Posts Tagged ‘Desktop’

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ViewSonic® and Userful Partner to Bring High Performance Ethernet and USB Connected Linux® Zero Client Solutions to Market

April 13th, 2012
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ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of computing solutions, and Userful, the world leader in cloud managed Linux desktop virtualization, today announced a partnership to deliver a low cost zero client solution that enables schools and businesses to deploy three to four times as many computer users for the same cost. The MultiClient solution turns one Linux computer into 20+ high performance independent computer stations (with monitors, mice and keyboards) using the ViewSonic VMA line of zero clients and Userful’s MultiSeat software. It provides all the benefits of traditional thin client computing, but with higher performance, and lower costs.

The ViewSonic VMA line of zero clients enable customers to connect multiple computer stations to a single host computer either directly over USB (for a close-proximity, “one room” solution) or using ethernet for a LAN based solution that can connect stations throughout a building to a single PC in the server room.

Powered by Userful MultiSeat Linux software, ViewSonic’s MultiClients dramatically reduce the cost of deploying large numbers of computers. Having a classroom of students engaging with technology once required a PC for each individual, but with ViewSonic’s MultiClient solution, a full classroom of learning is powered by only one small server. The result is the compromise-free reduction of hardware and power costs.

“We are committed to providing quality education solutions that deliver cost savings for schools while enhancing cloud based learning,” said Erik Willey, LCD monitor and PC product marketing director for ViewSonic. “With a single server, our MultiClient LAN adapters, and Userful’s MultiSeat Linux platform, classrooms can create a fully-managed low cost network. With our MultiClient solution, budgetary and IT management setbacks are addressed and compatibility issues are eliminated, so no student has to settle for limited learning.”

“We’ve already successfully deployed nearly a million Userful zero client stations around the world,” said Tim Griffin, President of Userful. “This OEM partnership with ViewSonic, a company with 25 years experience delivering fantastic computing and display solutions, creates a complete software, hardware, and support solution, ready to work out of the box. The bundled solution delivers optimized performance for a very low cost, perfect for schools and businesses.”

Ministries of education and businesses are eligible for a free pilot to easily experience first hand the high performance, and ease of use of the solution.

Source:http://www.openpr.com/news/217711/ViewSonic-and-Userful-Partner-to-Bring-High-Performance-Ethernet-and-USB-Connected-Linux-Zero-Client-Solutions-to-Market.html

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Macquarie Uni to expand desktop virtualization program

April 5th, 2012
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Macquarie University has flagged plans to deliver faculty-specific virtual labs by semester two this year following the take-up of its virtualized computer labs.

The ‘iLab’ project, which was in pilot mode from October 2011 until its official launch this semester, enables students to use VMware View client applications on Mac, Windows and Linux PCs to access software that would otherwise be confined to the university’s computer labs. VMware View has also been made available for Android and iOS.

The university’s CIO, Marc Bailey, described the project as a “personal computer laboratory on the internet”, with the labs offered in Mac or Windows only, but there are talks to develop a Linux version in future depending on demand for iLabs.
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In its busiest week, iLabs racked up 1328 users — who made up a total of 2640 page visits — with the figure predicted to increase five-fold.

The iLabs are currently for “general purpose computing”, with students having access to “mainstream software” such as iLife ’11 (excluding iMovie), iWork ’09, and Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium on Mac, while Microsoft Office 2010, SPSS v20 and Endnote 4 are available on Microsoft.

Bailey said the university will extend the project to faculty-specific labs, with the intention for them to be delivered by semester two.

“We already have both Windows and Mac OS X generic iLab computing experiences available,” he said.

“Next, we’re going to offer different flavours of iLab, say if you happen to be a chemist, or another one if you happen to be an economist, or another one if you happen to be a law student.

“The limiting factor there is no longer technical, but just how quickly we can get the back-end resources together to get that packaged out to our students.”

Before the establishment of iLabs, the university had plans to launch a ‘Virtual Lab’, which attempted to make the physical lab more versatile for system administrators.

