Thin Client

What is the upgrade path if I already have Windows CE units?

Description Part No. ECP

CE 6.0 Upgrade Kit - S Class 920222-18 $49
CE 6.0 Upgrade Kit - V Class 920222-20 $49

**For sales related questions please call 800-GET-WYSE or email [email protected]**

Posted by Staff at 04:31 PM | Comments (0)

Reconfiguring The Enterprise

Interview with Ed Sperling on Forbes and the transformation of servers from physical to virtual which is increasingly the case. No longer is Power the consideration, it's "cost optimization".

One On One
Reconfiguring The Enterprise
Ed Sperling, 08.31.09, 6:00 AM ET
CIOs have some of the largest budgets in any company, but they're going to be spending it far differently coming out of the recession than going into the downturn.

At least part of the money will be spent on cleaning up the complexity and standardizing on new platforms, and delivering technology throughout the enterprise in different ways. And some of it will go into consolidating what's already there. To find out what's changing, Forbes sat down with Steve Schuckenbrock, president of Dell's large enterprise systems unit.

Forbes: What are you seeing as the big challenge for CIOs?

Steve Schuckenbrock: The overriding issue is the economy. Given that, CIOs are at one of two stages. Either they've gone to hunker-down mode where they've nixed everything, or they're investing sparingly in new projects that drive value for their businesses or that provide cost savings. Four or five months ago, the majority of CIOs were just in the hunker-down mode. Now, especially in the U.S, more of the CIOs are in the second category.

Is cloud computing part of that shift?

There's much more interest in cloud computing than there was six months ago. There's certainly more of a move toward hosted e-mail, which is a mission-critical application today. In the CRM space, Salesforces.com has done a fabulous job and people have grown increasingly comfortable with the ability to serve that through the cloud. There are some other niche plays, too. But nothing has gained enough speed to shift a high percentage of the infrastructure and applications in that direction.

Does that mean Dell is selling more servers into cloud providers?

There's no question about it. But when I look at the types of applications those cloud providers are enabling, search is huge, along with e-mail. Office automation, particularly Microsoft's Azure, is where we're selling a lot of servers and storage. But for critical business applications, it's a pretty big step from Salesforce.com to the next one. There's a lot of evaluation under way, but there isn't a ton of traction yet in those big mission-critical spaces.

What else can CIOs do to drive down their costs?

The economics of replacing old hardware with new hardware are pretty good. But the real gains are in rationalization of your applications. How many thousands of applications do you need to run the company? Are there alternatives to which you can migrate users instead of retaining so much redundancy? At Dell we had the same problem. I used to run IT here. We had 10,000 applications; we've brought that number down by about half, and by the time we're done, we'll bring it down into the hundreds.

What did that do for your hardware needs?

We've turned off 10,000 physical servers during the past 12 to 18 months and we've virtualized about 30% of the x86 infrastructure. That's what many CIOs are doing now--rationalizing applications; consolidating and standardizing their infrastructure, which could include modernization of hardware; and virtualizing everything. Virtualization has been incubating for awhile. It's moving from the experimental stage to becoming the norm.

How prevalent is this infrastructure standardization?

What happens in these cycles is that in good times we get sloppy and we allow people access to develop their own things, run it on their own servers and hook it into their own databases with their own analytics. All of that sounds great because it gives you the perception of speed. Then you find out you've got thousands of those, your servers are 15% utilized, you've got 10 different technologies in the stack, and while you've picked up some speed in the short term, every new idea is now a complicated integration project to bridge multiple, disparate things.

What's the best-case solution?

It's a combination of rationalizing applications, consolidating it to one set of tools and processes. I'm a big fan of what ITIL [Information Technology Infrastructure Library process framework developed at Carnegie Mellon University] is doing to our industry, and then standardizing the infrastructure as much as possible. That doesn't mean everything will always be served on one platform. In some companies it might be one, in others it might be two. But two is better than five, and five is better than 10.

Why is ITIL important?

It drives standardization of process and tools to manage that process, allows more labor efficiency, and gets things done. Our industry is moving forward toward that kind of a manufacturing six-sigma-type of orientation.

For a long time, performance was the driver for the enterprise. Then it became power. Where are we now?

It all comes down to cost. Green is all about cost, too. It's great for the environment, but it's still about cost. That's what it has always been about. Our industry is providing unbelievable performance for the price on industry-standard x86 platforms.

Is performance still a driver?

Performance is not the bottleneck anymore. With the [Intel] Nehalem chip we're able to combine nine physical servers into one. That's eight fewer software licenses, maintenance contracts and footprints and a lot less power. Performance is not the issue; it's optimizing the cost everywhere. Two Nehalem servers provide the capacity of almost 20 machines.

What's the next big driver for the CIO?

We think the industry spends about $1.2 trillion on infrastructure. Of that, roughly 20% is the hardware, another 10% is the network and the remaining 70% is labor and software. When you look inside a lot of data centers and realize they have hundreds of system management tools and different hardware and software platforms that need to be maintained, upgraded and managed, and then all of this has to be integrated. Then the next big wave will be the simplification and standardization of the infrastructure and a massive reduction of labor and software costs. That is the richest area for innovation, and that innovation will come in the form of systems management tools delivered through the cloud as opposed to standard software license mechanisms. It also will come from management services that are delivered remotely and through a fixed cost structure, rather than the variable cost structure caused by all the complexity. That will allow the labor and software component to be dramatically reduced.

As the economy rebounds is there any difference in terms of what kind of equipment companies are buying?

That's less of an issue than it was 10 years ago, because x86 is a standard. It's the only platform in the industry that's growing, and that's been true for years. Performance continues to raise the bar in application spaces where it has never been before. If you poll CIOs and ask them what they would do in a "green-field" scenario, they would all start with x86 running either Linux or Windows. And as the industry consolidates, the protection for customers is the open standards of the infrastructure.

Will the shift to mobile Internet devices be incremental, or is it similar to what happened with notebooks vs. desktops?

Today it's in addition to what is already there. But when you look at a netbook and a laptop, it's hard to say whether that space will converge into one thing. Is the netbook just a little laptop? When you look at the user experience, a 13-inch screen is ideal for portability and usability. When you get down to a 9-inch screen, portability is great but usability isn't as good. These new technologies will continue to mature and we'll get great battery life, but if you're going through a 75-page PowerPoint presentation and making comments, you want a bigger screen and a bigger keyboard.

Posted by Staff at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)

August 28, 2009

10ZiG Expands Product Portfolio with Fastest, Small Form Factor Thin Client

10Zig Technology (formerly BOSaNOVA) has released a new line of thin clients based on Intel Atom N270 [Diamondville]. Dual core, low power and nice unit.

Phoenix, AZ – August 28, 2009 – 10ZiG Technology (formerly BOSaNOVA, Inc.), the emerging market leader in development of Thin Clients and Network Appliances announces today the release of a new line of high performance thin clients. The 5600 Series units boast the Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz Dual Thread processor making them the fastest, small form factor thin clients available.

Winner of the Citrix Ready Challenge for Best Form Factor Thin Client, the 5600 Series Thin Clients weigh just over 1lb. offering flexibility and speed. These energy efficient units are Energy Star rated and require less than 12 watts of power. Available in Linux, Windows Embedded Standard 2009 or XPe operating systems, the 5600 Series offers a wide variety of features including optional dual monitor support and internal wireless option.

