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September 30, 2009
RIM: “The lines are blurring between apps and the web”
Interview with RIM covering future of web-based apps versus native apps on Blackberry. RIM is helping on the web-based side but is committed to offering both. How Blackberry compares to iPhone? What about Push?
RIM TALKS BLACKBERRY APP INNOVATION
Yesterday at 1:24 pm
And also the blurring of the lines between downloadable apps and the mobile web.
Research In Motion is keen to encourage more developers to build innovative apps that tie into the BlackBerry platform, says Tyler Lessard, VP of global alliances and developer relations.
“We feel there's a lot more people can be doing in this environment than they're doing today,” he tells ME.
“We’re excited to bring more products to market that show what you can really do on this platform. We’ve been able to deliver an industry-leading experience in terms of real-time and push-based data delivery, and we want to start seeing more third-party apps taking on those same characteristics.”
RIM launched its BlackBerry App World store earlier this year, and Lessard says the company is very pleased with the results so far, with more than 2,500 apps now available.
“There’s a broad spectrum, and thankfully we are seeing strong adoption across all the categories, which is a good sign that users are interested,” he says, while also saying RIM is pleased with the reaction to its recently-launched web version of the App World.
Lessard straight-bats a question about comparing BlackBerry to iPhone – “we tend to measure ourselves against our own platform to be honest” – but it’s clear that RIM sees real-time push as one of its key advantages, despite Apple having debuted push notifications in its 3.0 software.
“If you look in the news space, vendors have apps on BlackBerry and on other platforms, but we are working very closely with them to ensure they’re using the push data capabilities on BlackBerry to offer real-time updates, rather than waiting for users to access content,” he says.
Push is also being used for other kinds of apps on BlackBerry, such as U2’s recently-released U2 Mobile Album app. “It has push capabilities, so users will be alerted when there is new content available, including blogs from the band,” says Lessard. “It’s leveraging that same capability.”
However, an interesting question is how Lessard sees the future for apps, given the opinion in some quarters – notably Google – that downloadable smartphone apps will be superceded by web apps in the coming years.
“It’s a challenging question, but how do you define what is an app versus what is the web?” he says. “Those lines are quickly blurring on many platforms. We continue to see developers investing in mobile-specific experiences for high-end smartphones, but whether that manifests itself as a thin-client app or a web-based app? The lines will continue to blur as time goes on.”
Interestingly, RIM is doing its bit to help developers create more advanced web apps for BlackBerry users, giving them the ability to push content down to the BlackBerry web browser while sending an alert to the user which then launches the browser.
“It’s the first step to enabling web-based content to be thought of as an application, because you're actually getting a notification to the device, where you click on it and it opens the web content,” he says.
“Those lines are already being blurred to some degree. So the notion of an app will absolutely continue to be important, whether it is built with web technologies or native programming technologies. We’re committed to investing in both technologies, but we don’t think we’ll move to a model where everything is web-based.”
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/features/202/RIM-talks-BlackBerry-app-innovation
Posted by Staff at 07:34 PM | Comments (0)
Businesses Take Another Look at Virtual Desktops
WSJ: Gartner says the number of virtual desktops doubled in the last year to about 600,000. It predicts that over the next five years, 15% of current PCs will be replaced by virtual desktops.
More Companies Test Alternative to PCs as Software Develops, but Predictions of Revolution Haven't Materialized
By WILLIAM M. BULKELEY
As companies look for new ways to squeeze costs out of their technology budgets, some are deciding that the next PC they purchase need not be a PC at all.
Instead, they are rolling out virtual desktops -- a set-up consisting of a screen, keyboard and small connector box that ties into a powerful server in the computer room that has all the software, storage and processing capabilities that each desktop user needs.
Maryland Auto Insurance Fund, an insurance company in Annapolis, Md., says it plans to replace at least two-thirds of its 600 user desktops within 18 months with virtual PCs.
Cindy Warkentin, the company's chief information officer, estimates that the move will save costs by allowing the company to replace fewer PCs every year.
The virtual PCs also allow her IT staff to centrally install software updates in a few minutes instead of working for several hours over the weekend.
The so-called thin-client revolution has been touted before, but has so far failed to arrive. At last count about 633 million desktop PCs were humming in offices around the globe, according to technology watchers at Gartner.
Gartner and other analysts say improved virtualization software for the desktop, the rising cost of maintaining PCs and demands for more security and regulatory accountability are all making conditions ripe for virtual PCs.
Gartner says the number of virtual desktops doubled in the last year to about 600,000. It predicts that over the next five years, 15% of current PCs will be replaced by virtual desktops.
Virtual desktops, which cost from $200 to $1,000 per user, lower the cost of operating and supporting PC networks by eliminating most deskside visits by technicians, while reducing viruses and security violations, vendors and analysts say.
Posted by Staff at 06:49 PM | Comments (0)
NEC Deploys One of Japan's Largest Thin Client Systems for Tokio Marine
Tokyo, September 29, 2009 - NEC Corporation today announced the beginning of construction of one of Japan's largest virtual PC thin client systems as part of strengthening information security and reducing total cost of ownership (TCO) for Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. (Tokio Marine; President: Shuzo Sumi). Trial deployment of the system will begin in 2009 and installation of approximately 30,000 units is scheduled to start in 2010.
