiny New Wyse Client

Wyse Technology has added a new model to its S class family of tiny, low power Windows CE based thin client devices. The Winterm S30, about the size of a paperback book, is based on Windows CE 5.0 and is "three times faster" than previous models, Wyse says.

Full story

Like Wyse's other current S-class thin clients, the S30 is powered by an AMD Geode processor outfitted with 64MB of RAM and 32MB of Flash memory. The integrated video chipset delivers excellent video performance, which reduces eyestrain and meets stringent European resolution and clinical healthcare requirements, according to Wyse.

Wyse lists the following key features and specifications for the Winterm S30:

The S30 comes with Wyse's "Rapport" remote management software for "visit-free" total control, according to Wyse. Rapport supports features such as remote terminal configuration, complete image upgrade, and remote screen shadowing of the active desktop from an administrator's console.

According to IDC, the market for network-centric computing based on thin clients is expanding rapidly. "IDC expects the thin client market to grow some 20 percent annually for the next several years as organizations seek to reduce IT complexity and cost and improve information security," said Bob O'Donnell, research director at IDC.

The S30 is available immediately at a starting price of $399.


Related stories:

Posted by editor at 03:02 PM

January 04, 2005

Mandrake Expands Enterprise Zone

The enterprise Linux space got a bit more crowded Tuesday with a pair of new releases from Mandrakesoft. The France-based Linux distribution vendor announced a new version of its Corporate Server and a new Corporate Desktop.

MandrakeLinux Corporate Server 3.0 is actually the third official Mandrake enterprise server entry. Mandrake first introduced a corporate server product in 2000 and released version two in 2003.

Corporate Server 3.0 is based on the Linux 2.6 kernel (define) and includes a number of enhancements that are intended to improve enterprise deployment and management.

Among the new features in Corporate Server 3.0 is a tool for software updates called "DrakPark," which is intended to facilitate easier enterprise-wide software maintenance. Thin Client deployment is also enabled with the included NoMachine NX Server that allows for the deployment of server centralized applications over a network connection. Mandrakesoft has also included CrossOver Office Server edition from CodeWeavers, which enables Microsoft Office application compatibility in a thin client environment.

Mandrakesoft included a list of configuration wizards that help set a server for a variety of operations, including a Samba (define)Tool to help users migrate from Samba 2 to Samba 3.

link

Posted by editor at 08:47 PM

New Tools for Building Applications

Macromedia Inc. and Nexaweb Technologies Inc. have brought out upgraded XML development offerings with updates for building thinclient applications with rich features native to the desktop.

article

Excerpt:

The Nexaweb tools can run in any J2EE application server, allowing developers to use JavaBeans, JSP and other coding structures to build XML user interfaces for Internet applications that need rich features like drag and drop.

Best Western International Inc. in Phoenix used Nexaweb's tool set to replace an HTML-based reservation, room rate and inventory application. An XML-bascd user interface reduced the time the system takes to respond to changes made at the company's 4,000-plus properties from 15 seconds to two seconds, said Harold Dibler, managing director of application development at Best Western. The interface also reduced network traffic by more than 90%, he said.

Macromedia Flex 1.5 allows developers to use a text editor or IDE to build rich-client applications, said Jeff Whatcott, Macromedia's vice president of product marketing.

Posted by editor at 02:52 PM

Fourth Wave of Thin Clients?

Article on the next push for thin clients

Every dog+world has its day

By Doug Mohney: Monday 03 January 2005, 07:26
Tyan Tomcat i7221 Server board
OFF THE top of my head, there have been at least three major waves to push what is now called "thin clients" and there's likely to be a fourth wave sometime in 2005-2006. The first major wave came when X-Windows was released into the Unix world in the late '80s and became the cat's meow for five minutes since servers (of the day) were very expensive and graphics displays were merely only expensive. Companies began marketing "X-terminals" – high-end glass of 17-inch and larger with enough CPU and RAM to load and run a basic X-windows kernel over an Ethernet connection. If you want a good laugh, compare a '90s era X-terminal to a Linksys wireless router or a Palm Pilot.