Bailey would not disclose the name of the provider, but did say the university experienced some technical difficulties with the Virtual Lab. It also failed to address the issue of students coming into the campus just to use the programs on the university’s computers, as well as needing more computers and hardware that would require Bailey to erect buildings to house them.

“We ditched the previous project because our approach was previously not customer-, consumer-centric; it was geek-centric,” Bailey said.

“It was all about how to make life easy for the system administrator as opposed to making life easy for the students.

“We took a hard look at that and found that yes, we had some performance and technical problems, but they would have eventually been soluble with time and money.

“The real issue was that the approach we were taking just wasn’t the right one to deal with consumer computing and that’s what we’re into here.”

Macquarie University has slated a number of projects in 2012, including a shift from bespoke services to scalable products; focussing on mobility and geocoding; improving student-facing systems such as enrolments, class registrations, and exam results releases; and the launch of an emergency broadcast system.

“So my view is that we need to focus on product, not service,” he said. “We need to look at Amazon, eBay, Google and transform internal IT into these kinds of one-click experiences.

“That’s what we’re trying to do at Macquarie and iLab is a really important kind of product to every student because it replaces any idea that we need to reach out and touch their world or force them to come into an arbitrary physical space.”

Source:http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/420670/macquarie_uni_expand_desktop_virtualization_program/

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Need Access To Your Desktop Computer From Anywhere? Connect Through The Cloud With nDesktop from Nivio

March 31st, 2012
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There is nothing more frustrating than sitting down to give a presentation to a perspective client and realizing that you have left your product presentation file on your desktop at the office with no way to access it. Now what do you do?

Fortunately, you can avoid this problem with an on-demand cloud desktop solution- nDesktop developed by Nivio. This solution allows users to access their applications, data and desktop, a familiar Windows environment (in the cloud) ubiquitously from any device including mobile device, Mac or PC, android tablet or iPad, notebook or netbook. With nDesktop, subscribers only need to pay for what they need at that time and they don’t need to buy and install software.

When approached and being asked about the relevance of a Windows desktop when so many pure hosted applications – such as Google apps or Office 365 are available in the market, Sachin Dev Duggal, CEO & Co-Founder of nivio said, “Services like Office365 are great for hosted Exchange and Sharepoint but do not provide the full functionality of the Office suite of products. The other benefit of nivio is the security and management is taken care of for the user whether they be consumer or small business. Firewalling, physical security as well as AV is all taken care off as well as the OS maintenance. Users can even continue using out of date hardware and still access the latest version of Windows with nothing more than a compatible browser.”

“Users still require access to full functioning Windows desktop applications such as Office, Visio, Project, Acrobat etc. Even though there are free services available online, they often fall short in some area or another. Companies like MS and Adobe are not going to go out of business anytime soon because of the free alternatives in the marketplace”, he added.

The primary advantage of nivio is that not only does your data follow you around, but so does your desktop and your apps. Subscribers can access nivio through a range of optimized, downloadable client applications or directly using HTML 5 browsers, including the Google Chromebook. All paid applications are provided with a 30 day free trial and they can be accessed from all your devices including your smartphone. You can access beta version of nDesktop for up to 10 hours at $5 per month with an additionally discounted price for students at $2. Nivio also has a strategic partnership with Rackspace, Wyse, and Quest. With the support of these partners, nivio’s cloud infrastructure is powerful and secure, and ensures each nivio desktop will always be available and efficient when you need it.

The availability of cloud desktop solutions is a remarkable concept and it shows where this technology is going to ultimately be and how fast the pace is. Not everyone needs a way to access their files remotely, but when the occasion comes it is nice to know that it can be done through nivio’s nDesktop solution. In my case, I have used it get my photos I forgot to bring with me when visiting friends. What are you going to do with it?

