PCs are so 2008. Computer users are warming to personal computer alternatives, including netbooks, handheld mobile devices — and in a growing number of cases, machines that work in tandem with so-called virtual desktop software, a technology that makes it possible to deliver desktop software and files from another location like a data center.
That was the case for Mark Lopez, an IT manager for auto-parts maker Lear. When he set about finding less expensive alternatives to the PCs in use in Lear’s factories, he turned to devices made by NComputing that effectively let multiple workers share a single PC.
Here’s how it works: Each user has a monitor and keyboard, but instead of a hard drive, there’s a small device about the size of a potholder attached to it. Those small devices, in turn, connect to one PC with special software that lets as many as 30 people share one computer. “The users don’t notice any difference,” says Lopez, who adds that about 400 people in 17 factories at Lear are using NComputing’s devices. Those devices cost $150 to $200 per user, far less than the cost of buying a new PC. Lopez figures that PC alternatives have saved Lear about $125,000.
Little Gizmo Called a Thin Client Even as PC prices drop, some companies are finding that they still want lower-priced alternatives. As enterprises begin to experiment with virtual desktops, some are discovering they don’t necessarily need to give workers a full-fledged PC.
A commonly used PC alternative is a stripped-down machine called a thin client. “Typically, thin clients are not as cheap as the very cheapest computers but they’re cheaper than the midrange computers” says John Burke, principal research analyst at consulting firm Nemertes Research. Since these devices involve fewer components, they draw less power and tend to last longer as…