“The 5600 Series has set the standard for next generation thin clients. These units offer the complete package – they are small, flexible, fast, and energy efficient,” says Martin Pladgeman, 10ZiG Technology President. “Thin Client computing has come a long way especially now with the increased interest in desktop virtualization. We’re excited to be part of that by offering high performance, energy efficient units and thin clients designed specifically for desktop virtualization.”

10ZiG Thin Clients are available for purchase through 10ZiG’s resellers. For a no-obligation trial or for more information contact 10ZiG toll-free at (866) 865-5250, send an e-mail to [email protected], or go to www.10zig.com.

About 10ZiG Technology
10ZiG Technology (www.10zig.com), formerly BOSaNOVA, Inc., is a privately held company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is principally engaged in the design and development of thin clients, security solutions, and network appliances. The company’s solutions include a highly refined user interface, remote management software, and performance optimization. The company’s products are sold through a worldwide network of IBM and CITRIX Business Partners. Industry affiliations include membership in IBM's PartnerWorld for Developers, Citrix Global Alliance Partner Program, VMware Partner Program, Parallels Partner Program and the Microsoft Partner Program. For more information, visit www.10zig.com.

CONTACT:

Jennifer Phillips
Marketing Director
10ZiG Technology
Phone: 866-865-5250 x350
Email: [email protected]

Brochure link

Posted by Staff at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)

August 27, 2009

News from Thindesk

Thindesk out of Canada picked up some accolades recently. ThinDesk & TELUS were recently listed by the IDC; as one of the Top 10 Cloud Solutions to watch in Canada. Also has been declared a Top 3 finalist in the Best Small Business Solution’s category by CDN & IT World Canada.

IDC Profiles 10 Canadian Cloud Solutions to Watch

06 Aug 2009
Cloud to be a Hot Growth Niche for Emerging Firms

TORONTO, Ontario, August 6, 2009 – IDC Canada recently profiled ten Canadian Cloud solutions companies to watch.

"Cloud computing is still only in the nascent stages in Canada, but is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years," says Krista Napier, senior analyst, Competitive Intelligence and Emerging Technology at IDC Canada.

In addition, Thindesk has been declared a Top 3 finalist in the Best Small Business Solution’s category by CDN & IT World Canada. We are going to be acknowledged and awarded this at the www.channeleliteawards.ca Gala Event coming up on September 29th, 2009.

By 2012, IDC estimates 9% of spending on IT services worldwide, including business applications, application development and deployment, system infrastructure software, storage and servers, will be in the Cloud – and the leading area of IT growth (IT Cloud Services Forecast, Oct 2008).

"Still, the barriers to adoption in the short run must not be underestimated, and this poses challenges for emerging ICT firms with limited track records that are bringing cloud solutions to market," says Napier. "Showcasing ROI and cloud success stories will be key for emerging vendors to succeed in the cloud."

IDC has released a new study that profiles ten of these emerging companies in Canada offering solutions that address the cloud. The IDC study, 10 Canadian Cloud Solutions to Watch (IDC #CA4TIW9), provides insight into the solutions, go-to-market strategies, partners, and customers of the profiled vendors. Lessons learned may provide a model for other emerging companies in the Canadian technology marketplace, and help larger vendors, government, and investors identify partnership and investment opportunities.

Some of the key findings from this study include the following:

Cloud suits emerging Canadian companies. The very nature of smaller emerging companies makes them well-suited to deliver disruptive solutions in the cloud – these companies tend to demonstrate flexibility and speed, they are not restrained by legacy products or investments, and some cloud services such as application solutions require minimal upfront capital to launch initially in the market. This has led to an influx of emerging Canadian ICT companies bringing solutions to market that address the cloud – sometimes as 100% cloud solutions, but often as hybrid offerings that give customers the choice to use the solution as a service in the cloud, or on-premise at first to encourage gradual change.

Substantial barriers to the cloud pose a challenge for emerging firms. While cloud has generated tremendous attention and excitement, customers are still concerned about datacenter facility outages, exporting data from the cloud, data security, lack of common application programming interfaces (APIs), and data ownership. These concerns are compounded when working with a relatively small unknown vendor. Emerging companies can benefit from partnering with larger incumbents looking to broaden their on-premise solutions to become part of an overall cloud computing strategy that can extend a start-up's reach and legitimacy.

"Freemium" is the answer – sometimes. The "freemium" model has been an effective approach for many emerging companies delivering SaaS-based solutions to attract individual users with a free version of their solution, and to expand their footprint later with a more robust version of the solution for a fee. However, for instances where customers are unfamiliar with cloud solutions, or where high-touch support is needed to ensure a successful first-time experience with the product, some solution providers have found more success charging for the software upfront.

The ten companies featured in the report (in alphabetical order) include:

Asigra
BoardSuite
CiRBA
Enomaly
FreshBooks
Nulogy
PollStream
Rypple
Teradici
ThinDesk

This study is one of a series of documents that IDC publishes as part of the Canadian Technology Innovation Watch report series, which tracks Canadian ICT companies including software, hardware, services, and communications companies from across Canada. The series examines emerging companies, their solutions, and why they have been successful. For more information about IDC's series of reports on Canadian-grown ICT, visit: http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=IDC_P15343

Contact

For more information, contact:

Tatiana Abramova
[email protected]
416-673-2279

Posted by Staff at 09:30 PM | Comments (0)

August 24, 2009

Nokia Booklet 3G Netbook

New netbook from Nokia enters the market. The Booklet. 10" with 3G, HDMI and 12 hours of battery.

Visit source site Recombu

Nokia Booklet 3G: Is it a netbook? Is it a phone?
By Andrew Lim on Monday, 24th August 2009

OK Nokia, we'll stop laughing about your multimedia computers. A few years ago Nokia started referring to its phones as multimedia computers and we all chuckled but today it's launched an actual computer. The Nokia Booklet 3G is a Windows-based, netbook-style device that packs and Intel Atom processor and weighs 1.25 kilograms.

The Booklet's aluminium body houses a 10-inch glass screen (HD), an SD card reader, Bluetooth, GPS, 3G, HSDPA (3.5G), Wi-Fi, an HDMI port for HD video out and a front facing camera for video calling. According to Nokia the Booklet will provide 12 hours of battery life, which means you have plenty of time to browse the Web, navigate home and make a few video calls.

Nokia adds that the Booklet will be able to access services such as the Nokia Music Store, and using the Ovi Suite be able to sync seamlessly between a Nokia smart phone, the Booklet and the cloud. Further information, including detailed specs, availability and pricing, will be announced at Nokia World on the 2nd of September, which we'll be attending, so we can tell you more then.

Official Nokia video of the Booklet 3G here.
http://europe.nokia.com/find-products/mini-laptop

Posted by Staff at 04:50 PM | Comments (0)

August 20, 2009

Cloud Computing - Does Amazon fail PCI Compliance?

There’s an ongoing debate about the ability of cloud computing services to meet enterprise regulatory compliance requirements, including the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) standard that is essential for e-commerce.

Source link

A PCI-Compliant Cloud? Not at Amazon
August 19th, 2009 : Rich Miller

Martin McKeay at the Network Security Blog recently highlighted the admission by one of the most popular cloud services, Amazon Web Services, that it does not support the highest levels of PCI compliance.

