Thin Client - Why Not??

Thin Client Video



When watching this video about the thin client produced by HP, I just thought to myself, over and over, why not? Why not have one room to store the "blades" while the "thin client"portion sits on the desks in my room. Just think of all of the free space that would provide for the students. The thin client portion of the computer could be mounted under the desk so the students would not even touch them! All that would need to be housed, would be the screen and a keyboard.

According to a press release from Wyse Technology, announcing Harvard University has gone to the thin client in their Physics department, here are some of the benefits to doing so:

In addition to streamlining their support efforts, the department has also noted the following benefits of deploying thin computing solutions:

* Security – Unlike PCs, thin-clients have no local storage devices so thin clients are not vulnerable to viruses and other malware as long as the servers are protected. Additionally, the data is always safe on the server and compliant with privacy regulations since there is no way to store and remove proprietary information from thin clients.
* Manageability – Thin clients are much easier to deploy, configure, and back up for the simple reason that the software is delivered from – and resides on – the server. So there is very little hands-on legwork required.
* Total Cost of Ownership – The average annual maintenance costs for a PC are four to seven times the acquisition costs, whereas thin clients can save organizations more than $1,000 per seat per year in maintenance costs. This can be as much as a 40 percent savings for most IT departments, according to the IDC whitepaper, Thin Computing ROI: The Untold Story.

I remember seeing a setup of a technology classroom, where the table top opened up to show the display and keyboard. They would pop up out of the table top for the students. They would then lock down when the teacher did not want the students using the computer. What a wonderful set up. Who wouldn't love to lock the computer down some days? "OK Billy, that is enough, you are shut off!", just by flipping down the table top!

I wonder what would make administrators use 50lb. mac's that take up a ton of desk space when they could be running on a linux system, with minimal virus concerns as well as low technical support costs. This system would be great for schools who already have a lot of older computers as well. They can use those old computers and run the new thin client on them, so they do not need to purchase any more hardware. Things never make sense to me when it comes to the "education" world!