“Howie Hunger is IBM’s Thin Client director. In this
interview with ThinPlanet, which we carry in its entirety, Hunger
discusses IBM’s Linux-related initiatives, how Linux appeals to
users outside its traditional community, and what makes it a
superior choice for thin client computing. According to Hunger,
many don’t care that their thin clients are Linux-based, they’re
just happy it works as well as it does.“
“Thin Planet: IBM recently announced a new
NetVista Thin Client that runs TurboLinux. What are the advantages
of deploying thin clients that run Linux as opposed to Windows CE,
DOS, etc.?”
“Howie Hunger: I’m going to answer that
question in two ways. First of all, we are providing a TurboLinux
implementation to allow customers to have all of the general
capabilities that people have come to know are available on thin
clients. The underlying technology, for many customers, is not
important. Rather, it is the function they can get from it. And
with our TurboLinux offering, we are going to be offering an
implementation that includes ICA, standard emulators, browser and a
Java virtual machine.”
“There is a second group of customers, however, that will want
to take that base functionality and customize it for their
particular environment. And that is where having a Linux offering
is a real interesting opportunity, because for those customers that
would like to get to a more current level of a JVM, utilize
application code in the client and perhaps support some devices
that might not be in a standard product offering, the open source
movement of Linux gives those customers the ability to add,
customize and deploy a very unique solution for their
organization.”