Seems IBM sat up and took notice when Gartner said a few months ago that thin clients had grown 38% in 2005, a gravy train it didn't want to miss. So IBM is turning a "new" architecture that enables centralized computing at the server level into a standardized service.

IBM is particularly fond of services that can be standardized and replicated - that's sprinkled with the bewitching pixie dust of virtualization and selling it. It promises secure access to applications and data anytime anywhere with a potential 40%-50% cut in TCO because of the reduction in labor-intensive administration.

A centrally managed environment obviously simplifies technical support and can reduce downtime and cost by placing the processing requirements on a server.

IBM will come and either stick a thin client on your desks or jimmy your existing PC into a thin client that works off a BladeCenter.

Bolton estimates the cost - without the thin client - at $500 a desktop. All the thin client basically needs is a browser and a Java runtime.

IBM is also proposing to use Microsoft Terminal Server or Citrix and/or WebSphere and VMware.