Sheesh. I should really be working, so this will be my last email on the thread :)
> If you can buy an assembled PC for 10K then have you > ever thought how much a > thin client with not that much of hardware would > cost? Of course I have. Thats why systems like LTSP come in handy too. Not only can you build systems which are centrally controlled, you have the option and power to be able to run software which might not run over a network. Or may be too slow to do so - not everyone designs programs in order to run them off a network. > Also individual PCs > might be more "flexible", but they also need > maintenance and management, > which in turn costs money. So yes expenses is a > problem here no matter how > many "pffft's" you do. BTW if money is not the > problem here and then what is? > Why don't more SOHO's use more PCs. Don't tell me > they don't need them. Ok, you have one person to maintain the server then? Very Well. This sysadmin can very easily do any maintainence task remotely - *if such computing power was really needed*. My argument to the previously stated sentence (in an earlier email) was that thin clients are not the ultimate panacea they are being made out to be. As i mentioned, if all you need is word processing or accounting, by all means go ahead and get these systems. Apart from money, the other attribute which matters is the will to automate your processes, as well as getting your automation RIGHT. Just buying computers or even software won't help. You have to integrate it with your existing customers and work methods. This is always the toughest part of adapting technology. How do you think consultants make their dough? :) And as for SOHOs not using PCs, please - I'm sure all of them do, even if not specifically for their functioning - but accounts and stuff are always done on Tally or similar programs. Pirated copies of Excel at the very least. No one maintains Logbooks for finances and accounts anymore. What do you think they use? > Looks like you have a very selective liking for > advertisements. Never saw > computer related ads eh? :) I was talking about it from the perspective of an ad issued in public interest vs one which has a private concern in it. > Well don't know which school you want to go where > they will allow people to > screw with their systems. No one would allow it. I'm not even talking about these systems *allowing* anything on it. My reference is simply, that when it comes to people who as I said before, would want to be the technological elite at some point, this is a problem. Consider someone who wants to contribute to an open source project and has no net access which is good enough. His college definitely would. But no, they don't have access to the machines after 5pm! Shucks. I'm not asking him to go blow up the registry - maybe that wasn't the best example to take. Its just a matter of access. You are limited further by a thin client in such cases. Thats why it doesnt make sense for colleges/schools to replace their existing desktops with them. (Again, Unless your purpose is Narrow enough to warrant this) > In > school we used PCs for > our project works and then in the med school used > them to find additional > references, on a custom made program that had > important books scanned for us. Right. When we talk about a home, what kind of uses do you forsee for the machines? Catalogue searches? References of journals and publications? I think not. See my first point about it being perfectly acceptable to use thin clients in certain cases, and not in others. > We could find what we were looking for in the > program, read a bit and then > get print outs to read them thoroughly later. The > problem we faced was that > there were only two PCs with this program installed. > If the college could > connect to a central server with thin clients > working, then it would have > HELPED us to get easier to access to that important > database. In this specific case, agreeably, any online system is good enough. It doesn't HAVE to be a thin client, let one endorsed by a brand. As for only 2 PCs having this system installed, why were they not installed on the other machines which (i assume) existed? And in case there WERE only 2 machines at that particular spot, and the program was network enabled as it would need to be if it was used with thin clients, why did they not put it on a network in the first place? > Don't even think about buying more desktops and > installing more than one > copy. Each license of this programs is leased at a > cost of 1.25 lacs per year. Ah. And you think makers of online software which can be used by clients don't take this into account? I assure you, any program worth its salt (and this one looks like an extremely saline one) will charge its users similar licensing costs per user, depending on the number of terminals you have. And the thing is, how are you even sure that the company which makes this program has a client-server system running? Its very well to have spanking new hardware which can do wonders for your cost estimates, but what about stuff to run on it? > year!!! These simple things can be done in easier > ways by using thin clients. > They don't need machines good enough to play "The > Sims" or churn code for > them. They just want to use them for research and > projects :) Well, my example was, again, for home users. How many of them do research? You might refer to an encyclopaedia, for multimedia content. Or educational software. Games and things do form an important area of use. But, why would a household spend money on say, one server and 2 thin clients just because each of them is cheaper? And do most households really need 3 people connected at once? I don't see that happening unless you have a media center PC which can stream content to 6 rooms at once, and you have thin clients to just view the content. > ...and your point being? How will thin clients > worsen this problem? Uggh. Dont even get me started on this! :) > You want schools to > install more desktops and > then tell their students..."Hey, here you go. Go > ahead...screw with > registry?". Ridiculous!!! No, thats not what I mean. And as i said before, the registry wasn't the best example to give here. [This point was taking into account the technical education and computer science schools btw - I'm not saying med students need this] Refer to my open source example above - try using a dumb terminal to access a website, upload some source code to a project server, use a CDROM or DVD, or a USB stick even. Most clients don't come with any input media at all. Considering they're not needed. Hence, limitations. > > > keystrokes. This "more to the world" is where these > clients can help. Just > because this technology will not allow you to break > into someone else's > property for "fun" doesn't mean that it will not > help anyone. Er, you're totally missing the point here. I'm all for the adoption of dumb terminals where they're needed. And I don't encourage people to break into other's computers for fun or for profit. [However, I do disagree with the fact that it doesn't help anyone - it does, and that point could lead a to a huge debate no this mailing list! ;-)]. All I was trying to convey was that a thin client limits your productivity with a computer, at certain places. And as for engineering colleges not installing these - here's a thought - most of them are manned by inexperienced people who have no idea about what they're doing. Ok, so sue me if i'm wrong, but thats the general impression I've gotten from a bunch of people around the country. And they are very likely to be tempted by a)Minimal costs, b)brand value. This might sound outrageous - but its pretty true. But, we diverge. As Niyam (Linux Lingam) said - Google hasn't confirmed any rumors of such a PC coming out anyway. And even if it did, did you know there are already brands like citrix which sell thin clients? If what you say is true, why aren't people embracing thin clients in greater numbers? :) Cheers, Viksit -- Viksit Gaur viksit[dot]gaur[at]yale[dot]edu http://viksit.com Just because you have a mind like a hammer doesn't mean you should treat everyone else like a nail - Terry Pratchett __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ ilugd mailinglist -- [email protected] http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/ilugd Archives at: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.user-groups.linux.delhi http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