Source:http://www.businessinsider.com/need-access-to-your-desktop-computer-from-anywhere-connect-through-the-cloud-with-ndesktop-from-nivio-2012-3

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Maingear Arms Titan 17 Desktop Replacement with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M GPU

March 29th, 2012
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Desktop replacement systems aren’t for everyone. They’re typically, big, heavy, and comparatively short on battery life, making them the polar opposites of Ultrabooks and other thin and light systems that last for hours on end. So why would anyone want one? For the sheer power, of course! Desktop replacement systems are big and bulky because they pack so much cutting edge hardware underneath the hood, and if you lug one to a LAN party, you’re almost assured of having one of the fastest — if not the fastest — systems around.

Only a handful of companies dabble in these types of notebooks, and Maingear is one of them. Their take on the desktop replacement category is the Titan 17, a monster laptop that’s just been upgraded with the all new GeForce GTX 675M from NVIDIA and built-in 3D option powered by NVIDIA’s 3D Vision 2 technology.

“The newly updated Maingear Titan 17 is the ultimate desktop replacement for anyone looking to get the most out of their entertainment or heavy graphics design work on the go,” said Wallace Santos CEO and Co-founder of Maingear Computers. “With the update to the graphics and offering a 3D display option, the Titan 17 is destined to be a non-stop entertainment notebook for high performance users on the go.”

Packing desktop class performance into a notebook form factor comes at price, and in this case, the cost of entry is $2,599. That gets you a baseline configuration consisting of a 17.3-inch LED display (3D support is $229 extra), Intel Core i7 3820 processor, a single GTX 675M GPU, 8GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600, 500GB Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid SSD hard drive, memory card reader, 8X DVD writer, GbE LAN, Bigfoot Killer Wireless-N, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

Source:http://hothardware.com/News/Maingear-Feeds-NVIDIAs-GeForce-GTX-675M-to-Titan-17-Desktop-Replacement/

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The pros and cons of using virtual desktop infrastructure

March 26th, 2012
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Many organizations continue to run Windows XP on many or all of their desktop PCs, either because migration typically requires costly hardware upgrades, time-consuming transfers of settings, and user retraining, or because there’s simply no compelling reason to move users to a new OS and the new application software that goes along with it. In some cases, both justifications apply.

But when you consider that Microsoft has already stopped issuing non-security hotfixes for Windows XP and will end all support for the OS in 2014, that strategy won’t be tenable for much longer.

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) utilizes server hardware to run desktop operating systems and application software inside a virtual machine. Users access these virtual desktops using their existing PCs. This not only eliminates the need for workstation hardware upgrades, but also enables the user to switch between operating environments, such as Windows XP and Windows 7.

What’s more, VDI renders administrative and management tasks much easier, because every attached workstation can use the same image. Install OS and application software updates and patches to the one image, and every desktop system using that image is automatically updated and patched.

VDI offers clear benefits, but there are two sides to every coin. Here’s a brief look at the pros and cons of using virtual desktop infrastructure:

1. Every desktop user can utilize the same image.

Pro: Having each user utilize the same image–the operating system as well as the installed applications–reduces administrative and support costs.

Con: You’ll need a unique image for each user who requires a different set of applications, needs to save personal settings, or requires the freedom to install their own applications. This will rapidly multiply storage consumption on the VDI server.

2. Processing moves from individual workstations to a VDI server.

Pro: There’s no need to upgrade numerous PCs to meet the new OS’s minimum hardware requirements.

Con: VDI will require a major investment in server hardware, and possibly in storage and network infrastructure. The total cost of the server hardware, storage, and network equipment might exceed that of procuring a basic PC for each user.

3. Hardware costs can be more easily managed, since almost everything will reside in the data center.

Pro: Instead of buying a raft of PCs that will be scattered around the office–or even outside the office if you’re supporting a mobile workforce or employees who work remotely–you’ll acquire one premium system with redundant power supplies, a UPS, high-performance storage, and high-bandwidth networking that will deliver capable hardware to all users equally.

Con: Procuring one big server means a large initial outlay, versus inexpensive PCs that can be acquired in stages or upgraded a few at a time. If that one server goes down, every user relying on that machine will be unable to work. If a single PC goes down, only one user is impacted.

4. Maintaining a single OS image can reduce management and support costs.

Pro: Install applications, patches, and drivers once, and every user relying on that image benefits from the update.

