| Thin Clients |
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| Written by Jennifer Flaten | ||||||||
| Wednesday, 03 September 2008 19:00 | ||||||||
Medical offices have come to rely on computers. Doctors now find that every aspect of their day is in some way connected to the computer; calendars are online, patient information is stored electronically and a lot of interaction with specialists and other medical support personnel is done via a computer. Therefore, it is no surprise that the installation and maintenance of reliable computer system is a huge concern for a physician. While a PC based network has been the backbone of a physicians practice for many years, recently, many doctors have been considering switching to thin clients. Thin clients are devices that replace desktop and laptop computers for easy, low cost access to the web, and other applications; they provide the same benefits as a PC, but with fewer moving parts as a PC. One of the major advantages to a thin client system is that less technical support is necessary. With PCs, each is unique. Each new PC then requires more then just being plugged in; it has to be configured and connected to the network and peripherals. Since a thin client works directly off the server, it is plugged in at the desktop and the terminal is ready to be used. A thin client has all the applications a stored on the server. Access can be granted on a user-by-user basis. If a user needs to be added, it as simple as creating a user profile. Then the user is granted access to only the items that are appropriate for their duties. The thin client functions just like a regular PC in terms of feel and response time. Users report that applications may even run faster. | ||||||||
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About the Author: Jeff Merron is a full-time freelance editor, journalist, and copywriter who has written for the New York Times Magazine, ESPN.com, Slate, Byte Magazine, Macworld, Consumers Digest, and many other national publications. He's also a regular contributor to IT Business Insider and 108, a baseball magazine. He has a Ph.D. in Mass Communication Research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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