

Passport to hell: why thin client desktops must die (2012) - ForHackernews
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/06/passport-to-hell-why-thin-client-desktops-must-die/

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nmjohn
> Yet for some reason, hardware manufacturers keep trying to inflict these
> yokes of oppression upon us.

Statements like that are so frustrating. Manufacturers wouldn't be making thin
clients if there wasn't a demand for them. Initially sure, but without demand
they wouldn't last and thus would be discontinued. Equating this to oppression
is a slap in the face to those who actually are oppressed.

For those of us who actually use the computing power of our desktops - likely
a good portion of hn readers - thin clients are hardly an option. But for
everyone else? There seems to be some valid use cases to me.

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kjs3
There are plenty of use cases where they make sense, and lots of us have
implemented them. This is just a lazy article, undoubtedly so someone could
hit a deadline.

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walterbell
Good quotes from the article:

"people who happen by and need to check something on the Web, but whom you’d
rather not give WiFi or Ethernet jack access. In other words: enemies."

"As the only person in the company to have ever seen a Unix command line, I
was left in charge of customer training and first-call support. In other
words, I had been consigned to a role somewhere between lab rat and human
sacrifice. "

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kjs3
I wish someone would pay me money to write about how technology X sucks
because I used it 15-20 years ago and it sucked then. I know a _lot_ of tech
that sucked 15 years ago, and not having to do anything other than give a
vendor buddy free advertising by sticking a quote from them in at the end
would free me of the drudgery of having to figure out the current state
things.

