Several of us at Hill will be getting new PC's in the upcoming weeks.  (It will be interesting to also report on Windows 7 from a personal perspective.)  However, it is also worth noting that with the proliferation of virtualization expanding to the desktop, it begs the question of whether one really needs a stand-alone PC.  (Okay sure, some of us actually work in environments that are not connected to a network, and need the applications and documents in hand as opposed to the network.)

It is clear that several large organizations are taking a serious look at replacing their PC's with thin-client computing as reported in the recent issue of Forbes. The Total Cost of Ownership is proven to be lower (support costs, administrative costs, software licensing, security, backup, etc are all lower) for thin clients over PC's.  And it's greener!

So, have we come full circle?  We are reminded of the early days of computing with "intelligently deficient machines" (aka 'dumb terminals') moving to a model of desktop computing ('power to the people') and now are we back to centralized computing?

What's your take?  And what are finding both in your client base, as well as within your own organization?