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Wyse In Talks With Google And Yahoo On Thin Computing

Friday, 17 March 2006 by Michel Roth

I'm already a big fan of Wyse. And it appears I'm not the only one. Wyse is going places. Perhaps even they're already there... In the last weeks Wyse has (made official that it) teamed up with VMware, AT&T, Ericom, Inveo and many more. Recently I picked up on a rumour that Wyse was working very closely with Google on low-cost Google-branded Computer. These rumours have come back with a vengeance: now Yahoo seems too have stepped into the ring too. Even AOL and eBay seem to have taken a liking for Wyse...

These rumours are of course just rumours, but I think that the Wyse-Google rumours will turn out to be true. Time will tell...

This is from an article on the Silicon Valley Watcher:

"Wyse Technology, the leading thin-client manufacturer, told SVW that it is in talks with both Google and Yahoo, for the design and production of powerful low-priced computers integrating data, voice, and broadband connectivity. Two senior sources at Wyse confirmed the discussions were underway. One of the two sources added that AOL had not approached the company but that Amazon and Ebay were exploring similar approaches. Details of the discussions with Google were not revealed. However, Wyse attempted to make the connection with Google more obvious in the public eye.

The internet giants are interested in using low-priced PC-compatible computers to capture millions of users in developing countries. Those millions of users will be needed to fuel their future growth as Western markets begin to slow and mature. By making their online services easier to access on developing world PCs, Google and Yahoo would also be able to make sure that their search box and services are foremost. Google recently reached a deal with Dell to distribute new PCs with Google's Toolbar and search prominently displayed on the start page.

Prices could be further reduced if the computers used Linux instead of Microsoft Windows to run a web browser-the only user interface required to access online services. And the use of Intel-compatible chips from AMD and others, could further reduce prices. The internet rivals would be competing for hundreds of millions of new users within a hot demographic: the young middle classes forming in the developing world, primarily in India and China. By making the PC and internet technology significantly more affordable, such moves would help bridge a massive digital divide: 84 percent of the world's population has no Internet access.

Wyse also sees tremendous opportunities in Western corporate markets. It favors the term "thin computing" to describe a system of hardware services and software that can include a mixture of PCs and thin-clients. That way, customers can gradually replace PCs with less-expensive thin-client systems while taking advantage of centrally managed administration and maintenance capabilities that save on labor costs."

Read the whole article here.