Recently Microsoft released the link 365 which is basically a thin client for Azure. You can't run anything locally nor is there any local files. It literally just connects you to a desktop elsewhere.
Do you think this is what Windows 12 might look like? I feel like this idea is not practical for average consumers. Maybe they will make something that's like Chrome OS?
Was it the future of Windows when they did this the last bunch of times? The Wyse Winterm came out in 1993. It was a huge failure then and every iteration of the same same thing since has also failed.
What makes this version different? Branding? The fact that some of the OS/software doesn't boot over the network? That you have to have a working Internet connection and not just a working local network and boot server (LOL)?
No business wants this. No consumer wants this. There is no "added value" in this device. It literally only runs software made by Microsoft and even then, only software that runs through Azure.
What office worker literally only needs Office 365? I mean, you can get away with a whole lot just in the browser but if you're going to do that why bother with this device? Just use ChromeOS stuff (and never be locked in to Microsoft's stuff).
Why do you say that no business wants this? Obviously, thin clients have been a thing for decades now. This is just another thin client, nothing more.
Thin clients have been failing to sell and being cursed by entire verticals, from individual contributors to top management any time they find an exception for that failure since the 1990s.
No thin client ever saw repeat customers since dump terminals went away. But yeah, if your point is that they exist and have curstomers, that's true.
I manage a fleet of thin clients for our organization. We have been buying and managing them for 10+ years. They are a huge cost savings over desktops for shared environments (I work for a company in the manufacturing space). For users that do nothing other than log in and check their email and update a spreadsheet, being able to shove 10+ user sessions on a single VM is much more cost effective than deploying and managing a full desktop.
Plus, these devices can connect to Cloud PC’s, so users who need a dedicated machine can use these too. I have been using a Cloud PC for over two years now for all of my job functions and love it. I would happily take one of these devices, as all of my company issued devices are just used to connect to my Cloud PC.
You don’t know what you’re talking about. Citrix is used heavily in many industries.
Just speak to anyone who works at an MSP. Thin clients are very commonly used.
The only 'big' customer of thin clients I know is a hospital. I believe thin clients are well suited for highly standardized and strictly controlled workplaces.