Thin clients and virtualization

I guess I'm not the only one who is thinking about the benefits of virtualization and "thin clients." The New York Times ran a long story this week looking at how thin clients -- computers that rely on remote processors or other computers for much of their work -- are growing in popularity.

James Kendrick at the wonderful jkontherun blog touched on a similar idea this week when he described how he uses LogMeIn to control his Mac from netbooks and systems running entirely different OS.

A few years ago, I would have said that cheaper, big local data storage was driving the trend toward more digitally based lifestyles, as people put more music, movies, photos, and data on their home systems. Now, I'm beginning to think that remote access will power the next wave.

It's interesting to imagine where this will go, especially in terms of software and licensing. The other day I was thinking that as my options for accessing one computer's resources with another computer -- through programs like LogMeIn -- become more robust, I could eliminate my need to install updates on multiple systems or even buy additional copies/licenses for more than one machine. The cost and time savings could be considerable.

At the same time, I could (in theory) extend the functional life of my equipment. As long as I had a powerful, fast "main" system running my software, any additional systems would need little more than a good browser, fast network access, and whatever minimal software I might need without a connection.

Some platforms could change dramatically -- or even go away entirely. The other day, I was using LogMeIn on my Windows Mobile phone to control my desktop. It's a little like peering through a keyhole to try to operate a system with three 19-inch monitor on a 2.8-inch screen, but it's not utterly futile. I was able to use Outlook and Money quite easily, and working with Internet sites like Google Reader and Wikipedia was MUCH faster -- well worth the scrolling around.

Micro Place-shifting

I've been home with a cold, and it's had me shifting around the house all day: I've been too tired and achy to sit at my desk for long, and too restless to stay glued to the bed or couch. But, thanks to the beauties of "place-shifting," I've been able to keep working (and enjoying the other benefits of digital access) wherever I plop down.

The Set-Up: I keep the desktops in my office (at home) and kitchen running 24/7, plus I have a Tablet PC and an old laptop. First thing this morning, I grabbed the old laptop to use in bed, then later I fired up the Tablet PC when I was hanging out on the couch. That gave me four live, networked "stations," wherever I went -- five, if you count my PDA phone.

The Apps and Uses:

• Virtual computing -- My old laptop is getting REALLY old and slow -- it's a 2001 Toshiba with just 256MB of RAM. Although I have Outlook 2007 on it, most of the other apps are a couple of versions behind. So, rather than trying to update it or deal with slow programs, I "went virtual" -- I shut off everything except Firefox and connected to my desktop through LogMeIn. That let me take advantage of the speed and updated programs on my desktop, and, in full screen, it looks and acts exactly as if I'm working on the desktop. In essence, LogMeIn lets me turn my old laptop into a "slim client" -- and that extends its useful life.

 

• Newsreading -- I can't function without checking out the news on my various feeds through Google Reader first thing in the morning. Everything stays synced through Google -- stories I scanned and "starred" first thing this morning on my laptop show up on the other systems when I'm ready to read later.

 

• Email and PIM data -- I use hosted Exchange, so all the data stays synced automatically and instantly available on every computer. Aside from email, this also keeps my action lists, calendar, and contacts updated and synced.

 

• Active documents -- I've been working on several projects throughout the day , but rather than using Word, I've been using OneNote to create, draft, and edit them. Because OneNote synchronizes (and saves) data in real time, the latest version of every document I'm working on is always available on every computer. I can type half a sentence on the tablet pc on the couch, walk into the kitchen and finish my thought on the desktop there, then wander into my office to edit it, all without saving or syncing manually.

 

• Reference documents -- Thanks to Foldershare, all the other documents I've saved are also synced to all my computers. It's not quite as automatic as OneNote -- I actually have to save them to trigger a sync through Foldershare -- but it's great for keep resources accessible everywhere.

 

• Entertainment -- For much of the day, I didn't even feel like working -- I just wanted to watch TV and rest. Thanks to Tivo and Slingbox, I've even been able to move my entertainment around with me. This morning when I was still in bed, I started watching a movie I'd Tivo'ed there. When I went to the kitchen to eat breakfast, I kept watching it via Slingbox, which sent the signal to my desktop computer. After breakfast, I streamed the movie from the Tivo in the bedroom to the Tivo in the den, where I watched the rest of it from the couch. This afternoon, I even streamed a movie to my PDA phone, while I took a long bath.

 

The Outcome:

This certainly hasn't been my most productive day ever, but thanks to my "micro place-shifting," I've been able to take advantage of every second I've felt like working, without having to save, recopy, or search for data. I've also enjoyed entertainment wherever I've lighted.

Almost every day, I find another benefit and advantage to automatically synced and "cloud-based" computing. When I got hosted exchange service two years ago, it was a revelation to watch data synchronize automatically across machines -- now, I want EVERYTHING to work that way.

How secure is too secure?

Maybe it's the uncertainty in the global financial markets, a wave of crazy weather, or a lousy fall TV season, but lately I've been seeing a near-constant flow of comments and stories about how -- and even if -- home computers need security.

The "lock it down" mentality made sense to me for years -- as someone with a fully paperless office, the idea of having something spew my data out to the world is pretty daunting.

But, earlier this year, my friend John from the Yahoo paperless group suggested to me that I probably don't need much, if any, online security. His advice was to surf in Firefox with NoScript and AdAware on, crank up the spam filters on my email, and use virtualization -- software that lets you operate in a "virtual image" of your system without writing data or making changes to the underlying system

I haven't tried virtualization yet -- although I've been promising John that I will soon -- but I took his advice on the other stuff: I strengthened my router's firewall, moved to Firefox, and got tough on spam. Four months later, scans say I haven't had a spyware issue or problem yet.

Sound crazy? The folks at don't think so. Check out the story from this month's issue about how much security is really enough.