Cloud Computing And Thin Clients

February 7, 2013 Off By David
Object Storage

Grazed from CloudTweaks. Author: Pete Knight.

When I began looking at thin client applications, I was pretty darned sure that the weight loss industry had come up with yet another way to separate overweight people from their money.

Introducing Thin Technology

Thin clients have been around for as long as there have been computers tied together in networks. The concept is pretty simple; individual users do not need full access to a computer to do their work, so rather than placing a fully functional computer on each desk, a thin client machine provides just the functionality needed to accomplish the necessary tasks. Thin client systems are useful in some business and institutional settings. They have the advantage of keeping the major computing functions, processing and storage, in a safe, central location. There is also potential savings in software licensing, the software is licensed to the central computer but can be accessed from any of the thin client remote terminals…

From Thin Machines to Clouds

These benefits sound very similar to the claims made by cloud computing services, especially software as a service type applications. Although they are similar in many respects, there are some very important differences between thin client technology and cloud computing. The most important difference is where the data and programming information are stored. As previously described, the data for the thin client is held on the institution’s central computer. Although it is accessible from any of the remote thin client terminals, it is relatively safe on the central machine where only a few technicians will have physical access…

Read more from the source @ http://www.cloudtweaks.com/2013/02/cloud-computing-and-thin-clients/