Tokyo, September 29, 2009 - NEC Corporation today announced the beginning of construction of one of Japan's largest virtual PC thin client systems as part of strengthening information security and reducing total cost of ownership ( TCO ) for Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. ( Tokio Marine; President: Shuzo Sumi ). Trial deployment of the system will begin in 2009 and installation of approximately 30,000 units is scheduled to start in 2010.
The system will utilize NEC's uniquely advanced virtual PC thin client system, the "Virtual PC Center."
Tokio Marine has implemented comprehensive internal security controls in order to constantly monitor and comply with each of the wide reaching management regulations that apply to information security. Within this framework, business and staff workload related to the storage of important information, and the procedures for managing the transport of information externally, have become challenging issues.
Thin client systems enable companies to significantly reduce the financial costs and employee burdens associated with strengthening and maintaining high security environments. Since the management and operation of thin client terminals is concentrated on a server, the terminals do not carry internal data or software. This means that burdensome implementation of management rules and monitoring that formerly took place on individual terminals is largely unnecessary. Furthermore, this enables employees to concentrate greater on their specific jobs, rather than computer maintenance, which is connected to improved work quality and higher customer satisfaction.
It is expected that the operational costs of using PCs ( the full range of costs associated with operational management, including configuration of each device, corresponding layout changes, asset management, repairs, security patches, etc. ) may be reduced by approximately 30%.
Looking forward, Tokio Marine may capitalize on its thin client system to implement such work-style reforms as telecommuting, business continuity plans for natural disasters and others.
NEC aims to utilize the deployment of this thin client system to accelerate its provision of future systems, which will contribute to the streamlining of customer business with strengthened corporate security, business continuity plans, work-style reforms, reduced system TCO and more.
Posted by Staff at 06:23 PM | Comments (0)
September 29, 2009
Converting PCs into Thin Clients
Nice article on Brian Madden site by Gabe Knuth on options to convert PCs into thin clients. Ends up with 8 different solutions.
Converting PC's into thin clients - a rundown of a suddenly crowded niche
Written on Sep 29 2009
Filed under: Client Software, thin client, Open Source 655 views, 3 comments
by Gabe Knuth
On Brian Madden TV last week, we talked about a number of the PC-to-Thin Client conversion products on the market, and it became pretty clear that there are quite a few products out there. Each of these products fits into one of two categories, so it seems fitting to give a rundown of each category and the products that fit into them.
The Categories
There are two main categories, each with a few different products.
Type 1 - Windows-based Conversion Products
These products live in Windows, locking down the interface so that users can only do certain, pre-configured things. The software can be installed or deployed in whatever manner a company is used to deploying applications.
Since these solutions ride on top of Windows, management issues like OS patching still exist, however if your organization is already set up to manage all the Windows OS's out there (as most are), that's not necessarily a bad thing because you won't have to invest in any other management infrastructure.
Since this runs on Windows, there are no driver, USB device, or printer issues (at least none that weren't there before you installed the conversion product).
Products in the category are:
ThinLaunch Thin Desktop
ThinLaunch hangs its hat on the outright simplicity of ThinDesktop, which I must admit caught our eye at BriForum. Upon installation, you tell it what app (presumably a connectivity app like Citrix App Receiver or VMware View client), and it replaces the shell with that executable. If the user logs out or closes the app, they're automatically logged back in and the app is launched again. Changes to the application configuration are made via the registry, so you can use whatever tool you're used to using for registry changes (packages, group policies, etc...) to make configuration changes.
ThinDesktop (which is also being sold under the same name by 10Zig, formerly BOSaNOVA) runs on any version of Windows at or above Windows 2000, including Windows XPe and netbooks. The product is available today, and pricing is as low as $26/device, with volume discounts after 10 devices.
You can see the video of ThinLaunch ThinDesktop from the BriForum 2009 Demo Lab floor here.
Autometrixs KioskMaker
Autometrixs KioskMaker is currently in beta, but was shown to us at VMworld 2009 by it's creator, veteran BriForum speaker Michael Thomason. KioskMaker is similar to ThinDesktop in that it rides on top of Windows and has a focus on simplicity, although it does have more configurable options. One of the main differentiators is that KioskMaker includes a locked down Internet Explorer web browser that can be used to deliver web apps or various web interfaces without giving access to the full on Internet Explorer (of course this is possible with ThinDesktop, too, but it's something you'd have to set up on your own, not part of the product). Configuration is done via an XML file that can be updated any number of ways after it has been deployed.
The product is available today with editions starting at $25/device. Volume discounts are available.
Type 2 - Thin Client OS or Slimmed Down OS-based Conversion Products
The products, while running on PC hardware, are running some version of a thin client or slimmed down operating system. Some products use similar OS's to what their company uses on its thin clients, while others are Linux-based.
These solutions aren't as vulnerable to security problems, and can even be provisioned on boot so that the client is refreshed each time it's started. That way, if something should happen, the machine can just be powered off and restarted without any repercussions.
Management typically involves some sort of additional management infrastructure beyond that of simply managing Windows environments, but in the case of using thin client OS-based solutions, that infrastructure might already exist.
Products in this category are best broken into sub-categories because two of them are made by terminal manufacturers, while the others are made by organizations that are strictly software thin client oriented. All of these solutions run some flavor of Linux.
Posted by Staff at 03:17 PM | Comments (0)
VMware and RDP 6 client. Wyse PocketCloud
Here is the future of Cloud Computing – Run Windows 7 on iPhone, run as a thin client.
