Thin may be back in for small, smart screens

SAN FRANCISCO - Instead of having a big, loud, and complex computer on your desk, what if you could have a quiet, thin machine that rarely needed an upgrade or a fix?

That has been the goal of many technology companies over the last 15 or so years. They have tried to disrupt Microsoft's dominance of the PC desktop by creating what amount to intelligent monitors.

Rather than relying on their innards for handling work, these so-called thin clients send it out over the network to much larger servers that hold the necessary software and handle data processing.

For such reasons as slow data connections and clunky software, this model failed to live up to its promise and turned into an industrywide joke. Now the technology is making a comeback, and companies like Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, and Samsung are increasing their investments in thin-client systems. Plenty of start-ups are looking at the market, as well.

The benefits of the technology seem obvious. Software glitches, updates, and security are much less of a problem. The thin-client model places the burden of managing computers on professionals monitoring servers in a large warehouse. Plus, the users' data are stored on the network. If the machine on your desk breaks, you just get another one and reconnect to the data store.

The spread of high-speed Internet connections means that people working in a cubicle and at home can rely on an effective link back to the data warehouses.

HP, Citrix Systems, Microsoft and others are also fine-tuning the software that controls communication between thin clients and the servers. This has led to smoother-running machines that can handle even video and audio.

The pool of programs that thin clients can use has grown thanks to so-called virtualization software, which lets companies package an entire operating system and all of its applications. Instead of picking and choosing certain software to send over the wire, companies can ship entire "virtual desktops."