Microsoft Corp duly launched its Windows Terminal Server thin-client additions to Windows NT on Wednesday (CI No 3,365), claiming broad customer and industry support. Microsoft lined up end-user customers and a series of terminal and thin-client OEMs to support the release of Windows Terminal Server Beta 2, codenamed Hydra. The OEMs included Axil Computer Inc, Boundless Technologies Inc, Cruise Technologies Inc, Data General Corp, Network Computing Devices Inc, Unisys Corp and Wyse Technology Inc. The software, which runs on NT version 4.0, was released to 1,100 beta testers for technical evaluation. Beta 2 included improvements in Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Protocol, known previously as T.Share, and functionality such as bandwidth utilization, improved application support, expanded encryption, improved administration tools and user management of domain profiles. Beta 2 also adds support for Windows-based terminals running the Windows CE embedded operating system and the RDP protocol. It’s a way for Microsoft to deliver Windows-based applications to those legacy desktops not capable of running full 32-bit Windows, including terminals, and it adds a Unix-like multi-user capability to NT. The final release should ship in the first half of this year, when pricing and packaging details will be revealed. And, also as expected, Citrix Systems Inc came out with its second beta release of its pICAsso thin-client/server system software, extending thin-client support to a wider variety of clients, including Windows 3.x, Windows for Workgroups, DOS, Unix, Macintosh, Java and web browsers, as well as additional network connections and local area network protocols. Its ICA protocol now supports load balancing facilities so that multiple Citrix servers can work together in a server farm to support large numbers of users, client updating tools for automatic central applications installation, and an applications launching and embedding feature so that applications can be launched from, or embedded into HTML pages without any rewrites. Citrix said six vendors had signed licensing agreements to incorporate the technology within their products. They were Bryant Computers Inc, Hewlett-Packard Co’s medical products group, Philips Electronic NV, QNX Software Systems Inc, Symbol Technologies Inc and Websonic Inc. Citrix also introduced a migration price of $1,495 for those using its older, and now incompatible WinFrame 1.7 software, written before it struck its agreement with Microsoft to support Hydra. Citrix claims the migration process is simple and smooth although the tool, which migrates a single WinFrame server, is not yet available. The migration price doesn’t include a copy of Microsoft Terminal Server, which has to be bought separately. The final version of pICAsso will be timed to ship with Microsoft Terminal Server
