Remote Desktop Software Network Clients Server Thin Client Terminals: By Jonathan Schwartz.At an interview recently with John Markoff of The New York Times, I made a statement that seems to have generated some concern over my sanity. I said, "I don't believe in thin clients."Let me start by saying I started my technology career with a company that built client (i.e., desktop) software. I care a lot about user experience. And for that reason, I've always thought the words thin client were oxymoronic.

---

By Jonathan Schwartz
At an interview recently with John Markoff of The New York Times, I made a statement that seems to have generated some concern over my sanity. I said, "I don't believe in thin clients."

Let me start by saying I started my technology career with a company that built client (i.e., desktop) software. I care a lot about user experience. And for that reason, I've always thought the words thin client were oxymoronic. No two words have ever been less comfortable sitting next to one another — one cannot have a client without at least some functionality or "state" on a device, and the girth of that state (as measured by memory or storage or application footprint) directly correlates to the interactivity of the client.

In simple terms, TVs got more interesting when they sprouted set top boxes. Radio got more interesting when iPods came along. And cell phones blossomed when you could download games and ringtones to their resident Java platforms.