“From a compliance and risk management perspective, we recommend that you do not store sensitive credit card payment information in our EC2/S3 system because it is not inherently PCI level 1 compliant,” an Amazon representative told a customer in an exchange that was posted on an AWS web forum. A key issue is that PCI auditors are unable to inspect Amazon’s data centers. (Read on for additional information from Amazon on this issue).

McKeay’s post has prompted a fresh round of discussion of cloud computing’s ability to support PCI DSS, even as recent data breaches have raised questions about the value of PCI compliance.
“PCI compliance doesn’t automatically make a site safe,” writes Lori McVittie of F5 Networks. “Lack of PCI compliance doesn’t make EC2 unsafe, either. It means it isn’t compliant with the policies designated by the PCI council for handling credit card transactions and sensitive data. And, if we look past the hand-waving, we’ll find that Amazon admits you can’t build a PCI Level 1 compliant application using EC2 and S3, but you can build a PCI Level 2 compliant application.”

Amazon’s admission may not make it unsafe, but the way in which it was revealed is a reminder of why confusion persists about support for key compliance standards by some cloud services. Amazon’s ability to support PCI for its cloud computing customers has been questioned before, and was typically met with a vague statement about Amazon’s “commitment to provide a secure, world-class cloud computing environment.” This time the question was posed in a forum thread. Amazon didn’t respond directly on the thread, but the customer posted an email response.

UPDATE: Amazon spokesperson Kay Kinton has followed up with some comments and perspective on this discussion. “It’s important to recognize that PCI compliance is dependent on how a particular merchant uses a hosted solution like AWS and should not be linked to the overall security of AWS’ services,” Kinton writes. “Under the PCI Data Security Standard, merchants regardless of their size are independently responsible for complying with PCI when they collect, process or store credit card information. When using a shared hosting service, like AWS, where the merchant controls what credit card information touches the service, the merchant is responsible for using the services in a manner that permits them to be PCI compliant, such as the proper use of encryption and key management. Therefore, it is possible for a merchant to use Amazon EC2 and Amazon S3 and meet PCI compliance standards depending on their specific implementation.

“For customers who don’t have the expertise, time or otherwise don’t want responsibility of managing a fully compliant payments application, the customer can use our web service for payments, the Amazon Flexible Payments (Amazon FPS), or use solutions offered by Amazon Payments (such as Checkout by Amazon),” Kinton adds. “While these solutions address the specific needs for some customers, it does not mean that it is the only means of using Amazon Web Services in a completely compliant manner.”

Amazon is an important player in cloud computing, but its capabilities aren’t representative of all cloud services. As we’ve previously noted, several providers say they have achieved certifications for customers using cloud platforms. These include Terremark Worldwide (TMRK) which describes its Enterprise Cloud platform as “certified as PCI DSS Compliant,” and Savvis Inc. (SVVS), which offers a version of its just-in-time utility computing platform that is customized for online retailers and includes PCI solutions. For further reading, see Cloud Computing and PCI Security, a review of the topic by Michael Dahn of the PCI Blog. Dahn compares the current debate to earlier concerns about compliance in a virtualized environment.

Meanwhile, security publications have noted a recent incident in which a PCI-compliant provider, web host Network Solutions, suffered an intrusion and data breach that compromised more than 4,300 customer sites and approximately 573,928 individuals’ credit card information.

Posted by Staff at 03:44 PM | Comments (0)

Cloud Computing - How well does Amazon, Google and MS handle stress

First of many benchmark tests of cloud competitors and just how available those services are in real life.

Stress tests rain on Amazon's cloud

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Availability an issue for Amazon EC2, Google AppLogic and Microsoft Azure.

Stress tests conducted by Sydney-based researchers have revealed that the infrastructure-on-demand services offered by Amazon, Google and Microsoft suffer from regular performance and availability issues.

The team of researchers, led by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and in collaboration with researchers at NICTA (National ICT Australia) and the Smart Services Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), have spent seven months stress testing Amazon's EC2, Google's AppLogic and Microsoft's Azure cloud computing services.

The analysis simulated 2000 concurrent users connecting to services from each of the three providers, with researchers measuring response times and other performance metrics.

Anna Liu, Associate Professor in services engineering at the UNSW School of Computer Science told iTnews she was excited by Cloud Computing as it could potentially enable organisations to "outsource a certain amount of their risks and costs and tap into new economies of scale."

"We saw a lot of hype and confusion, and decided to lead a team of researchers and actually get our hands dirty with this stuff," she said. "We put these services to a stress test to see if these cloud platforms really perform the way their vendors say they do."

The research found some merit to vendors' claims of "perceived infinite scalability."

"With a simulation of 2000 concurrent users, we watched the cloud services scale up and respond dynamically to that demand," Liu said.

But researchers also found that the three platforms delivered wildly variable performance results as Amazon, Google and Microsoft trialled, added and dropped new features.

Response times on the service also varied by a factor of twenty depending on the time of day the services were accessed, she said.

The response times collated in Sydney were tested against measurement instruments loaded onto the cloud platform to isolate whether delays were attributable to the service itself or the latency involved with accessing US-based data centres from Australia.

Liu said the study revealed which of the three cloud infrastructures were suited to particular applications.

"Using Google AppEngine, none of your data processing tasks can last any longer than thirty seconds, or it throws an exception back at you," she said.

"This is very consistent with the Google business model - they want to enable simple web applications to thrive on the Internet. AppEngine is there to enable the rapid development of simple web applications that don't include intense compute at the back end."

Amazon's EC2, by contrast, provided "base cloud computing support" with value-added services supplied by third parties.

Microsoft, Liu said, has the enterprise and the ISV firmly in its sights with the Azure platform.

"Microsoft is looking to support the transformation or migration of in-premise apps with the cloud."

Liu, a former Microsoft employee, said that while Azure is limited to the .Net development platform, adapters are being released for Java and PHP among others.

Liu said all three services lack the monitoring tools large organisations require to check on whether the platform is meeting service level agreements.

"None of the platforms have the kind of monitoring required to have a reasonable conversation about performance," she said. "They provide some level of monitoring, but what little there is caters for developers, not business users. And while Amazon provides a dashboard of how much it is costing you so far, for example, there is nothing in terms of forecasts about what it will cost you in the future.

Liu will present the findings and offer developers advice on how to build robust applications to withstand the cloud's limitations at the Australian Architecture Forum in Sydney on Monday, August 24.

Posted by Staff at 02:52 PM | Comments (0)

August 18, 2009

Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) Deploys Wyse Technology to Green its Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

Wyse and VMware and Denver RTD - RTD estimates $54,500 in energy savings per year from its thin clients. In fact, energy savings alone will pay for the thin client implementation in as little as four years.

Economics and Environment Combine as Wyse Virtual Clients Replace PCs and Extend Virtualization to the Desktop

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Wyse Technology, the global leader in thin computing and client virtualization, today announced an innovative implementation at the Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD). RTD serves 2.6 million people across seven counties and uses IT to manage every aspect of its fleet of 1,040 buses and 120 light rail vehicles. The combination of Wyse hardware and Wyse TCX virtualization software with VMware View has allowed RTD to expand its virtualization strategy from the data center to the desktop, save on the high replacement and maintenance costs associated with PCs, and cut annual energy costs substantially.

