Are thin clients an outdated technology?

Question

I was wondering how come I don't see many businesses using thin clients (workstations), like this one:

Thin client

Are they an outdated technology? Any cons or reasons why not to use them? What is the best alternative?

score 5 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 06 '12 at 17:21

Definitely not. Thin clients are more of a concept than a hard fast technology. Whereas 10 years ago we might have a server which booted thin clients using a remote disk, it is more prevalent now to see thin clients used in the context of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. Conceptually this is the same as a thin client. Look at Wyse terminals used with Citrix XenDesktop. Wyse & Citrix

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 06 '12 at 18:32

Two areas where I still see thin clients dominate over full-fledged PC's, are the healthcare industry (doctors/dentists/optometrists) and also in support centers. In both cases, these clients are acting as dumb terminals, serving up browser-based application software that needs to be ubiquitous across the organization.

Are thin clients an outdated technology?

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