Post #3744600

2026-07-04 05:53 UTC

Looking back at computing history, cloud computing is basically reverting back to the original mainframes and dedicated terminals. There was a hype of using thin clients, the concept is that you get just enough hardware and software to be able to connect to a session running on a shared server, the admin can allocate more resources like CPU cores, RAM and storage as individual needs change over time. As an IT guy, I do like the concept in a corporate environment, especially when looking at the SunRay system from Sun, which used smartcards for easier access, you put your card into the client and if configured properly, you got your old session loaded and ready in a few sec, regardless of which client you put your card into. The YT channel Clabretro has several interesting SunRay videos.

Replies (2)

@MalReynolds@slrpnk.net 2026-07-04 06:11

Yup, there’s a cycle between centralization and edge. Started with centralization, mainframes, went edge with the first PCs (and game consoles) and ever since corpos have been trying to pull it back to the center in waves. Thin client, cloud compute, arguably phones (as apps processing in the cloud), AI. So far it’s always gone back to the edge for most of the population, except for niche cases (or not in the case of phones). As internet gets more reliable the chance of it sticking longer in the central zone increases (IMO).

Open ##3746225
@nullify3112@lemmy.world 2026-07-06 03:46

Product idea: personal mainframe. Imagine a desktop small enough to fit in a backpack. It has a battery, a cell connection with data, decent GPU ram etc. Your phone is now just a display and a battery. Your laptop is the same but a bit bigger and with a keyboard. Each electronic device you own is now just a terminal used to access your mainframe. You can take your mainframe with you or leave it at home. It’s yours. You don’t rent compute from someone else. Would be amazing to have truly thin and very portable devices.

Open ##3779534