Con: Administrators will need to learn the VDI software’s capabilities and limitations. Accommodating users who require unique applications or their own personalization settings can result in image proliferation, which can end up being more difficult to manage than operating separate workstations.

5. When you encounter problems, you’ll generally have just one system to troubleshoot.

Pro: Problems can generally be resolved from within the data center; there’s no need to run out to the actual PCs. Since images can usually be accessed from any connected workstation, a user experiencing hardware trouble on their usual PC can simply go to another workstation and access their data and applications.

Con: Server-side problems can affect multiple users–everyone using that server or that image. For that reason, it’s a good idea to set up redundant servers as a failsafe.

Source:http://www.itworld.com/windows/261094/pros-and-cons-using-virtual-desktop-infrastructure

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Virtual Desktop vs. PC OS Standoff Looms

March 22nd, 2012
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“If I had a billion dollars in the bank I’d take them to court tomorrow … I’ll appear in court and shout and scream ‘antitrust, anticompetitive behavior.’”

Have a guess who the “them” in question is.

There are no prizes for getting the right answer — it’s Microsoft, a company that’s no stranger to these type of accusations.

Microsoft has clearly got the goat of the person who uttered those words, and that person is Guise Bule — the CEO of a company called tuCloud, a California-based firm that offers virtual desktops from the public cloud.

Here’s why he’s incandescent with rage: tuCloud, like many other companies, wants to offer virtual desktops running Windows 7. However, based on Microsoft’s licensing terms, Windows 7 desktops can be hosted only in the public cloud if they are run on separate server virtualization hardware for each customer, and if the customer buys Windows 7 licenses for the desktops from Microsoft. That’s the rules — the terms that everyone has to stick to to create a level playing field that fosters competition. Except in Bule’s opinion the playing field is very far from level.

That’s because gaming company OnLive has recently announced a desktop-as-a-service offering for iPads Bule doesn’t believe complies with Microsoft’s rules at all, but which Microsoft seems content to allow. OnLive’s CEO is a former Microsoft executive — draw whatever conclusions you like from that, and indeed Bule does. Even analysts at Gartner agree something appears not quite right in a research note titled “OnLive Links iPad Users to MS Office, but With Potential Licensing Risks.”

“Organizations and end users should note that OnLive Desktop Plus may present Microsoft licensing risks for organizations if consumers install the product on company iPads or use it to edit company documents from personal devices. Neither Microsoft nor OnLive has provided clear guidance on how users of these DaaS products must comply with Microsoft licensing requirements.”

Now maybe OnLive’s offering does comply with Microsoft’s licensing requirements somehow, but as yet neither company is explaining how, which hardly makes for a level playing field, either.

But Bule aims to find out by launching a proxy war, using a new company called DesktopsOnDemand to do battle with Microsoft. Essentially, the plan is for the company to launch a service identical to OnLive’s, based on VMware’s vSphere hypervisor, and then wait and see what happens. “Unless I receive a lawyer’s letter from Microsoft clarifying their position and threatening legal action, I will build a service to match OnLive’s and compete directly with them in the form of DesktopsOnDemand,” Bule told Ars Technica this week. “Any other business that launches that platform will get sued by Microsoft, which is kind of what we’re hoping because we want to have that conversation with them in court. This (i.e., DesktopsOnDemand) is not a serious business by any means.”

But, really, this whole business is a serious matter. Much as how the music industry and the movie industry were slow to realize that you can’t uninvent the Internet, the software industry has been slow to accept that you can’t uninvent virtualization technology and cloud computing. Thus, if customers want desktops provided from the public cloud, then that is what they’ll get, one way or another.

Software companies (or music or movie companies) that desperately cling to their existing licensing models instead of providing what customers want in the light of new technology are bound to fail eventually. If Microsoft won’t make remote Windows 7 desktops practical and affordable, then customers will find something else instead.

