A recently launched Kickstarter-funded project aims to bring $50thin clients to schools and small businesses, allowing them to turnalmost any computer into a multi-user hub. Thanks to ongoing advances in multi-seat Linux development, manufacturer Plugable was able to base its machineson Fedora, rather than proprietary software, though it also workswith Windows Multipoint Server . By doing away with licensing costs, Plugable founder BernieThompson says the company can ensure an attractive price. The Kickstarter effort is in place to help the company realize "economies ofscale" necessary to drive the cost down. "Every other solution out there has a software license cost perseat. RF Slimming Machine
This doesn't," he asserts. OOPS: Kickstarter lapse leaves 70,000 project ideas exposed VISUAL TOUR: 9 interesting tech projects from Kickstarter The device - which connects a monitor, mouse, keyboard, headphonesand microphone to a parent computer via USB 2.0 - has no memory,hard drive or CPU, according to Thompson. "[The client's] behavioris purely determined by the machine it connects to," he says. While this does mean that each thin client is limited both byavailable system resources - more clients mean more resource drain- and the capabilities of USB graphics connectivity, Thompson saysthat the average information worker should be able to function withlittle trouble. E-light IPL RF
The fact that most PCs don't use the majority of their systemresources all the time, coupled with some optimization technology,helps address those performance concerns - though things likegaming and high-definition video are always going to beproblematic. Thompson is a former employee of DisplayLink, and that company'stechnology is at the heart of Plugable's products. Much of hiscurrent business involves DisplayLink hardware for use inmulti-monitor setups, he says. However, he also credits developers at Red Hat with having done alot of the heavy lifting as far as implementing this easy-to-useclient technology. That said, some of the Kickstarter funding willgo toward ironing out bugs in Fedora that could complicate hisdevice's use. Body Slimming Machine
Schools and non-profits are expected to be among the mostenthusiastic customers for the device, Thompson says, along withanyone else who needs "lots of machines for the minimum possiblecost and the minimum possible maintenance." Simplicity, according to Thompson, is paramount. "If it's not plug-and-play, it's really not reachable by normalusers," he says. Email Jon Gold atand follow him on Twitter at@NWWJonGold. Read more about software in Network World's Software section.
This doesn't," he asserts. OOPS: Kickstarter lapse leaves 70,000 project ideas exposed VISUAL TOUR: 9 interesting tech projects from Kickstarter The device - which connects a monitor, mouse, keyboard, headphonesand microphone to a parent computer via USB 2.0 - has no memory,hard drive or CPU, according to Thompson. "[The client's] behavioris purely determined by the machine it connects to," he says. While this does mean that each thin client is limited both byavailable system resources - more clients mean more resource drain- and the capabilities of USB graphics connectivity, Thompson saysthat the average information worker should be able to function withlittle trouble. E-light IPL RF
The fact that most PCs don't use the majority of their systemresources all the time, coupled with some optimization technology,helps address those performance concerns - though things likegaming and high-definition video are always going to beproblematic. Thompson is a former employee of DisplayLink, and that company'stechnology is at the heart of Plugable's products. Much of hiscurrent business involves DisplayLink hardware for use inmulti-monitor setups, he says. However, he also credits developers at Red Hat with having done alot of the heavy lifting as far as implementing this easy-to-useclient technology. That said, some of the Kickstarter funding willgo toward ironing out bugs in Fedora that could complicate hisdevice's use. Body Slimming Machine
Schools and non-profits are expected to be among the mostenthusiastic customers for the device, Thompson says, along withanyone else who needs "lots of machines for the minimum possiblecost and the minimum possible maintenance." Simplicity, according to Thompson, is paramount. "If it's not plug-and-play, it's really not reachable by normalusers," he says. Email Jon Gold atand follow him on Twitter at@NWWJonGold. Read more about software in Network World's Software section.
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