Fujitsu unveils its 'highly green' thin client

TOKYO, JAPAN: With 'green' being the buzzword in the industry, computer hardware and IT services company Fujitsu has announced that its recently launched FUTRO S100 is the company's most energy-efficient thin client. FUTRO S100 provides an affordable entry to the world of server-based computing, said media reports.

A FUTRO S100 thin client along with a monitor consumes a maximum of 29 watts under full load, some 66 percent less than the consumption of even a green desktop PC and monitor. The client is fan less and hence silent.

Thin clients facilitate server-centric computing model where application software, data, and processing power are all based on a network server rather than on the desktop.

Chandan Mehta, Product Manager at Fujitsu Technology Solutions says: “FUTRO S100 is our most energy-efficient thin client, and it’s a perfect entry point for server-based computing and virtual workplace solutions. Making the switch to Fujitsu’s thin client line combines the benefits of high availability, near-silent operation and easy manageability with a very low total cost of ownership.”

Thin clients are really helpful for such organizations that want to maximize the number of PCs they can purchase on a curtailed budget. However, the current consumption rate of thin clients is at least twice as low, sometimes even more than four times lower than the consumption of corresponding PC Systems.

The Fujitsu FUTRO S100 is compatible with a range of server client infrastructures including Linux-based eLux, and Windows CE 6.0. It is powered by VIA Eden 500 and VIA VX800 media system processors. FUTRO S100 also supports 1GB of DDR2 system memory and has two USB 2.0 ports, a VGA port, fast Ethernet network and supports internal compact flash-based storage cards.

For sometime now,Fujitsu has been announcing some product launches and future plans. Recently, the company had revealed its plans to deliver a 10-petaflop supercomputer, which would be almost 10 times more powerful than today's fastest system, by early 2011.

The supercomputer, which will be based on Fujitsu's upcoming Sparc64 VIIIfx processor, is being built for Japan's Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, known as RIKEN, said Takumi Maruyama, head of Fujitsu's processor development department, on the sidelines of the Hot Chips conference at Stanford University on Tuesday.