Standard PCs have all the computing power they need inside one box, but that isn't the only way to do things. In the thin client model, a single big server computer does most of the work and holds all the applications and data. Instead of a PC on their desk, users have a “thin client”: like a small PC but without as much computing power.
The benefit of thin clients include cost (they're cheaper than PCs), manageability (everything important is on the server so instead of installing and fixing software on twenty PCs, you only need to do it on one server) and smaller environmental footprint (a thin client typically uses less than 10 watts of electricity; PCs can use over 200 watts).
Thin clients aren't suitable for everything. PCs are normally more appropriate for multimedia applications and 3D graphics. For most other applications, including web apps, thin clients work very well.
As well as buying thin clients, it's also possible to convert old PCs into thin clients, sometimes by doing nothing more than removing their hard drives. Many schools are using this to extend the lives of their older computer hardware]
A thin client café can run Linux and a wide range of Open Source and proprietary applications. This approach gives staff and students the opportunity to try Linux and Open Source without losing the current software they're familiar with. It's also a great way of increasing the number of computers in the school without spending a fortune, and of introducing students to a wider range of operating systems and applications.
There is a current trend for personal computing to switch from PC-based applications (running locally on your machine, like Word, Outlook, Picasa) to web-based applications (for example, Google, Google Docs, Facebook, eBay, Flickr and Bebo), and students are spending more of their computer-time using the Internet or office suites (e.g. word processing, spreadsheets or presentations), all of which are well suited to a thin client café (because all that’s needed is a browser, which generally runs fine on thin clients). This approach frees up more powerful PCs to be used in settings where the power is needed (eg for multimedia applications).
