Evo Thin Client T20 from Compaq

Thin clients are becoming more popular, despite a slow start when they first arrived on the computing scene. Such devices are essentially a return to the days of host-based computing, though it would be rather unfair to call thin clients "dumb terminals".

What's much smarter is that instead of glowing green text on a monochrome screen, users of thin clients can experience full-colour, multi-tasked Windows computing; so much so that they would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between using a thin client and a PC.

Thin clients appeal to companies running disparate computing environments, such as mainframes, Unix systems, and Windows NT servers, or those with employees doing simple repetitive tasks such as customer data entry.

One reason for their growing popularity of late has been the increasing sophistication of the third-party back-end tools designed to fully realise the promise of thin client computing, when only hype existed before.

Another big boost has been the introduction of terminal services in Windows NT and 2000, which allow for the sharing of server resources by connected clients. The de facto standard among host-based software tools is Metaframe and Winframe from Citrix, which runs on top of the server OS.

Also, in hardware terms, IT departments have more choice. They can choose client terminals with varying features, from manufacturers both big and small.
The Evo Thin Client T20 from Compaq is the latest entrant in the US firm's line of such devices.

One cannot help but be struck by its cutting-edge style, as befits a device aimed at firms willing to undertake a cutting-edge computing paradigm. The size of a cable modem or a paperback book, this is probably the best-looking desktop computing device around.

Like HP, Compaq is using a dual Windows CE and Linux approach. IBM, one of the first manufacturers backing thin clients with products, uses technology licensed from Citrix.

Other post you may be interested in reading: Wyse Terminal

by Sarbini