RTD sought an alternative to PCs in order to eliminate the vicious cycle of replacing PCs every 2 to 3 years. Besides the PC procurement costs, the maintenance costs of the PCs were exorbitant. RTD also wanted to leverage its investment in VMware. Wyse thin client hardware and client virtualization software fit those requirements. Nearly 300 thin clients are currently being used in every aspect of the organization, including marketing, sales and the call center. RTD has plans on replacing an additional 300 PCs with Wyse thin clients.

Extending RTD's virtualization strategy to the desktop has produced major cost savings in two different areas. First, the energy savings are substantial. RTD estimates $54,500 in energy savings per year from its 600 thin clients. Those savings will continue to increase as RTD continues to roll out more thin clients. "RTD has an organizational commitment to sustainability," said Trent Ratcliff, IT Infrastructure Manager. "Our sustainability committee was impressed by the energy efficiencies and subsequent reduction in carbon emissions that we gain by deploying thin clients. That, plus the fact that in energy savings alone our thin clients pay for themselves in as little as four (4) years."

Secondly, RTD is lowering its total cost of ownership (TCO) by replacing PCs with thin clients. Buying and deploying a PC costs on average $750 more than buying and deploying a thin client. For the first 600 thin clients, RTD will save more than $500,000. After initial replacement, RTD expects additional savings of $2,700 per thin client over a nine-year period owing to the elimination of two additional PC purchasing cycles during that period of time.

Wyse thin clients take less than one hour to set up compared to six hours to deploy a new PC. RTD also saves time and money on technology support associated with PCs. "Economically, the total cost savings of owning thin clients compared to PCs is impossible to ignore," adds Ratcliff. "In addition to the cost savings, the success of the Wyse thin clients is best measured by our ability to serve customers and support our own staff through greater availability and more efficient use of IT staffing. My staff used to spend about 20% of their time on user support. Most of those issues were caused by misbehaving Windows applications because staff were adding applications to their PCs or customizing them in some way. With Wyse thin clients, users can't add applications or make changes to the thin clients themselves. The IT staff is freed up from having to maintain PCs."

On the user side, Ratcliff had to be sure that thin clients could deliver at least the same experience and performance as PCs - even for multimedia applications. He turned to Wyse TCX, Wyse's virtualization software designed to deliver the best end user experience possible. "Slow performance is unacceptable, whether it impacts our call center response times, our light rail project deadlines, or our commitments to advertisers," says Ratcliff. "In addition, any thin client solution had to support peripherals, including scanners, local printers, DVD/CD drives, and thumb drives, so that RTD staff could incorporate images, print out materials promptly, and bring in data from other sources."

RTD determined that Wyse thin clients with the Wyse TCX virtualization software suite was the only solution that could meet all of the district's requirements for VMware compatibility, multimedia display capabilities, and USB support.

"We're very pleased to be working with RTD, and to be the only thin client solution that met RTD's performance and multimedia requirements," said Maryam Alexandrian, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Channels at Wyse Technology. "As with nearly every organization, user experience is very important. We're very proud of the fact that the Wyse TCX virtualization software played such a critical role in the IT success story at RTD."

For more information on RTD's use of Wyse Technology, download the complete case study at: http://www.wyse.com/solutions/transportation

About Wyse Technology

Wyse Technology is the global leader in thin computing-based virtualization software and hardware solutions. Wyse and its strategic partners, including, Citrix(R), IBM(R), Microsoft(R), Novell(R), VMware(R), and others deliver the innovative hardware, infrastructure software, and services that formulate the benefits of cloud computing, virtualization and Green IT. These thin computing solutions allow consumers, public and private enterprises to access the application information they need, but with better security, manageability, and at a much lower total cost of ownership than a PC. Wyse is headquartered in San Jose, California, with offices worldwide.

For more information, visit the Wyse website at http://www.wyse.com or call 1-800-GET-WYSE

* All brands and names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective holders.

CONTACT: Tim Smith of Element PR, +1-415-350-3019, [email protected], for Wyse Technology

SOURCE Wyse Technology

Posted by Staff at 06:57 PM | Comments (0)

August 12, 2009

Whitepaper - VMware cCenter

Yesterday two really valuable articles were released about Site Recovery Manager for VMware. Both articles relate to Site Recovery Manager(SRM).

Posted by Duncan Epping on August 12, 2009

What you should know about Site Recovery Manager

Yesterday two really valuable articles were released. Both articles relate to Site Recovery Manager(SRM) which happens to be one of my focus areas.

The first article is an official VMware Whitepaper "VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager Performance and Best Practices". This white-paper describes how to optimize your SRM environment to decrease your RTO. In the end that is what SRM is all about, decreasing your downtime if and when disaster strikes. I will quote one recommendation just to give you an idea of that this white-paper is all about. I highly recommend reading the full document for all the details.

http://www.vmware.com/resources/techresources/10057

If VMware DRS is not enabled on a cluster, then it is a good practice to manually distribute placeholder virtual machines evenly across hosts. This will help in distributing the load across hosts when recovered virtual machines are powered on and will in turn improve performance and recovery time. To do this, drag and drop the placeholder virtual machines across desired hosts.

Coincidentally at the same day I published a SRM FAQ. This FAQ was part of a reference guide written by VMware's BCDR Specialist System Engineer Michael White. Michael was so kind to share it with me and the rest of the world via Yellow-Bricks.com. This FAQ will be updated on a regular base and if you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to leave a comment on my blog.

While we are on the subject of SRM I would like to draw your attention to these excellent VMworld sessions you should definitely attend if BC-DR is one of your focus areas:

BC2260 Automated Disaster Recovery for Branch Offices using SRM and vSphere 4
BC3301 DR Architecture Design Workshop with SRM
BC3421 SRM Architecture & Features: The Road Ahead
DV2181 Leveraging SRM with VMware View - Lessons Learned
SPL16 VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM) Basic Install & Config

http://blogs.vmware.com/vmtn/2009/08/what-you-should-know-about-site-recovery-manager.html

Posted by Staff at 08:20 PM | Comments (0)

August 11, 2009

Wyse Thin Clients Move to Head of the Class at Award-Winning School District

Nice quote from administrator - "I believe that what we are deploying today is the future of education computing … For any school or university that's wondered whether thin clients can make their IT arm a more efficient department -- all while saving time, money and energy costs -- the answer is a resounding 'yes.' We are phasing out PCs in favor of virtual clients throughout the district."

SAN JOSE, Calif. – August 11, 2009 - Wyse Technology, the global leader in thin computing and client virtualization, today announced an exciting new implementation at the Western Wayne School District in Northeast Pennsylvania. When it comes to the strategic use of technology in the classroom, Western Wayne is an example of everything a school district can be. In 2009, Western Wayne received the "Schools of Excellence in Technology" award from the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. This prestigious award is given to only three school districts in the state.

Situated between Scranton, PA and the New York State border, the Western Wayne School District encompasses 174 square miles on the border of Wayne County. The school district is comprised of five schools: Western Wayne High School, Western Wayne Middle School, R.D. Wilson Elementary, Lake Ariel Elementary and Hamlin Elementary. In all, nearly 2,500 students are served throughout the district.