Wyse released PocketCloud iPhone application that features a RDP 6 client (Windows 7 compatible) for iPhone/iPod Touch with one very unique Feature- VMware View 3.1 support, making it a perfect Thin-OS.
Till this app was released, I used iRdesktop for RDP, which is a capable and free RDP client that has done everything one needs. The problem with most RDP clients is that the mouse is very hard and cumbersome to use. Common iPhone gestures (pinch to zoom, for instance) make it a bit easier to navigate, but that alone makes it only barely useable.
Thanks toWyse, this problem is solved. They have developed a new interface for the mouse pointer that allows users to make it finally do-able from iPhone/iPod Touch.
My first reaction was “Wow… why such a great idea was left un-discovered till now”.
To pretend mouse moves, you have to simple move the large circular cursor around until you get to the area you want, then select the object of interest from the floating icons around the large cursor. And the good part, gestures still work, as does the “exact tapping” method, should you choose to keep it.
The RDP client portion is simple and clean, and let’s come to the interesting part. VMware client
Posted by Staff at 03:14 PM | Comments (0)
September 24, 2009
Twitter feed available now
We've got a Twitter account now and post to it. Thinclientorg is the Twitter account.
Posted by Staff at 08:27 PM | Comments (0)
Using that iPhone as a Thin Client
Wyse releases new iPhone app for users and IT Admins to access their units remotely over iPhone.
Wyse Technology Releases Enterprise Class iPhone App for
Desktop Virtualization and Enhanced Mobile Web Browsing
Wyse PocketCloud Redefines Delivery of Virtualized Desktop and
Mobile Web Browsing from Private and Public Clouds to iPhone Users
Wyse PocketCloud ImageWyse PocketCloud is a brand-new application that allows IT administrators and end users to access their PC and virtual desktops remotely through the convenience of their iPhone or iPod Touch. PocketCloud is immediately available in the business category at Apple's App Store for $29.99.
For individuals who are caught away from their computer, but need access to information on their mobile device, PocketCloud is a simple and effective way of taking your computer with you.
For IT administrators that are tasked with managing large numbers of computers, they can now get quick and easy access to an end-user machine through the convenience of their iPhone or iPod touch device.
To learn more about Wyse PocketCloud, please visit www.wyse.com/iphone
Posted by Staff at 05:49 PM | Comments (0)
September 23, 2009
How To Series - Setting up a server for PXE
In our continuing series of How To series we'll post writeup on how to set up PXE network booting.
Setting up a server for PXE network booting
Posted by Steve on Fri 22 Dec 2006 at 09:18 at www.debian-administration.org. I am sorry for copying, but i can not open this site, that’s why i copied this article. If author will write that he does not want his article be here i will delete it
If you’re looking to perform a lot of system recovery, or system installation, then network booting with PXE is ideal. PXE allows you to boot up a system and have it automatically get an IP address via DHCP and start booting a kernel over the network.
PXE itself stands for “Pre-boot eXecution Environment”, which describes how it works in the sense that the clients using it haven’t booted in a traditional manner.
In order to use PXE you need to setup a boot-server which will allow client systems to:
Request an IP address (via DHCP)
Download a kernel (via TFTP)
With both of these services in place any system which supports PXE/network-booting (you might need to enable it in the BIOS) should be able to gain an IP address, fetch a kernel, and boot without an installed operating system.
(This is ideal for systems which can’t be booted by a traditional approach; for example your new AMD-64 system which doesn’t have a CD/DVD drive!)
Our Setup
For the purposes of this article we’ll assume:
We’re working with a small network 192.168.1.0/24
We’ll allow all local machines to boot and get an IP address via DHCP from the range 196.168.1.70-192.168.1.100
Our “boot-server” is the host “itchy” with IP address 192.168.1.50
We will serve the same kernel to each host.
In our example we’ll configure a PXE-server which will allow remote systems to run the Debian Etch installer, but nothing here is specific to that. PXE allows you to configure a system to boot from an arbitrary kernel (and matching ramdisk if you wish to use one). With the correct configuration you can even cause the clients to mount a remote file-system via NFS and have a diskless thin-client system.
TFTP Setup
TFTP is a very simple file-transfer protocol, which is very similar to FTP but which doesn’t use any kind of authentication. If you’re not already running a TFTP server you can install one by running:
root@itchy:~# apt-get install tftpd-hpa
Once installed you’ll need to enable it by editing the file /etc/default/tftpd-hpa. You should change RUN_DAEMON to yes, leaving you with contents like these:
#Defaults for tftpd-hpa
RUN_DAEMON="yes"
OPTIONS="-l -s /var/lib/tftpboot"
Now create the root directory, if it is missing, and start the server:
root@itchy:~# mkdir -p /var/lib/tftpboot
root@itchy:~# /etc/init.d/tftpd-hpa start
Starting HPA's tftpd: in.tftpd.
Once our systems have retrieved an IP address via DHCP they will request files from beneath the /var/lib/tftpboot root directory. We’ll come back to the contents of this directory shortly.
DHCP Setup
If you don’t already have a DHCP server configured upon your LAN you’ll need to install one. If you’re using a small home router, or similar, to provide local DHCP services you must disable this first. (Since we require the DHCP server to pass back some extra options to clients which the majority of routers won’t allow).
Discussing a full DHCP installation is mostly beyond the scope of this introduction but the thing we’re trying to do is fairly simple. The goal of the DHCP server in this setup is twofold:
We obviously want to use it to allow clients to request and receive an IP address.
