Re: Two computers in one: two users each with their own accounts, monitor, and keyboard?

[Albretch Mueller <lbrtchx@gmail.com>]

> The total cost in hardware, OS/application setup man-hours, and electricity is *higher* if you attempt the multi-seat route with one big powerful box vs many small power efficient boxen.

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 Well, honestly, we may be looking at these issues from entirely
different points of view, but I don't even see why is it that
"routers" and "one big powerful box vs many small power efficient
boxen" have to do with multiseat envs.

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 Multiseat boxes don't need extra routers but it is the promiscuity of
using the same NIC that raises loud security issues and you don't need
a powerful box, you can beef up a regular commercial box today with 16
GBs and no need for extra "small power efficient boxes" either all we
need is make -larger- keyboard, mouse and monitor cables

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 I will earmark my response to you/debian-user because I do believe in
multiseat as the next great paradigm

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> 1. If/when this one machine breaks, all your seats (users) are down.  In the PC model, one machine breaks, only one user is down.

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 true, but as they say "you may put all your eggs in one basket -and
guard that basket-" ;-) Technology has gotten reliable to the point in
which this even if possible is not a common realistic issue. As we
know, technically anything can break (well, mostly we break them) but
we don't conduct our lives thinking that a meteorite will fall right
on top of ourselves (pun intended)

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> 2. Because the market has evolved to the "PC everywhere" model, PCs are dirt cheap, approaching $100 USD for the box (remember you have to buy all those monitors, keyboards, and mice for the multi-seat setup so the only differential factor is the price of the CPU box).  The hardware cost for specialty cards, signal repeater boxes and cables for the multi-seat configuration is actually higher than buying a bunch of cheap low end power efficient PCs with standard cables.

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 As I said all we -basically- need are extra large cables to the
peripherals we already use, no specialty cards or signal repeater
boxes of any kind (unless you are thinking of a video cable larger
than 100 ft). There are no physical problems with that at all and even
though this is a commodity market right now for people using KVMs and
stuff these cables aren't really that expensive to be produced,
definitely less than $100. The video cable (with audio) I am using
right now is a 25 ft long one I bought from ebay for $7.95:

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 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380181543385

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 plugged into a KVM through extra F-M VGS convertors instead of using
two monitors. It works einwandfrei!!! Even if the built-in video card
of the mobo is dead

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 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thgRfevMMXc

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 All I do is dumbing down video by booting Debian/knoppix with the
cheatcode xmodule=vesa and I don't notice any problem whatsoever. Now
tell me how much cheaper can it go ;-) and I still see it would get
even cheaper if the market picks up interest. That "$100 USD for the
box" has been/become more of a goal/slogan, while a multiseat env. is
realistically feasible right now (as we see if a number of stars are
aligned) for way less

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> ... Citirx et al "dumb Windows terminal" model ...

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 It seems to me you are talking "business" here (and even thought I
don't have a degree in Economics, bad one for that matter)

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> ... the route you are suggesting increases overall costs in hardware and man-time significantly over a PC at every seat

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 we have been mentalized to think that way and I can
factually/technically prove it to you/debian-users/whomever, better
yet you could check it out yourself ;-). People in the 50's, 60's were
using cars with airplane engines. I do understand technical issues
don't entirely determine business success (remember transmeta?) and
hey people still use Windows ;-) Why? Because we techies don't get
people love movies and because MS has very successfully sold the user
illusion of using Windows as "having lunch with Bill Gates" which
apparently is in a lot of people's todo list ... ;-)

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> I can't count the number of studies I've read over the years that make the argument that centralized computing is the better model.

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 A technical truth needs still to be implemented/proved right ;-)

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> overall costs end up being much higher

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 silly me is still not convinced

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> ... a fully functional new laptop for $300 USD

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 Where are they? ;-) carrying a minidrive in your pocket would be a
lot easier, healthier, safer, ... and cheaper as well

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> the cost of extra vid cards, cables, KBs, mice, a CRT/LCD screen and time time and hassle of trying to make multi-seat

work

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 The only extra cost here would be the special video cards for each
seat but even they are commercial nowadays and making multi-seat work
would be our job right?

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 Thank you

 lbrtchx