In just a few short years, Western Wayne has progressed from a problematic technology infrastructure more focused on computer triage than technology strategy, to one that incorporates technology into the everyday educational experiences of its students, faculty and broader community. Driven by "No Child Left Behind" performance benchmarks, the initial core academic areas to benefit from technology improvements were Math, Social Studies, Language Arts and Science.

Western Wayne recently made the decision to move away from a PC infrastructure toward one based on Wyse virtual clients. The District had been in the habit of annually replacing 60 computers at an annual cost of $70,000; cycling out the most out-dated and problematic PCs, or re-deploying them to lower grades. With the move to a thin client infrastructure, the District is now adding 100 new thin clients per year at a savings of $25,000 per year after the second year. With the financial savings, Western Wayne has also been able to incorporate additional technology services into other departments such as Art and Music.

While it can be difficult to definitively tie improved technology to an increase in academic performance, the district is seeing marked improvements in the education of its students.

"Over the course of the past two academic years the Western Wayne School District has seen solid growth in our students' Mathematics and Language Arts achievement, as measured by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association," according to Brian Seaman, Network Administrator at Western Wayne School District. "Although we can't say that the use of technology was the sole cause of this growth, we know that the use of technology to support data analysis and classroom instruction has contributed to this increase in achievement."

"Western Wayne might very well be the education poster child for doing more with less," according to Maryam Alexandrian, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Channels at Wyse Technology. "They have more computers in the hands of more kids. They've saved money on hardware, software and energy. They've been able to cut down on licensing fees, and they've also put an infrastructure in place that's both innovative and insanely scalable."

"I believe that what we are deploying today is the future of education computing," added Seaman. "There is a misconception that thin clients don't have the ability to handle today's computing needs – audio, video, multiple screens and the like. Nothing could be further from the truth. For any school or university that's wondered whether thin clients can make their IT arm a more efficient department -- all while saving time, money and energy costs -- the answer is a resounding 'yes.' We are phasing out PCs in favor of virtual clients throughout the district."

For more information on Western Wayne's use of Wyse Technology, download the complete case study at: http://www.wyse.com/solutions/education/

About Wyse Technology

Wyse Technology is the global leader in thin computing-based virtualization software and hardware solutions. Wyse and its strategic partners, including, Citrix®, IBM®, Microsoft®, Novell®, VMware®, and others deliver the innovative hardware, infrastructure software, and services that formulate the benefits of cloud computing, virtualization and Green IT. These thin computing solutions allow consumers, public and private enterprises to access the application information they need, but with better security, manageability, and at a much lower total cost of ownership than a PC. Wyse is headquartered in San Jose, California, with offices worldwide.

For more information, visit the Wyse website at Wyse.com or call 1-800-GET-WYSE

Posted by Staff at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)

August 10, 2009

PR: Joint Warfare Analysis Center Implements Trusted Computer Solutions' SecureOffice Trusted Thin Client

HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Trusted Computer Solutions, Inc. (TCS), a leading developer of cross domain and cyber security solutions, announced today that the Joint Warfare Analysis Center (JWAC), a premier science and engineering institution tasked with solving complex challenges for the nation’s warfighter, has implemented a virtual configuration of the company’s SecureOffice® Trusted Thin Client® product.

In addition, the product has received an Authority to Operate (ATO) at the Top Secret/SCI and Below Interoperability (TSABI) level, which meets the needs of civilian, intelligence and defense agencies that require access to external and internal networks at different classification levels.

SecureOffice Trusted Thin Client is a cross domain solution that provides users with easy and secure simultaneous access to an unlimited number of networks at varying classification levels from a single thin client device on a desktop. With the virtual configuration, this same functionality is available to the desktop user with no need for additional thin client hardware, changes to existing desktop hardware, the native environment or applications that run in that environment. The user has access to networks at the same or lower classification levels through individual windows running within the thin client image. The multiple network connections are securely accessed through a Distribution Console, which acts as a trusted router and maintains network separation on the back end.

JWAC is the first to use SecureOffice Trusted Thin Client in this virtual configuration. JWAC’s analysts can now utilize existing high-performance workstations to access information at the same or lower level networks. SecureOffice Trusted Thin Client can run on a number of virtual machine platforms that include VMware® Player and Microsoft™ Virtual PC, as well as virtual environments such as, NetTop®, Janus and High Assurance Platform (HAP). The virtual implementation is ideal for “power users” that require access to resource intensive applications that are not designed to operate in a distributed environment.

“With this virtual implementation a user’s existing workstation, with high-side permissions, can access any number of networks at the same or lower classification level,” stated Ed Hammersla, Chief Operating Officer, Trusted Computer Solutions. “This provides many advantages including user flexibility, hardware reuse and a minimal learning curve. Additionally, there is no cut and paste capability between networks or between the virtual machine and the desktop; and no data accessed and displayed within the virtual machine is stored on the workstation’s hard drive.”

SecureOffice Trusted Thin Client is identified on the UCDMO list as an approved cross domain access solution.

About Trusted Computer Solutions, Inc.

Founded in 1994, Trusted Computer Solutions (TCS) is an industry leader in providing cross domain and cyber security solutions for both the private and public sectors. The Company’s portfolio of security products include the SecureOffice® Suite, a group of cross domain solutions that allow the secure transfer and sharing of information; Security Blanket™, an industry award-winning operating system lock down and security management tool; and CounterStorm™, a behavioral, statistical and content-based anomaly detection system that rapidly identifies targeted and zero day attacks. All TCS solutions are backed by the company’s Professional Services group, which consists of nationally recognized experts in security policy, architecture, planning, and implementation. TCS is headquartered in Herndon, Va., with offices in Champaign, Ill. and San Antonio, TX. For more information, visit www.TrustedCS.com

Contacts
Welz & Weisel Communications
Kristine Gager, 703-218-3555
[email protected]

Posted by Staff at 06:26 PM | Comments (0)

August 07, 2009

The Future of Thin Client Computing - Mobile Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Kovarus, Inc., a premier technology consulting firm specializing in data center design, implementation, and optimization, today announced the findings of a ground-breaking, 30-day mobile VDI experiment. From June 1st through June 30th, Kovarus Senior Solutions Architect Alex Weeks shut down his Lenovo T500 and operated only a Wyse X90 Thin Client laptop. The entire experiment was chronicled through his daily blog at http://virtuallyalex.blogspot.com/.

Gartner predicts that approximately 50 million user licenses for hosted virtual desktops will be purchased by 2013. While much has been published about the promise of VDI, most users are still tethered to their thin client desktops. Very little data exists about the use of mobile thin client devices and how to solve challenges related to connectivity and application performance.

"At a corporate level, the simplified management, data security, and reduction in administrative costs associated with mobile VDI are well worth the investment with the right IT guidance," said Weeks. "In essence, mobile VDI has the potential to combine the cost savings and improved system management of thin client computing with the portability and convenience of mobile computing."

Throughout the 30-day experiment, Weeks followed his typical day-to-day work schedule. He is constantly on the go and needs a laptop with the capabilities and applications to support his demanding workflow. Most days he was onsite at customer facilities architecting and implementing data center solutions, delivering multiple presentations and testing new technology.

The biggest challenge he faced was the ability to connect to a network while out in the field. Without access to his virtual desktop Weeks was rendered unproductive. As expected, he ran into firewall issues and was not able to make VPN connections without some specific reconfigurations. He did try unsuccessfully to tether his Blackberry to use as a modem, however there is support for other broadband cellular networking options. Weeks did not have access to these other options, but looks forward to testing them and evaluating performance on a broadband connection.