We want to cause the DHCP “answer” to give some extra details to the clients which are requesting an address:
The address of the TFTP server.
The initial filename to request from the TFTP server.
The most common DHCP server is the dhcp-server package, and you can install this by running:
root@itchy:~# apt-get install dhcp3-server
Once installed the server is configured in the file /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf, and there are a lot of available options described there. For our example we’ll use the following configuration:
option domain-name-servers 62.31.64.39, 62.31.112.39;
default-lease-time 86400;
max-lease-time 604800;
authoritative;
subnet 192.168.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
range 192.168.1.70 192.168.1.100;
filename "pxelinux.0";
next-server 192.168.1.50;
option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0;
option broadcast-address 192.168.1.255;
option routers 192.168.1.1;
}
Here we’ve configured the server to give out IP addresses from the range 192.168.1.70-100, set the default gateway to be 192.168.1.1 and use our ISP’s nameservers.
We’ve also used next-server to point to the TFTP server we’re using (which is the same host as our DHCP server, but doesn’t need to be). We’ve chosen the default name of pxelinux.0 as the name of the file for booting clients to request.
Using dnsmasq instead
Personally I use the dnsmasq package to provide DHCP services upon my LAN, since this is small and simple and provides other useful abilities, setting up PXE booting with dnsmasq just requires the addition of the following line to /etc/dnsmasq.conf:
dhcp-boot=pxelinux.0,itchy,192.168.1.50
(Again we’ve setup the filename along with the name and IP address of the TFTP server which is “itchy” / 192.168.1.50 in this example)
Restarting the service after this change is as simple as:
root@itchy:~# /etc/init.d/dnsmasq restart
Restarting DNS forwarder and DHCP server: dnsmasq.
PXE Configuration
Now that we’ve configured the TFTP and DHCP servers we need to go back and complete the configuration. By default when a client boots up it will use its own MAC address to specify which configuration file to read – however after trying several options it will fall back to requesting a default file.
We need to create that that file, which will contain the list of kernels which are available to boot, we’ll firstly need to create a directory to hold it:
root@itchy:~# mkdir /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg
Now save the following as /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/default:
DISPLAY boot.txt
DEFAULT etch_i386_install
LABEL etch_i386_install
kernel debian/etch/i386/linux
append vga=normal initrd=debian/etch/i386/initrd.gz --
LABEL etch_i386_linux
kernel debian/etch/i386/linux
append vga=normal initrd=debian/etch/i386/initrd.gz --
LABEL etch_i386_expert
kernel debian/etch/i386/linux
append priority=low vga=normal initrd=debian/etch/i386/initrd.gz --
LABEL etch_i386_rescue
kernel debian/etch/i386/linux
append vga=normal initrd=debian/etch/i386/initrd.gz rescue/enable=true --
PROMPT 1
TIMEOUT 0
This file instructs the client to display the contents of the file boot.txt so create that too:
- Boot Menu -
=============
etch_i386_install
etch_i386_linux
etch_i386_expert
etch_i386_rescue
The only remaining job is to download the official Etch installer kernel and associated files and save them in the directories specified in the default file we created:
root@itchy:~# cd /var/lib/tftpboot/
root@itchy:~# wget http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/dists/etch/main/installer-i386/current/images/netboot/debian-installer/i386/pxelinux.0
root@itchy:~# mkdir -p /var/lib/tftpboot/debian/etch/i386
root@itchy:~# cd /var/lib/tftpboot/debian/etch/i386
root@itchy:~# wget http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/dists/etch/main/installer-i386/current/images/netboot/debian-installer/i386/linux
root@itchy:~# wget http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/dists/etch/main/installer-i386/current/images/netboot/debian-installer/i386/initrd.gz
When these commands have been completed we’ll have the following structure:
root@itchy:~# tree /var/lib/tftpboot/
/var/lib/tftpboot/
|-- boot.txt
|-- debian
| `-- etch
| `-- i386
| |-- initrd.gz
| `-- linux
|-- pxelinux.0
`-- pxelinux.cfg
`-- default
4 directories, 5 files
(We only used debian/etch here in case we want to offer other installers in the future. You can put everything in one directory if you wish, just update pxelinux.cfg/default to match.)
We should now be ready to test the setup.
We’ve installed a pxelinux.0 file which will instruct booting clients to request pxelinux.cfg/default. This will then make a list of boot options available, which are displayed by the simple boot menu file we created.
The files which are used for booting are stored beneath the TFTP root directory and thus accessible to booting clients.
Sample Run
A sample remote boot looks like this:
PXE entry point found (we hope) at 9AE5:00D6
My IP address seems to be C0A80146 192.168.1.70
FTFTP prefix:
Trying to load: pxelinux.cfg/01-00-14-22-a1-53-85
Trying to load: pxelinux.cfg/C0A80146
Trying to load: pxelinux.cfg/C0A8014
Trying to load: pxelinux.cfg/C0A801
Trying to load: pxelinux.cfg/C0A80
Trying to load: pxelinux.cfg/C0A8
Trying to load: pxelinux.cfg/C0A
Trying to load: pxelinux.cfg/C0
Trying to load: pxelinux.cfg/C
Trying to load: pxelinux.cfg/default
- Boot Menu -
=============
etch_i386_install
etch_i386_linux
etch_i386_expert
etch_i386_rescue
As you can see the system here attempted to load several configuration files, based upon its MAC address (01-00-14-22-a1-53-85) initially then falling back to the octets in the IP address it was given by DHCP (192.167.1.70).
