Thin client: Difference between revisions

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According to [[Ask_OLPC_a_Question_about_Software#OLPC_.26_LTSP|OLPC & LTSP]] the laptop is intended to be usable without a server. The rationale appears to be to make it usable at home, when no stationary PC may be in range.
According to [[Ask_OLPC_a_Question_about_Software#OLPC_.26_LTSP|OLPC & LTSP]] the laptop is intended to be usable without a server. The rationale is to make the device usable when a child is at home, possibly disconnected from the network and its resources.


== Open questions ==
== Open questions ==


* What percentage of schools can be expected to have a stationary PC as a server for thin clients?
* What percentage of schools can be expected to have a stationary PC as a server for thin clients?

:All schools which receive OLPC laptops will also receive a [[school server]], with a ratio of roughly one school server per one hundred laptops. The intent of this server is not to turn the laptops into [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_clients thin clients], but to instead provide an economical extension to communication and storage resources provided on the laptop. No computational resources are expected to be centralized in the school server, unlike a thin client architecture.

* Is there a preference for web applications or remote X Windows applications?
* Is there a preference for web applications or remote X Windows applications?

:This question is orthogonal to that of thin clients and should best be addressed in a user interface forum.

:There is a preference for applications where the computation is performed locally on the laptop, or distributed across a set of laptops. Applications closely integrated with the XO laptop should use the Sugar interface guidelines and directly interface with the same application running on other laptops in the local network. That said, nothing prevents applications from being implemented in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECMAscript ECMAscript] and executing locally, perhaps accessing web resources for information. To enhance scalability and optimize the use of limited internet access capabilities, these web resources may be duplicated across the school servers.


== See also ==
== See also ==

Revision as of 09:12, 12 February 2007

According to OLPC & LTSP the laptop is intended to be usable without a server. The rationale is to make the device usable when a child is at home, possibly disconnected from the network and its resources.

Open questions

  • What percentage of schools can be expected to have a stationary PC as a server for thin clients?
All schools which receive OLPC laptops will also receive a school server, with a ratio of roughly one school server per one hundred laptops. The intent of this server is not to turn the laptops into thin clients, but to instead provide an economical extension to communication and storage resources provided on the laptop. No computational resources are expected to be centralized in the school server, unlike a thin client architecture.
  • Is there a preference for web applications or remote X Windows applications?
This question is orthogonal to that of thin clients and should best be addressed in a user interface forum.
There is a preference for applications where the computation is performed locally on the laptop, or distributed across a set of laptops. Applications closely integrated with the XO laptop should use the Sugar interface guidelines and directly interface with the same application running on other laptops in the local network. That said, nothing prevents applications from being implemented in ECMAscript and executing locally, perhaps accessing web resources for information. To enhance scalability and optimize the use of limited internet access capabilities, these web resources may be duplicated across the school servers.

See also