Weeks also encountered complications when using certain applications like GoToMeeting and Microsoft PowerPoint through his VPN. Since he frequently delivers customer presentations in person and remotely, the ability to boot up his laptop and immediately start these applications was a must. Because the X90 runs Windows XP embedded on the system, Weeks discovered while troubleshooting that he could install these applications directly on the thin client to give him the start-up time he needed.

As the technology matures, Weeks would like to see the addition of the predefined connection options that remote desktop protocol offers, such as the ability to modify screen resolution or color depth. These options are handy during slow connections and would provide greater flexibility and ease of use for the end user.

Weeks has reverted back to his Lenovo T500, but has permanently altered his work patterns. He will continue to test and blog about mobile VDI among other things at http://virtuallyalex.blogspot.com/.

About Kovarus

Kovarus, Inc. is a premier technology consulting firm, specializing in data center design, implementation, and optimization. With its extensive integrated expertise and proven methodologies, Kovarus helps companies align IT with strategic business goals, support green IT initiatives, and maximize their return on technology investments. Kovarus' unique ability to converge virtualization, storage, and networking technologies gives its clients a distinct operational advantage, enabling them to improve the manageability, efficiency, and agility of service delivery. More information on Kovarus is available at www.kovarus.com or 650-392-7848.

SOURCE Kovarus, Inc.

Posted by Staff at 07:58 PM | Comments (0)

Promotion Offer - SoThin To Give Software to First 50 Schools and Colleges

SoThin is having a promotion where the first 50 schools and colleges that contact them qualify for 30 free licenses.

SoThin are offering the first 50 Schools or Colleges to contact SoThin Ltd free software. No catches, no financial commitments, just free software!

I know what you’re thinking "There’s no such thing as Free!"

Well this time there really is. Following a successful campaign recently, targeting the Education Sector, SoThin has decided that they will now offer 50 Schools, Colleges, Academies or Universities the opportunity to receive a management console and thirty client access licences as a thank you!

For more information:

Please contact [email protected] or call +44 (0) 870 199 5 199

More information

The SoThin Suite is designed to resolve day to day issues associated with modern, overcomplicated computer networks. It significantly cuts time IT Administrators spend on supporting and training users, troubleshooting and maintaining both FAT and THIN desktops. Products from the SoThin family allow remote user control, lock downs and easy configure single purpose, single application PCs.

This particular promotion is for our RemoteControl software which can be located at http://sothin.net/prod_remcon.html

SoThin® Remote Control™ is an advanced remote management and control tool for IT Support and Training.

This product gives IT Administrators the ability to control groups of users and computers from a single point simultaneously, guaranteeing huge time savings.

Posted by Staff at 07:38 PM | Comments (0)

Press Release - Teleflora Case Study on 2X Virtual Computing Stability and Performance

Dallas, TX, August 6, 2009 – Teleflora, the nation’s largest floral delivery network service, has chosen a 2X virtual computing solution to meet the computing needs of their call centers. In creating an optimized solution, the company has chosen to deploy the 2X ApplicationServer Enterprise Edition, along with the 2X ThinClientServer, to optimize employees’ remote access to critical desktop applications. Specifically, the 2X solution guarantees the efficient operation of Teleflora’s call centers, especially during peak order times, with flawless desktop performance delivered to over 1,100 users in multiple locations.

Jeff Jones is the Systems Architect at Teleflora, and as such, is responsible for ensuring that the company’s desktops can efficiently meet the day-to-day needs of the organization. Due to his limited IT budget, especially in the midst of a recession, Jeff is also responsible for ensuring that Teleflora’s IT goals are met at the lowest possible price, to preserve funds for other uses. To accommodate the needs of his call centers, Jeff chose a 2X-based thin client solution with his ten 32-bit HP BL460c Blade Servers, along with the VMware ESX 3.5 (VI3) virtualization platform, and was "able to save $120 per machine, simply from one-time licensing cost savings," a total cost reduction of over $120,000. Teleflora’s 2X-based solution was thus a "diamond in the rough that fundamentally changed the way we do things," as it significantly lowered IT costs and reduced the need to purchase additional thin client devices.

Through their 2X thin client solution, Jeff states that he "can fix virtually any desktop problem by simply rebooting the ThinClient OS from the central server, accomplishing in minutes what used to take hours to repair," guaranteeing reliable operation during peak order periods. As a result, he explains that he has "been able to reduce desktop crashes by 99% from previous levels, since my team can reboot any failed desktop from a central source." Call center managers can now drive their teams to aggressively pursue sales, knowing that their technical support team can handle virtually any desktop challenge that might arise; it should thus be no surprise that company satisfaction with call center operations is at an all-time high.

Jeff and his team are confident of 2X Software’s ability to continue to provide quality server-based software solutions in the future. He states that Teleflora’s future path should involve an expansion of their remote application publishing capabilities, along with a move to a thin client device-based solution, to take advantage of potential long-term savings opportunities. Even with a transition to thin client devices, Jeff still plans to make 2X a core component of his solution, stating, "I’m very satisfied with the application publishing and load balancing offered by 2X, and we’ll need these capabilities in a larger scale with a device-based solution, especially considering the cost-effectiveness and scalability characteristic of the 2X product line." He further explains that 2X products’ simplicity elevates them above competitors, since he "used Citrix for many years, and 2X’s products’ stability makes them a desirable choice for an operation as demanding as ours."

Scott Sims, 2X Business Development Manager, Americas stated that the company was "pleased to offer Teleflora easily manageable solutions to meet the high standards of their demanding call center operations. With centrally managed and published applications, using a thin client-based solution, companies like Teleflora can optimize access to their network. We will continue to offer Jeff and his team the latest in virtual computing software and look forward to meeting their future server-based computing needs with the efficiency and cost savings potential characteristic of 2X products."

A full case study on Teleflora’s integration of their 2X solution can be found here: Teleflora Case Study.

About 2X ThinClientServer
The 2X ThinClientServer allows the conversion of outdated PCs to energy-efficient, cost-effective thin clients, while simultaneously providing centralized thin client management controls. This conversion ends the fat client administration nightmare by allowing all users’ connection settings to be efficiently managed from a central device. Additionally, administrators can use the ThinClientServer to restrict users’ individual accessibility options.

Key features:

Obtaining the Trial Version
2X is offering a 120-day trial version of the 2X ThinClientServer. After the 120-day trial period, users can still use a free version for up to 5 thin clients by registering for the 5-thin client license key on the 2X website. Download the trial version today.

Teleflora’s solution also relied upon the performance of the 2X ApplicationServer; for a list of product features, or to download the trial version, please visit: http://www.2x.com/applicationserver/.

About 2X
2X Software Ltd - 2X - is a company developing software for the booming server-based computing market. Thin client computing controls spiraling PC management costs, centralizes application and desktop management, improves security and performance and allows users to work remotely. The company’s product line includes: 2X ThinClientServer, 2X LoadBalancer for Terminal Services/Citrix, 2X ApplicationServer for Windows Terminal Services and 2X VirtualDesktopServer. 2X is a privately held company with offices in the USA, Germany, UK, Cyprus and Malta. Its management team is backed by years of experience in developing and selling network infrastructure software. 2X is a Microsoft, IBM and VMware partner. For more information visit:
http://www.2x.com/.

