Get a Linux desktop--and lose your cozy office! (ZDNet) [LWN.net]

Here's an article about Sun's participation in LinuxWorld, with other LinuxWorld observations. "Sun will be able to shove nearly two people into every office--and cube, more likely--because the software will allow them to log on from any workstation, anywhere. McNealy said this proves you don't need Microsoft Windows to do your work, although how Linux would be different from Sun's Solaris OS in powering such a project, I really don't understand."

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Get a Linux desktop--and lose your cozy office! (ZDNet)

Posted Aug 19, 2002 18:10 UTC (Mon) by biolo (subscriber, #1731) [Link]

The reason is simple, Sun produces what it calls a SunRay. This is basically a thin client with a built-in smart card reader. The servers run software that means that to call up your own desktop session you simply put your smartcard into any SunRay you happen to find (potentially anywhere in your companies campus) and you get your own desktop, exactly as you left it. Much as I love LTSP and the like, this feature is invaluable. In a meeting but need to refer to that document on your destop? Lean over to the conference room SunRay, put in your card and you've got it.

You have no idea how valuable this is until you have a bunch of busy techies in a meeting, all needing to watch various things they have running, they sit and swap cards in the SunRay watching their compiles, system monitors, bringing up pieces of code they are working on to show everyone. If someone were to produce this for LTSP it'd clean up. Better still, do it so that the SunRay appliances could still be used, at $400 a pop they are hard to beat, small, reliable and SILENT!