| Top thin client vendor responds to Linux market demand |
Jun. 14, 2004
 Wyse has responded to a booming market for Linux-based thin clients by revising its Linux-based thin-client operating system. Version 3.2 of the "Wyse-enhanced Linux" operating system is available on 5000-series Winterm clients, targeting organizations looking for a gradual transition into a full Linux-based environment.
Wyse sells thin clients based on a number of operating systems, but the company says the Linux thin-client market is hot, citing IDC figures suggesting 43 percent year-over-year growth in Q4, 2003. In 2003, Linux accounted for nearly 20 percent of worldwide thin-client market, according to IDC. IDC has ranked Wyse first among thin-client vendors seven years running.
Wyse first entered the Linux-based terminal market in July, 2003, introducing the $399 Winterm 5125SE and $499 5455XL. The former is a low-end terminal limited to server-based applications, while the latter is a higher-end Java-enabled platform that can run local applications.
 The new Wyse Linux implementation is based on Linux kernel 2.4.19, according to Sr. Product Manager Junaid Qurashi. It features a local Mozilla 1.6 browser (Winterm 5455XL only, pictured at right) in place of the Netscape 4.77 browser previously offered; support for the latest version of Wyse's Rapport management software; and VPN support based on an open source PPTP (point-to-point tunneling) package. The OS also supports the latest ICA and RDP protocols, according to Wyse, in order to work with Citrix and Microsoft server-based applications. The RDP implementation is based on the 1.3 version of Rdesktop, an open source package.
"The latest release of Wyse's improved Linux support is just one step in a series of Linux-based announcements planned for Wyse," said Mike DeNeffe, senior director of the Wyse Winterm business line.
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