About Teleflora
Teleflora is proud to have been connecting customers with the nation's best florists for more than 70 years. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Teleflora has over 20,000 member florists throughout the U.S. and Canada, with an additional 20,000 affiliated florists outside North America. The company prides itself on delivering flawless customer service to our direct customers and member florists alike. For more information, visit: http://www.teleflora.com

Posted by Staff at 07:18 PM | Comments (0)

August 06, 2009

Kool Smiles and Wyse Technology Virtual Clients Improving Patient Care and Security of Electronic Health Records (EHRs)

Thinclient casestudy in EHR market - As you can see below, they have "… saved close to $500,000 yearly by reducing the amount of IT staff required to support our business; we've cut our electricity usage by more than 50% throughout the organization; our new device provisioning costs are half of what PCs would require; and we anticipate an annual savings of $1.26 million by reducing maintenance costs. All of this and the virtual clients will last much longer than PCs."

SAN JOSE, Calif. – August 6, 2009 - Wyse Technology, the global leader in thin computing and client virtualization, today announced an innovative implementation at Kool Smiles. Kool Smiles is a rapidly-growing company whose mission is to bring quality dental services to underserved communities throughout the United States. Since opening its first office in 2002 in Atlanta, GA, the network has demonstrated substantial growth. Kool Smiles is now currently operating in 15 states and serving thousands of patients daily.

From Kool Smiles' inception, the success of the organization depended on using technology to ensure excellent care and drive down the cost of service. The company adopted an innovative approach that leverages electronic health records, standardized processes, and cost-effective, low-maintenance computer hardware to enhance staff productivity and reduce capital costs.

"Our goal is nothing less than to solve the oral health care crisis in the United States," according to Mark Blomquist, CTO of Kool Smiles. "In order to do that, we knew we'd need to hold down the expense of supporting our IT infrastructure and with Wyse Technology we struck gold. Thin clients have helped us optimize the productivity of our staff and saved us huge sums we'd otherwise have had to spend on hardware, software, and PC support. Wyse also helped us to start small and scale our systems to match our rapid growth without incurring major expense or requiring painful transitions."

Kool Smiles' leadership team had a vision that went far beyond building one or two successful practices. They sought to design an organization that could scale to provide dental services to underserved communities across the U.S., and began by defining the qualities they would need from their technical infrastructure: reliability, security, scalability, and low total cost of ownership (TCO).

"Kool Smiles' success makes the company an inspiration for other organizations that are seeking to adopt Electronic Health Records (EHRs)," according to Maryam Alexandrian, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Channels at Wyse Technology. "With its superior virtual client infrastructure, as well as workflow, and records management practices, Kool Smiles employees are able to do more in less time, making it possible and cost-effective for the dentists to provide care for families. Every day, thousands of children and adults receive dental care previously unavailable to them through Kool Smiles' local network providers."

At Kool Smiles' class-one data center in Atlanta, applications are delivered to approximately 2,100 Wyse thin clients at offices across the country. Wyse Device Manager management software helps IT staff manage device policy, configuration, and assets in real time, as well as provide remote imaging, optimization, and administration delegation.

Each examining room has a Wyse thin client with dual LCD monitors running Microsoft Windows XP Embedded. Doctors and hygienists use these more powerful devices so that they can run two applications on a split screen, simultaneously viewing X-ray records and medical information including dental charts. The system helps them chart patient care, file treatment plans, and manage authorizations.

"Every office is laid out the same way, and every type of device works in exactly the same way," added Blomquist. "Our providers can readily move between locations, substituting for staff that is on vacation or sick. This helps maximize the number of patients we can serve in a day. It also scales extremely well, as our IT demands are akin to opening up a small hospital every week"

Kool Smiles must comply with HIPAA requirements to protect all private health care information, so its systems implement several layers of security. The company uses a carrier-class virtual private network to move data around and between its offices via a secure data stream. Because data does not reside on the thin clients, even if a thin-client device was stolen, patient confidentiality would not be affected.

"For a company that's been implementing Electronic Health Records since 2002, we feel that we are great example of how EHRs can benefit consumers, businesses, and regulators," added Blomquist.

Electronic Health Records enable clinical leadership to review patient charts for monitoring and training. A live second opinion is also possible. With consistent, high-resolution monitors, doctors can review x rays in tandem with a peer anywhere in the country in real time. Kool Smiles must also respond to regulators and auditors who want to check dental records and treatment plans to ensure quality of care and financial accountability. With all records in electronic form, staff can simply provide system access to regulators and let them view the data instead of spending time pulling up files to answer regulators' questions.

"Our cost savings with the virtual clients from Wyse has been substantial," continued Blomquist. "We've saved close to $500,000 yearly by reducing the amount of IT staff required to support our business; we've cut our electricity usage by more than 50% throughout the organization; our new device provisioning costs are half of what PCs would require; and we anticipate an annual savings of $1.26 million by reducing maintenance costs. All of this and the virtual clients will last much longer than PCs."

For more information on Kool Smile's use of Wyse Technology, download the complete case study at: http://www.wyse.com/solutions/healthcare/

About Wyse Technology
Wyse Technology is the global leader in thin computing-based virtualization software and hardware solutions. Wyse and its strategic partners, including, Citrix®, IBM®, Microsoft®, Novell®, VMware®, and others deliver the innovative hardware, infrastructure software, and services that formulate the benefits of cloud computing, virtualization and Green IT. These thin computing solutions allow consumers, public and private enterprises to access the application information they need, but with better security, manageability, and at a much lower total cost of ownership than a PC. Wyse is headquartered in San Jose, California, with offices worldwide.

For more information, visit the Wyse website at http://www.wyse.com or call 1-800-GET-WYSE

About Kool Smiles
Founded in 2002, Kool Smiles is a network of local dental offices dedicated to expanding access to quality dental care for children and families in underserved communities. Kool Smiles provides preventative care, diagnostic imaging and a full range of restorative care supported with electronic health records. Kool Smiles offices, many of which are newly constructed, are designed to facilitate communications between our patients and doctors in a relaxed atmosphere. In addition to accepting most insurance plans, Kool Smiles is proud to offer services to families covered by Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP). Kool Smiles also provides oral health education programs through partnerships with community schools and organizations. To find a local Kool Smiles dentist, please visit www.koolsmilespc.com.

Posted by Staff at 04:26 PM | Comments (0)

August 04, 2009

News - Boundless Technolgies

Boundless Technologies is now listed on Thinclient.org and here is some recent news regarding their products. Boundless is located in New York.

Boundless updates OS for Linux thin clients
Phelps, NY - July 23, 2009 - Boundless Technologies, a leading provider of thin clients and text terminals, has updated the operating system in its customizable Linux thin clients. The newest version enhances the user experience and further supports Boundless’ ability to customize thin clients to meet the needs of IT organizations in government, health care, education, manufacturing, retail, banking and finance.

