IBM takes the desktop into the clouds

IBM has launched a cloud virtual-desktop service that marries thin client computing, and virtualization as a single offering.  The idea is that customers can tap into this new offering using nothing more than a PC or thin client. With the only perquisite being the presence of a browser with Java support, the remote desktop is accessed from within this browser via a secure Internet connection.

According to IBM, the service will be available in Europe and North America in October. Of course, not all features found on a typical desktop will be available yet. The exclusions range from full-motion video to what the company calls "high-end applications" typically found on enterprise desktops.

Arthur Chiang, VP of global end-user services in IBM's portfolio management unit sums up the capabilities of the service, describing it to E-Commerce Times as enabling "end-users to have the same capabilities of the traditional desktop, but with a thin client and delivered from the data center."

For more on this story:
- check out this article at CNET News

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