Finally it managed to load a working configuration using the last-chance default file we created. This in turn instructed it to show the boot menu we created.
From here on the system will boot into whichever kernel you specify. (We could configure the system to timeout here and just boot into a default option, but we didn’t.)
From here on you should understand how PXE can be used to boot an arbitrary kernel and initial ramdisk. Later we’ll look at mounting a remote file-system over NFS to provide a diskless thin-client.
Posted by Staff at 04:45 PM | Comments (0)
TabletKiosk® Expands its Tablet PC Product Line
IDF: San Francisco, CA, September 22, 2009 — TabletKiosk® , a leading provider of mobile business computing solutions, today introduced three new systems powered by Intel® Atom™ Processors: the 7-inch eo™ a7330D
Ultra-Mobile PC, the 7-inch eo TufTab® a7230XD Rugged Ultra-Mobile PC and the 12.1-inch Sahara NetSlate™ a230T touch screen Tablet PC.
This new generation of slate-style tablets is built for the Enterprise marketplace, and includes a number of new and innovative features designed specifically to deliver improved productivity and value to professionals working in the office or out in the field.
eo™ a7330D Ultra-Mobile PC
This newest member of TabletKiosk's family of eo Ultra-Mobile PCs is the first 7-inch tablet to feature an auto-switching dual mode active digitizer / resistive touch screen panel developed by Wacom® , the pioneering leader in pen technology. Business professionals in hospitality, home automation and industrial control systems are also
excited about other features of the eo a7330D including its dual, hot swappable battery packs; integrated wireless connectivity; a "fit-in-your-hand" design; and a revolutionary new modular expansion system. By attaching one of the interchangeable expansion modules, the functionality of the device can be customized for specific business
applications including scanning bar codes, swiping credit cards and even connecting to enhanced 3G/3.5G wireless wide area networks. Based on high-speed USB Bus technology, the modules are hot swappable and can be removed or switched out without powering down the system.
“We designed the new eo a7330D in response to the industry-specific challenges which we felt were not being met by the current crop of 7-inch devices,” said Martin Smekal, president of TabletKiosk. “Instead of pushing a 'one-size-fits-all' device that must be paired with external attachments, cords and dongles, the new eo a7330D with its
modular expansion system can be easily and cleanly customized to perform specific business functions, thus providing seamless integration with industry standard applications.”
eo a7330D is powered by the Intel® Atom™ Z530P processor and comes standard with 1.0 GB RAM, 1.8" 80 GB HDD (SSD drives optional), sunlight viewable screen, dual hot swappable batteries, built-in wireless capabilities including GPS, 802.11a/b/g/n Dual Channel WiFi and Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR, and the auto-switching dual mode
digitizer/touch screen for highly accurate handwriting recognition and finger touch control.
eo TufTab® a7230XD Rugged Ultra-Mobile PC
The new eo TufTab a7230XD is a rugged Ultra-Mobile PC that surpasses MIL-SPEC-810F specifications and is rated IP54 to provide a lightweight and durable solution for on-the-go professionals working in harsher than normal environments. Featuring the same auto-switching active digitizer / passive touch screen as the eo a7330D, this
revolutionary device is ably suited for outdoor fieldwork, data collection, warehousing, mobile point of sale and other work functions which endure extreme handling.
Also powered by the Intel® Atom™ Z530P processor, the eo TufTab a7230XD comes standard with 1.0GB RAM, 80GB HDD (SSD optional), 802.11a/b/g/n Dual Channel WiFi, 2.0 Mpixel Still/Video camera with auto focus, dual hot swappable batteries, integrated RFID reader, built-in 1D/2D barcode scanner, 1Gb Ethernet, RS-232 Serial port, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and TPM v1.2. Built-in 3G/3.5G WWAN module is optional.
Sahara NetSlate™ a230T
The latest addition to the Sahara Slate PC® line of 12.1-inch slate-style Tablet PCs is the Sahara NetSlate a230T. This new, entry-level touch screen tablet is more affordable option for on-the-go professionals and companies looking for a true slate-style tablet solution, but not necessarily with the enhanced feature-set or processing power of the existing Sahara Slate PC® i400 series of Tablet PCs.
The Sahara NetSlate a230T shares the same body design and form factor of its i400 series siblings, but is powered by the Intel® Atom™ N270 processor and comes standard with 1.0GB RAM (upgradeable to 2.0GB) a
120GB HDD (SSD optional), 802.11a/b/g/n Dual Channel WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and an optional built-in 3G/3.5G WWAN module. Because continuity is an important value when integrating a new client solution into an existing business installation, the Sahara NetSlate is fully compatible with all accessories created for the Sahara Slate PC® i400 series, including the docking cradle, VESA mounting plates, batteries and carrying cases.
“The Intel Atom processor is a great low power design perfectly suited for bringing the Internet to small devices, from MIDs and netbooks to Tablets and smartphones,” said Pankaj Kedia, director of global ecosystem programs in Intel’s Ultra Mobility group. “The Atom processor is helping to accelerate hundreds of innovative designs, like the new eo Ultra-Mobile PCs and Sahara NetSlate products that TabletKiosk is announcing today.”