Read more: http://www.boundless.com/press.html#linux7-09


VDC’s Boundless Technologies and Ericom Software extend agreement to bundle all Boundless thin clients with Ericom PowerTerm WebConnect client software

Closter, NJ, and Phelps, NY - May 7, 2009 - Boundless Technologies, a leading provider of thin clients and text terminals, and Ericom Software, a leading global provider of application access and virtualization solutions, have extended their agreement under which all Boundless Linux, CE and XPe thin clients ship pre-loaded with Ericom PowerTerm® WebConnect client software. The Boundless thin clients are ready to deploy in server-based computing environments that use Ericom’s PowerTerm WebConnect Server for administration and management.

Read more: http://www.boundless.com/press.html#ericom5-09

Posted by Staff at 09:02 PM | Comments (0)

Stimulus - Schools Maximize Stimulus Funds Impact with $70 NComputing Virtual Desktops

REDWOOD CITY, CALIF., August 4, 2009 – President Obama’s stimulus package has earmarked billions of dollars for schools to pay for educational technology, but not for long-term maintenance costs. Smart school districts have solved the dilemma by expanding computing access with NComputing. The company’s $70 virtual desktops allow up to eleven students to share a single computer while reducing maintenance and electrical costs by as much as 90%.

School districts are now making critical decisions on how to best spend their federal stimulus dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Tangipahoa Parish (Louisiana) School District decided to spend their stimulus funds on a districtwide computer upgrade and expansion program based on NComputing virtual desktops. The IT staff determined that NComputing would be the lowest-cost solution for expanding student computing access. The solution does not require additional IT staff or infrastructure upgrades that would saddle the district with long-term expenses that they couldn’t afford. For example, only the shared PCs have to be replaced every three to five years. NComputing virtual desktops last for multiple PC generations and don’t require ongoing maintenance.

“Buying PCs was too expensive and we wouldn’t have been able to provide the necessary support,” said Mike Diaz, assistant director of technology for Tangipahoa. “We only have four technical support staff for 19,500 students and the stimulus funds won’t pay for more. We tried out NComputing and that was the answer. We were amazed at the performance and low energy use. We can now buy three times as many computing seats for the same money. The additional computing in the classrooms gives the students more computer time and enhances their tech skills.”

The NComputing solution is based on a simple fact: today’s computers are so powerful that the vast majority of applications use only a small fraction of the computer’s capacity. NComputing enables a single computer to be virtualized so that many users can tap the unused capacity and share it as if each person had their own computer. Each user enjoys a full desktop experience by connecting their own monitor, keyboard, and mouse to an NComputing access device, which is then connected to the shared computer. Unlike other desktop virtualization solutions, the patented and highly efficient NComputing desktops deliver rich multimedia and full-screen video. The devices use just 1 watt of electricity which also reduces the need for air conditioning and qualifies for substantial energy-efficiency rebates. Schools deploy NComputing in classrooms, computer labs, libraries, and offices.

“NComputing is the perfect solution for schools. It drastically reduces upgrade and maintenance costs and, in fact, lowers long-term expenses,” said Stephen Dukker, chairman and CEO of NComputing. “More than 1,500 districts, including seven of the nation’s 10 largest, have already saved hundreds of millions of dollars by choosing NComputing.”

NComputing customers typically save 50 percent on purchase costs, 70 percent on maintenance, and 90 percent on energy use.

“We wanted to bring computing into the classrooms, but our older school buildings weren’t wired to deliver enough juice,” said Tangipahoa’s Mr. Diaz. “Last year, a couple new PCs blew out the electrical systems in two of our high schools. Now, we’ve put six computing seats in every single classroom in the district with no strain on the electrical systems. We also expect our support calls to go down by 90 percent so our staff can focus on new initiatives instead of driving around putting out fires.”

NComputing is the most popular desktop virtualization solution in U.S. schools with more than four million students already learning on NComputing systems. NComputing expects that number to double in 2009.

About NComputing, Inc.
NComputing, Inc. is the fastest growing desktop virtualization company in the world with millions of users in 140 countries. The company's award-winning, patented technology lowers desktop computing costs, improves manageability, and reduces both energy consumption and e-waste. It is the perfect solution for leveraging the power and potential of PCs and cloud computing. For more information, visit http://www.ncomputing.com.

Media Contacts:
Renee Deger
GlobalFluency
(650) 433-4153
[email protected]

David Rand
NComputing, Inc.
(650) 517-5806

Posted by Staff at 08:52 PM | Comments (0)

August 03, 2009

Press Release: Software to Convert Old PCs to Thin Clients Now Available from 10ZiG Technology

Phoenix, AZ – August 3, 2009 – 10ZiG Technology (formerly BOSaNOVA, Inc.), the emerging market leader in development of Thin Clients and Network Appliances today announces they have teamed up with ThinLaunch Software to offer Thin Desktop® to convert aging PCs into Thin Clients.

Phoenix, AZ – August 3, 2009 – 10ZiG Technology (formerly BOSaNOVA, Inc.), the emerging market leader in development of Thin Clients and Network Appliances today announces they have teamed up with ThinLaunch Software to offer Thin Desktop® to convert aging PCs into Thin Clients.

Thin Desktop® simplifies the deployment of virtual desktops by turning old Windows PCs into locked down thin client devices. This allows customers to leverage their existing infrastructure while benefiting from a standard user interface, centralized management and increased security. Installation is simple and in future releases can be deployed through the 10ZiG Manager which will be packaged with the Thin Desktop® software.

Benefits include:

• Leverage current investment in PCs by converting them to thin clients
  
• Increase productivity by eliminating non-work related computer usage
  
• Easier to maintain lessening the burden on support staff
  
• Standard user interface to manage all desktops centrally
  

“Thin Desktop is the result of feedback from a wide variety of customers with very diverse use cases and requirements. A common thread is the desire to adopt virtual desktop technologies while preserving investments in existing hardware, infrastructure and skill sets - with a clear path for future hardware and virtualization options,” said ThinLaunch Software General Manager, Mike Cardinal. “Customer environments with both PC and Thin Client devices will coexist for the foreseeable future. 10ZiG is clearly in the forefront when it comes to assisting customers with the adoption of virtual desktop client devices.”

Thin Desktop® is available for purchase through 10ZiG’s resellers for $25/user. For a 30-day trial or for more information contact 10ZiG toll-free at (866) 865-5250, send e-mail to [email protected], or go to www.10zig.com.

About 10ZiG Technology
10ZiG Technology (www.10zig.com), formerly BOSaNOVA, Inc., is a privately held company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is principally engaged in the design and development of security solutions, thin clients and network appliances. The company’s solutions include a highly refined user interface, remote management software, and performance optimization. The company’s products are sold through a worldwide network of IBM and CITRIX Business Partners. Industry affiliations include membership in IBM's PartnerWorld for Developers, Citrix Global Alliance Partner Program, VMware Partner Program, Parallels Partner Program and the Microsoft Partner Program. For more information, visit www.10zig.com.

About ThinLaunch Software, LLC

ThinLaunch Software, LLC has developed Thin Desktop to enhance the value of client devices. Established in May of 2007, ThinLaunch software is privately held and based in Eagan, MN, a suburb of St. Paul, MN. ThinLaunch Software and Thin Desktop are registered trademark of ThinLaunch Software, LLC. Additional trademarks and Patents Pending. Please visit the website at: www.thinlaunch.com

PRESS CONTACT:

Jennifer Phillips
Marketing Director
10ZiG Technology
Phone: 866-865-5250 x350
Email: [email protected]

Posted by Staff at 09:38 PM | Comments (0)