Nivo thin client aims to bring computing to developing nations
posted April 30th 2005 2:16PM
The idea of a thin client — a smaller, less powerful machine that relies on a central server for processing duties —
is an old concept, but recent advances may have perhaps made them user-friendly enough for the average user. Because
they provide the ability to effectively share a single workstation among multiple users, not-for-profit UK developers
Ndiyo are looking at using them to bring more affordable computing to the developing world. They've designed a small
(12 x 8 x 2cm), sub-$200 thin client box called Nivo that runs on open source software and has ports for ethernet,
keyboard, mouse, monitor and power. A school or cybercafe would be able to set up a single beefy server, a switch, and
a couple of dozen Nivo boxes and be able to provide enough computing power for a group of users at a fraction of the
price. Plus, small business and schools would save on maintenance costs off the top. There may not exist a single
solution to narrowing the digital divide, but this does seem like an actually promising effort.
[Via Boing Boing]
Well, to start with, and just to nitpick the picture, you won't see LCD monitors over the "developing world" if the purpose is to save costs. The difference between LCDs and CRTs in most countries alone pays the difference to a very powerful desktop client alone (or two).
It should be very far south of $200. For $400 I just bought a new PC with 2.4 ghz Celeron, 15" flat panel, XP Home, CD Burner 528 mgs RAM etc. from Dell. I assume that they did not lose money selling it. I would have to beleive if you went to a 15" CRT, used a free OS, went to a lesser processor and really value engineered it you could easily shave $150 to $200 off of that; especially for a sizeable order.
#2 - dead on in upfront cost, yes - Dell et all do offer tremendous value for a one off system. One advantage, and it's a big one, for thin slients is the overall lower total cost of owership. You have very inexpensive thin clients that you drop on to a network with little to no conifguration time: They just work, and generally have few to no moving parts (e.g. HDD). so you can expand your user capacity, and save time (which saves man-hours, which saves $) for $200 and about 5 minutes. Configuration is centralized on the big iron acting as a master server (and admittiedly, the server does come with a relatively high up front price).
That said, i do agree wholeheartedly that if companies like this can't lower he *proportional* low cost of their devices, to be in line with what a "full" pc brings, (despite economies of scale that the larger makers have), that average joe isn't going to see the advantages in thin client computer.
Of course, that is exactly what has happened historically: by no means is this the first thin client concept. Sunrays, Oracle's failed attempt, numerous winterms, Microsoft's own attempt (the name of which escapes me - you know, the one that had a single desktop pc and a handheld display that linked to it).
The long and short of it is that despite all these attempts, thin client computing has never gone mainstream - yes, in large environments it does exist, and exist well, but teh smaller average joes will never adopt it when, as you pointed out, $400 gets you the real deal. With Windows, to boot.
Old idea that didn't sell in the late 90's so they lay low then try to sell it in 2005. Bah.
thin clients are used all over my school, they're quick and responsive for office tasks/IE, and I'm sure they're significantly easier and cheaper to maintain than individual workstations.
As a network engineer in charge of a lot of machines, this is what I would be looking at. An average home user or smb with less than 5 users would not need or want gear like this. The purpose of a thin client is to save on management cost. I rake in a lot of money per hour (well not enough but not the point), but what is my time worth fixing an individual workstation where the OS, HDD, RAM, CD Drive, USB Ports, or Floppy could go wrong? You could just go buy another machine. Unless the problem is a known one, I could wind up testing each piece of the puzzle. Thin clients negate that somewhat because it is not feasible for an organization to keep buying new desktops because one breaks due to "User Error". And lets face it, those reports living on your hard drive for your boss are not optional to loose. But if your HDD dies......... You get the point. Having a thin client with a central data storage place is a nice touch at that point. Cheers.
I'm from Africa, South Africa to be more precise. That is where there is a great digital divide. The Niyo project excites me because that is exactly what I have been looking for as a solution to provide ICT to schools.(The majority of schools in R.S.A. still have no computers.)
Now, you need to know Africa to appreciate the problem. Large distances, lots of dust, lots of heat, little money, little (on site)experience.
A Thin Client, with no moving parts, which will not suck dust, which will sit quietly doing its job, and on top of that costs less than a PC, is ideal in such a situation.
There is one maintenance point, the server, which could be maintained remotely - that is if the school has a telephone line!