Because today’s business applications vary greatly in their requirements, all three devices come preinstalled with a choice of Microsoft® Windows Vista® Business, Windows® XP Embedded or openSUSE™ Linux 11. All three systems qualify for a FREE downgrade to Windows XP Professional (or Tablet PC Edition for the two eo UMPCs). In addition, all three also qualify for a FREE upgrade to Windows 7 Professional if purchased with Windows Vista on or before January 31, 2010.
Pricing and Availability
eo™ a7330D can be pre-ordered now and will start shipping the beginning of October. eo TufTab® a7230XD can be pre-ordered now and will begin shipping the third week of October. Sahara NetSlate™ a230T is available now.
For pricing and additional details, please visit www.tabletkiosk.com or contact your Authorized TabletKiosk Dealer.
About TabletKiosk®
TabletKiosk is a registered trademark and wholly owned subsidiary of Sand Dune Ventures, Inc. a privately held technology incubator. The company produces slate-style Tablet PCs, Ultra-Mobile PCs and a mobile clinical assistant (MCA) marketed through an authorized reseller channel and directly through the company website. For more information, visit www.tabletkiosk.com.
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Posted by Staff at 04:36 PM | Comments (0)
September 18, 2009
ACP ThinManager Road Show Announcement
ACP is on the road demonstrating best in class technology.
ACP Roadshow - Implementing a ThinClient Architecture in a Plant Environment - Lower Cost, Higher Reliability, Increased Security, More Functionality, Environmentally Beneficial
The ACP Roadshow is coming to a city near you
Philadelphia, PA - September 21st
Whippany, NJ - September 22nd
Boston, MA - September 23rd
Rochester, NY - September 28th
Youngstown, OH - September 29th
Indianapolis, IN - September 30th
Madison, WI - October 1st
Minneapolis, MN - October 2nd
An in depth product demonstration will be presented during a half day seminar explaining how you can implement a terminal server/thin client architecture for your SCADA, HMI, MES and other plant floor computer applications.
ACP's ThinManager, which has been implemented with software solutions from Wonderware, Rockwell, Emerson, GE and other companies, provides a solution that includes redundant Ethernet, sophisticated load balancing schemes, improved security models, multi monitor clients, and remote access and management of your network.
Over the past 10 years this solution has been implemented in such industrial facilities as chemical, food, pharmaceutical, power, transportation, water and waste water as well as commercial applications including hospitals. You can see a complete schedule and agenda at the following website where you can also register.
Posted by Staff at 11:02 PM | Comments (0)
News: e-Newsflash from VXL - Faster Video
Notice and YouTube video on faster video processing on VXL units. It's a pretty good video comparison making their point that smooth playback is much better than choppy
VXL Models to be Ericom Blaze Enabled
Boost thin client performance with Breakthrough RDP acceleration software
Blaze is the exciting new product from Ericom which delivers graphics-rich content 10-25 times faster than Standard Microsoft RDP across WANs and congested LANs. It also reduces RDP bandwidth consumption by up to 25 times and optimises RDP network traffic.
VXL is delighted to announce that as of October 1st 2009, all VXL's Linux and XPe thin client models will be Ericom Blaze enabled. VXL has worked closely with Ericom to ensure.that VXL's Itona thin clients are optimised to run Blaze at peak efficiency. The client software will be embedded in the Itona models to simplify the deployment process after purchase of the Ericom Blaze licenses.
Side by performance comparison between Microsoft RDP and Ericom Blaze over a WAN connection. Click here to access a video showing the superior performance of Ericom Blaze.
Ericom Blaze Highlights:
· Accelerates the delivery of graphics-rich content, e.g., browsers, Flash. PowerPoint etc. over WAN/LAN
· Fully compatible with all applications accessed using RDP, including graphic-intensive applications with rich user interfaces
· Accelerates and optimizes connections to all RDP hosts, including Terminal Services, virtual desktops and remote workstations
· Reduces RDP bandwidth consumption by up to 25 times, mitigating the negative effects of high network latency
VXL thin clients and Ericom Blaze will offer users an enhanced desktop experience and will reduce the barriers to the adoption of desktop virtualization. To arrange a free 30 day trial of Ericom Blaze please email [email protected] or contact us toll-free on 877 242 7801 or on 713 589 3273.
For more information about VXL thin clients then please visit our website
Posted by Staff at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)
Will Cloud And 4G Rewrite The Franchisee IT Rules?
From the POS world opinion on how cloud computing and 4G are going to impact retail technology. How long before NCR, Fujitsu, Wincor Nixdorf and others begin offering the option?
Written by Todd L. Michaud
September 15th, 2009
Source StorefrontBacktalk
Franchisee Columnist Todd Michaud has spent the last 16 years trying to fight IT issues, with the last six years focused on franchisee IT issues. He is currently responsible for IT at Focus Brands (Cinnabon, Carvel, Schlotzsky’s and Moe’s Southwestern Grill).
The convergence of cloud computing and 4G cellular networks will revolutionize the retail technology industry the same way the PC did when it changed a cash register into a POS. It will finally allow retail CIOs to take retail technology out of the stores and put it in the data center and have it managed by IT people.
Today, my average restaurant has eight to 10 pieces of technology that are complex enough to house their own operating systems. These same restaurants now have five or more vendors providing technical support. With the high level of integration, when a problem occurs the store manager is often hit with the “It’s not us, it’s them” excuse.
