News
Wyse Rolls Out Windows XP Generation of Thin Clients
- By Scott Bekker
- 11/28/2001
Wyse Technology unveiled the first of its Windows XP Embedded-based thin clients on Wednesday as Microsoft
announced general availability of the componentized operating system.
The key advantage of running Windows XP Embedded over its predecessor, Windows NT 4.0 Embedded, is Wyse's ability to rapidly configure custom operating system images for customers, says David Rand, Wyse director of field marketing.
"We can give you just the amount of memory and the pieces of the operating system that you need," Rand says of Windows XP Embedded, which has 10,000 distinct components and includes tools that allow device manufacturers to quickly identify dependencies among the components. "[Windows NT 4.0 Embedded] was never designed for that to be done to it."
Rand says the other major improvement in Windows XP Embedded over Windows NT 4.0 Embedded from Wyse's perspective is USB support.
"With XP we get out of the box compatibility with hundreds if not thousands of new peripherals," he says.
The new thin client is called the Wyse Winterm 9440XL Windows Custom-Application Terminal (WinCAT). It will be available in the first quarter of 2002 after Wyse has completed its test cycle with the final Windows XP Embedded code, Rand says.
The model is similar to the Wyse Winterm 8440XL that ran Windows NT 4.0 Embedded but will probably carry more memory to support Windows XP.
About the Author
Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.