Writes News.com about an interesting variation on thin clients:
ClearCube is trying to popularize a new vision for office computing where users would still have monitors, mice and keyboards on their desks, but their superthin computers would be neatly stacked in centralized computer rooms.
The contemporary twist involves “blade”-style design, in which thin devices are stacked vertically in racks like books or record albums. Although the blade concept has taken the server and storage markets by storm, ClearCube’s effort would be the first major attempt to bring the idea to desktop workstations.
On their desks, users get a monitor, keyboard, mouse and a C/Port, a phone-sized input-output unit for connecting the stuff together. A cable, cloaked in security protocols, connects the C/Port to the user’s Pentium 4 computer in the back room. 112 computers can be squeezed onto a six-foot rack.
“It’s sort of like thin clients, but it’s running all the same software as regular desktops,” said Roger Kay, an analyst at market research firm IDC.
blade servers