The store manager, who is typically not an IT administrator, is left trying to decipher cryptic error messages, leaning on a peer group and spending hours if not days on the phone with various support organizations trying to get to the root cause of the issue. Symptoms of this situation usually manifest themselves in screams from the back office: “I have already rebooted it 14 times. I am not doing it again!”
In a cloud 4G world, things would be quite different. The POS server isn’t responding? No problem. We’ll instantly provision you a new one and tie it to the data that is accurate to your last transaction. Worried about your PCI audit? Don’t be. Ninety-eight percent of the technology is in the data center, which uses certified technology, secure communications and has implemented all the appropriate processes and procedures for you to be compliant. Upset about the rising costs of retail technology? Don’t be. By virtualizing applications and sharing infrastructure, we have been able to reduce the costs to a store by 30 percent or more.
Sure, there are some Web-based POS systems on the market today, but most have been designed around single-terminal, small company systems. Running an entire retail operating system in the cloud (at least the technical components) requires changing the way we think about these systems.
Some of you may be thinking: “Most of that technology you are describing exists today from companies like VMWare and Microsoft. Why don’t we do all this great stuff right now?” With cloud computing, the network becomes mission critical. If all the technology is off-site and you lose the capability to communicate, then you are dead. Today, DSL and cable connections are unreliable and frame-relay is expensive.
It is difficult to run reliable VPN service over 3G cellular networks. You can’t risk being down during the busiest hour, so the technology is not viable today. That is where 4G networks come in.
For those of you not familiar with 4G networks, this will be the next generation of cellular data technology. Operating with traditional IP technology, these networks are expected to have between 100 Mb and 1,000 Mb of bandwidth, similar to speeds found in most office environments today. Today’s typical DSL circuits operate at less than 5 percent of that speed. If combined with a DSL or cable line, 4G networks will provide extremely reliable high-bandwidth to locations for around $100 a month. Are you really worried about network availability? Just add a secondary cellular provider to the network and, voila!, N+1 network redundancy.
The biggest hurdle to achieving the benefits of this brave new world will be getting the POS vendors on board. Traditional POS thinking involves hardened (expensive) hardware on site with complex (difficult to manage) software hosted off-site. Often these POS environments are a mixture of thick-client, thin-client and Web-based technologies all rolled into one. To be successful in this evolution of store-systems, POS companies will need to start thinking more like a Software as a Service (SaaS) provider company and less like a hardware manufacturer.
Although this transition will be tough for the major POS players, the benefits will be significant. In the end, it could mean both reduced costs for retailers and greater profitability for POS companies. By trading low-margin, one-time hardware sales for higher margin, recurring software maintenance, POS companies can establish a more predictable revenue stream and develop longer, deeper relationships with their customers.
And that’s not all. The benefits for retailers are significant. Cloud-based POS systems will offer:
Easier software upgrades. Simply install a new software version, test and then move sites one by one or all at once by just changing a pointer. Run multiple software versions in parallel by maintaining configuration files.
Faster implementation. Implement new sites by provisioning a new software instance, preconfigured with the appropriate metadata from previous sites (if applicable).
Enterprise hardware with data center administration. Use enterprise-class hardware with trained IT staff 24×7.
No more polling. Write data from each transaction directly into the central database, with easy access to aggregate into back-office applications and decision-support systems.
New cost models. A SaaS POS would allow POS companies to consider business models such as pay-per-transaction or percent-of-sales pricing.
At the end of the day, the most important part of this evolution will be taking the burden of IT support out of the hands of the general manager and placing it in IT where it belongs. This change is something that can’t happen soon enough for many franchisees.
What do you think? Will cloud computing and next-generation wireless networks really bring the next phase of retail technology? Or is it simply a bunch of buzzwords that mean “the latest version of nothing new”? Leave a comment or E-mail me: [email protected].
Posted by Staff at 03:01 PM | Comments (0)
ChipPC Super Lite Linux based OS
ThinX Linux O/S available for evaluation now. From ChipPC. We've got one of the Extreme PCs from ChipPC and have it outfitted with touchscreen and rugged keyboard. Specs have it as low as 3W (competitor like Fit-PC2 is around 6W).
Now that it's finally out, I'm proud to say that I had the pleasure to work with Alex Fradkin, Mark Lifshitz,Andrey Baranovsky , Nicolai and Andrey "The Big" our highly esteemed R&D manager.
The fruit of our labor is ThinX , a very low resource consuming Linux based OS that allows for the production of super lite computing units. The units are tightly secured and are excellent for usage as a thin client. Python was instrumental in its creation.
It was a pleasure working with you guys, I hope to be working with you sometime soon again on either projects that we may encounter.
I urge anybody who have needs for such hardware to contact sales and place your order. There's even an evaluation plan. Just don't forget to mention Sivan Greenberg recommended it to you through his blog! :-)
To see the line of products go to ChipPC's website and whet your appetite.
Now that ChipPC has atom based units, I wonder how fun it would be to have Ubuntu installed as the OS :-) Food for thought!
Posted by Sivan Greenberg at 5:44 PM
Posted by Staff at 02:54 PM | Comments (0)
WES News: IGEL and Leostream Partner to Provide a Comprehensive Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Solution for Windows Users
IGEL Technology, the world's largest Linux thin client vendor and the third largest thin client vendor (2008 by revenue, IDC), today announced the inclusion of the Leostream Connection Broker in its Windows Embedded Standard (WES) firmware.
