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Lenovo to Sell Blade Desktops

Posted by timothy on from the the-thin-client-is-back-again-and-again dept.

Some guy writes "Having acquired IBM's PC division, Lenovo will become the first major reseller of blade desktops. Blade desktops feature only input devices and a 'networking unit,' connecting to a blade server for computational power. Such thin client designs reduce support needs and cluttered desk space, but require complex deployments to work well."

4 of 160 comments (clear)

  1. 3270 emulation by Aslan72 · · Score: 3, Interesting
    "How much has the corporate desktop PC changed in the last 20 years?"

    A bit. The thing though is that this really isn't a new concept; its name has changed a bit, but it boils down to the 3270 concept that IBM made popular. This time you have a mouse and a color monitor instead of a 3270 keyboard and a green screen.

    I remember hearing back in college that the trend floats from centralized computing to distributed and then back again, but I'd never thought I'd see it.

    --pete

  2. Upside: high buzzword density by lheal · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The PHBs will hear "managed solution", "TCO", and the like, and stumble over themselves writing checks.

    OT: Did you year about the dyslexic agnostic insomniac? He used to lie awake at night wondering if there were really a dog.

    --
    Raise your children as if you were teaching them to raise your grandchildren, because you are.
  3. Re:Thin Client Redux by coflow · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm certainly no expert on what qualifies as a thin client, but here's my input based on a client my company recently did work for. They moved approximately 7000 desktop pc's out of their stores' back offices (low class pc's, purchasable for approximately $500 each) and replaced them with a "thin client" machine running an embedded windows system. As it turns out, these machines cost just slightly more than the older desktops, contain slightly less powerful processors, and have a lower capactiy for RAM, although they were installed with more RAM than what the older PCs had by default. The theory was that since the thin client contained no HDD, the time to failure was cut from an average of 2 years per machine to 32 years per machine. Other than the lack of a hard drive, this was a PC in my mind.

    I guess the only reason I point this out is that based on this definition of a thin client, the Lenovo blade workstation doesn't seem to qualify as one. But I'm sure there are plenty of companies out there that would consider the blade a thin client.

  4. Management License way overpriced. by qualico · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Here is where any benefits are harvested back to ClearCube: $2000 per seat for management license?!
    Don't forget the additional $1200 for hardware per seat?!?

    No thanks.

    I'll spend the $400 per seat on a new computer and send my staff on a vacation with the $3000 per seat savings.