Stories about: ClearCube Technology

A Silicon Valley startup claims to boost computing security and reduce electric costs with a virtual desktop PC that uses no software or processor.

Centralized computing is becoming increasingly accepted as an efficient and cost-effective way of deploying desktops in the enterprise, shining a light on the key technologies that make it all possible. Virtualization, for example, allows more than one user to run a desktop session on a centralized server. Another less discussed but perhaps more important component is connection brokering.

The desktop unit that is part of Hewlett-Packard's PC blade system is about the size of a thick hardcover book, and it might be mistaken for a modernist vase if not for the various ports for connecting thumb drives and other USB devices. The device is centrally managed, supports desktop virtualization software and is easier for IT administrators to secure than PCs are.

Hewlett-Packard is sticking with processors from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) in a new family of blade PCs designed to compete with offerings from IBM.

Desktop virtualization specialist ClearCube Technology has announced an update for its central management suite that adds improved virtualization support and better scalability. Company marketing VP Tom Josefy also hinted that one of the missing pieces from desktop virtualization, namely 3D graphics, is close at hand.

Microsoft was once an avowed opponent of network computing, thin clients or anything else that threatened to harm Windows' hegemony by putting the PC on a crash diet. Over the years, the company outlasted a number of vaunted opponents in that debate; for instance, the Oracle/Sun Microsystems-sponsored, Java-based New Internet Computer flopped earlier this decade.

Purveyors of PC blades would like you to think of their technology as similar to a Toyota Prius. Driving the gas/electric hybrid car may not completely banish the need to visit a gas station, but your mileage greatly improves, and your fuel costs go way down.

Financial traders at a London company wear shorts to work because heat from workstations under their desks is so bad. Hewlett-Packard (HP) has invented technology to take the workstations out from under the desks and replace them with blade-style computers tucked away in a separate data centre.

ClearCube Technology Inc. slashed prices on its PC blades Monday, setting the company up to compete with standard desktop and tower vendors like Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co.

Managing PCs has always been painful, but the job has gotten considerably nastier thanks to an endless parade of application upgrades, operating system patches, and anti-threat updates. Even with network-based installation and patch management tools to ease the burden, IT spends far too much time at the desktop itself, dealing with shenanigans involving personal software, multiple versions of Java or ActiveX controls, driver or DLL conflicts, malware infections, misconfigured hardware, and more.

PC blade vendor ClearCube Technology on Thursday gave a sneak peak at some upcoming products it hopes will drive greater adoption of blade computing.