So who knows what’s going on with Microsoft and OnLive? Perhaps it’s the first sign that Microsoft has finally begun to understand that virtualization technology changes everything, and it can’t expect to license its products as if the technology didn’t exist. Heck, Microsoft even sells virtualization technology in the form of Hyper-V. Talk about trying to have your cake and eat it too!

Source:http://www.serverwatch.com/server-news/virtual-desktop-vs.-pc-os-standoff-looms.html

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New Windows 8 marks impending death of the desktop as we know it

March 19th, 2012
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On the Internet, everything ages in dog years.

Certain techno-cultural signatures that once heralded the dawn of a new age – the uh-oh of an incoming ICQ message, the shhrr-wee-ching-ch-ching of a dial-up modem grasping to shake hands with the Web – now seem like ancient curiosities, relics from a time when images loaded pixel-by-infuriating-pixel and everybody rode mules to work. All industries march forward, but there’s nothing like consumer technology when it comes to the velocity of obsolescence.

But even for hardened veterans of this phenomenon, the looming release of Windows 8 is going to be particularly cruel. Regardless of whether the newest version of the world’s most ubiquitous operating system is any good, it’s still going to mark a watershed moment – the death of the desktop. Even Microsoft, a company that made billions by slapping its software into almost every PC on the planet, is now betting that nobody wants a computer they can’t carry around in their pocket.

A few weeks ago, Microsoft released a consumer beta of Windows 8 into the wild. For many people, it’s the first chance to see the operating system that the company hopes to run on all its devices – from desktops to laptops to tablets to smartphones.

(In reality, a new Windows launch doesn’t carry as much fanfare as it used to. The world hasn’t really gotten excited about one of these releases since Windows 95, which by technology standards might as well have come out in 1895.)

There was a time, not that long ago, when everyone was buying desktops and every single one of them ran Windows and Microsoft was busy installing a dance floor atop Apple’s grave. Today, thanks to a mobile device revolution that nobody but Steve Jobs and Co. seem to have seen coming, the tables have turned. Apple is the most valuable technology company on Earth, the iPad and iPhone are profit geysers, and the only reason people aren’t talking about how badly Windows Phone devices are doing is because Research In Motion has a stranglehold on bad news in the smartphone industry.

Windows 8 is Microsoft’s attempt to turn those tables once more. This, unlike almost every other iteration of the operating system in the past 30 years, is a piece of software designed primarily for mobile devices and secondarily for desktops and laptops. To put it generously, the people responsible for Windows 8 seem to have been heavily inspired by iOS, Facebook and just about every other successful tech trend of the past five years.

The social/mobile theme that runs through Windows 8, which is expected to be released this year, is evident from the get-go. The default lock screen is made up of one big background picture – similar to the layout on Microsoft’s Bing search engine – and only a couple of data points (the time and date). To unlock the screen, you don’t click on it, but instead drag the whole thing upward to reveal the logon screen below. This makes perfect sense if you’ve got Windows 8 installed on a touch-screen device, but is mildly annoying when you’re using a mouse.

(For this review, we installed Windows 8 on one of the Globe’s old beater laptops – a Panasonic CF-W4 “ToughBook” that is only tough in the sense that it appears to have been designed during the Civil War. Nonetheless, Windows 8 ran just fine on the laptop, which bodes well for its ability to function on low-end tablets and phones).

The most immediate and significant design change in Windows 8 is the replacement of a Start Button with a kind of Start Screen called Metro. The layout of this screen will be familiar to anyone who has recently used a Windows Phone device. Floating icons dominate the screen, and extend horizontally. The emphasis, as evident by the default icons placed front-and-centre, is on social media. The first icons a user sees are for photos, contacts, Web-browsing and Xbox Live games, among others. All of these are more accurately described as apps, rather than traditional programs. The user interfaces all look similar, and there’s a heavy emphasis on simplicity. Gone are the dozens of menu items and sub-items so familiar to Windows software users. Like iOS, this operating system is idiot-proof. Even the settings screen has been trimmed down significantly, and now looks a lot like the settings screen on an iPad.

Source:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/new-windows-8-marks-impending-death-of-the-desktop-as-we-know-it/article2373065/

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