The Era of X-terminals died in the mid-90s when CPU and RAM became affordable enough that everyone that really needed a workstation could afford one and everyone that didn't need a workstation could slum it by running the original web browser "Mosaic" on a PC . Around the same time, there were various third-party efforts for remotely running PC applications over a network and most of these solutions pretty much died when fully-loaded PCs became cheaper than installing the software and network needed in the first place.

Sun has been bullish on thin-client applications for a while with Java at the core of everything, but there's been no real traction on getting everyone back to the concept of "One big server and a bunch of terminals." IT people seem to have a better level of comfort with throwing multiple servers and boxes at problems to the point of being able to use/abuse multiple PCs in a grid network to solve big problems. Sure it's not efficient and there are a lot of pieces of hardware to inventory in the enterprise, but users seem to prefer to be able to do some things locally on their desktop rather than having to twiddle their thumbs if there is a network or server problem. Plus, there's the whole aspect of laptop computers allowing people to do work even when they aren't plugged into the company network.

Round three of thin clients was pushed by Microsoft two years ago with the whole "smart display" concept. Home users were supposed spend lots of money on "advanced" Windows XP software for a server and another chunk of money for the $1000+ "smart display" to run applications from their couch or kitchen. The Smart Display was a touch screen device that looked and ran like a Tablet PC but without the weight, storage or relative $2200 expense of a tablet PC. Most people did the math and decided that a $1500 cost laptop was a better buy for working from their couch or kitchen and could also be thrown in the car so the kiddies could watch DVDs on the way to grandma's house. You can still buy SmartDisplays, but you can't find the overpriced devices in BigBox land.

And the next round?

click here to find out/read more

Posted by editor at 02:47 PM

Network Alternatives Deployment

Network Alternatives Deploys Thin-Client Solution for Lavin Law, Boosting the Firm's Bottom Line

Tuesday January 4, 8:03 am ET

LANGHORNE, Pa., Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Network Alternatives, Inc. (NAI), a nationally recognized provider of full-service technology solutions to small- and medium-sized enterprises in the legal and professional services markets, announced today that it has implemented a thin-client computing environment for Lavin, O'Neill, Ricci, Cedrone & DiSipio, a nationally recognized law firm specializing in the defense of product liability actions.

"Our technology system was behind the times and we needed to make enhancements in order to provide our large corporate client base with better service," said Bill Murphy, administrator at Lavin. "We were already comfortable with Network Alternatives from previous projects. The new system they implemented puts us in synch with all of our clients, eliminating the document conversion challenges that we often faced with our old system. Our new thin-client solution has enhanced our internal and external communications, improved our access to information and significantly decreased our downtime. Network Alternatives stayed on schedule and helped us to make it a smooth transition for our employees."

"The thin-client environment was an ideal solution for Lavin," explained Steve Hatch, vice president of operations at NAI. "With the power in the servers, not the PCs, the firm's technical staff are able to eliminate their ongoing PC replacement cycle and no longer have to perform software upgrades on every employee's desktop. The thin-client computing environment has improved the firm's productivity and has positively affected its bottom line."

The Lavin law firm was moving all three of its offices (Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey) to new locations in 2004. This was an excellent time to also make the switch to a more technologically advanced computing solution. Network Alternatives reformatted the firm's files for the new environment before the actual moves took place, enabling employees to be more productive during the transition. The new system, which included changing to Microsoft Office and Exchange, was first deployed to a pilot group. After some adjustments to the system, it was then deployed to all the offices.

About Network Alternatives, Inc.

Network Alternatives, Inc. (NAI) is a nationally recognized provider of full-service technology solutions to small- and medium-sized enterprises in the legal and professional services markets.

NAI offers a range of cost-effective services and solutions, including hosted application services, consulting and network integration and customer support. OASIS®, NAI's flagship solution, is a completely outsourced desktop service that delivers high performance, reliability and security at an affordable cost. The Company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Langhorne, Pa. For more information, please visit http://www.network-alternatives.com .

Network Alternatives, the Network Alternatives' logo and OASIS are registered trademarks of Network Alternatives, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Contact:
Karen Higgins
Sagefrog Marketing Group for NAI
(610) 831-5723
karenh@sagefrog.com

Posted by editor at 02:44 PM