Leostream™ Corporation is a leading developer of virtual hosted desktop software. The Leostream Connection Broker, the industry’s most widely-deployed vendor-independent product of its kind, is delivered as a virtual appliance and provides the software management layer necessary to tie desktop images in the data center to a user’s thin client, laptop, workstation or Web interface.
The combined solution gives IGEL customers the ability to deploy and manage Windows virtual desktops within their IT environments. It also provides users with a virtual desktop experience that is equal to or better than that of a traditional desktop. Furthermore, customers can access their virtual desktop from any location, due to the technology’s ability to direct users to their own virtual desktop image.
“We’re excited to extend our partnership with Leostream to include the latest version of its Connection Broker into our WES firmware,” said Simon Richards, UK general manager at IGEL Technology. “With this addition, our customers can deploy virtual desktops and have real-time access to Windows resources from anywhere in their organization. No matter which applications, operating systems, protocols or peripherals our customers have, our thin clients will work seamlessly in their environment.”
“IGEL and Leostream share a commitment to providing organizations with top-quality technology solutions, and through this partnership, we’re able to help them achieve robust, enterprise-scale, production-proven VDI deployments,” said Michael Palin, CEO of Leostream. “The combination of our Connection Broker with IGEL’s broad hardware range creates a particularly effective solution for users working in Windows and Linux environments.”
The benefits of Leostream Connection Broker, which must be purchased separately from the IGEL thin clients, include:
· Desktops can be remotely managed and assigned to users from, and then returned to, a pool for the most efficient use of computing power.
· Single sign-on lets users avoid re-entering usernames and passwords.
· Support for a wide-range of remote desktop protocols enables the complexity of the backend system to be hidden from the user - they just login and are automatically connected to the appropriate resource using the necessary connectivity.
· Minimal user training is required since the hosted desktops look and behave exactly like physical desktops.
The new IGEL WES firmware became available in Entry, Standard and Advanced firmware feature packs as of September 1st. The Leostream Client is included in the Standard and Advanced firmware packages. Existing IGEL customers will also be able to download the latest version of the firmware from www.igel.com free of charge. The integration of the Leostream client in IGEL’s Linux firmware is planned for November 2009.
Posted by Staff at 02:51 PM | Comments (0)
Cool vendor demos and conversations from the VMworld 2009 exhibit hall
Brian Madden, he's a very vocal observer, analyst, critic and commentator on virtualization - and he's had a fair amount to say about thin clients in the past. Please see his September 16, 2009 blog below regarding the Wyse announcements and demos at VMWorld recently.
Cool vendor demos and conversations from the VMworld 2009 exhibit hall:
Wyse
I have a new mini crush on this company. I mean Wyse just had so much cool stuff at VMworld. They were showing the C-class terminals that are tiny and cheap with the dedicated streaming media processors. They had the new P-class devices which include the hardware PC-over-IP chips. They had their PocketCloud RDP / VMware View iPhone client. They introduced us to a new thing called Project Borg which has something to do with them taking over the world, one legacy PC at a time. (Seriously, Borg turns a PC into a Wyse managed thin client.) Oh, and they also had VDA, that software for extending RDP and ICA over long-haul WAN links.
So yeah, really cool stuff. (I think there’s a joke in here somewhere. Like “How do you make a thin client company sexy?” “Get them to stop focusing on thin clients!” :)
But damn they’re hot.
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Brian Madden
September 16, 2009
Posted by Staff at 02:25 PM | Comments (0)
Symbio Technologies Introduces Two New Stateless Thin Clients
NEW ROCHELLE, NY?Symbio Technologies (http://www.symbio-technologies.com), an award-winning innovator in secure stateless computing for government, business and healthcare, has added two new stateless thin clients--the SYM5100E and the SYM5120--to its product line.
Affordable yet powerful, the SYM5100E has state-of-the-art VIA Chrome9 graphics, gigabit networking, an on-board serial port and an optional smart card reader. The SYM5120 is the smallest of the company's thin clients. It consumes only 8 watts of electricity but contains the latest in Intel embedded technology and DVI-I video.
The new stateless and diskless thin clients continue Symbio's product line of desktop devices that are highly secure, energy efficient workstations with no embedded software, no internal moving parts, and no internal storage.
"Those who have enjoyed our SYM1112 will find that our new SYM5100E offers enhanced graphic capabilities and more options at the same price point," said Gideon Romm, co-founder and CTO of Symbio. "All Symbiont-certified stateless thin clients are excellent choices for organizations and businesses that are looking to the future, which will be dominated by virtualization and cloud computing."
Symbio's thin clients are in use in highly classified networks developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). They work with the Symbiont Boot Appliance, which boots up to 250 desktop units, directing them to the appropriate application server, or with the Symbiont Boot Stick, a USB pen drive which boots any USB-bootable device, even old PCs and laptops.
Symbio Technologies' products are available from authorized resellers worldwide.
About Symbio Technologies
Symbio Technologies reduces the cloud computing revolution to a plug-and-play, appliance-based solution. Certified and accredited by the US Department of Energy, the security-hardened Symbiont Boot Appliance makes network deployments simple, consistent, reliable, and secure. With this technology, organizations can reuse existing equipment, connect to the cloud through numerous protocols, and meet their security objectives. Symbio's products are available worldwide through a network of distributors, value-added resellers and integrators in Australia, Canada, Chile, Egypt, Mexico, Pakistan, South Africa, and the U.K., as well as throughout the U.S.
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Posted by Staff at 02:22 PM | Comments (0)