Once upon a time no one had computers on their desks, but some researchers had terminals in their offices that let them remotely access a big computer somewhere else. Now the idea of terminal computing is back, with a handful of companies selling low-cost machines that simply serve as dumb connections to central PCs or servers. And a few colleges are giving the dumb little boxes a try.

One proponent of the model is Stephen Dukker, chief executive of NComputing, a company that sells terminals that cost as little as $70 a pop. When he stopped by The Chronicle’s offices last week to pitch the approach, he argued that today’s PCs are far more powerful than almost anyone needs, so why not use them as servers to power multiple terminals? His company’s system, which includes software to manage the terminals, can divide a $500 PC’s processing power up among 30 terminals, he said. The terminals are just boxes that have ports to connect to a local network and to plug in a standard monitor, keyboard, mouse, and other accessories.

“I’m not saying the PC is dead—there will always be a place for the PC,” Mr. Dukker said. “But there’s a disconnect between the power of PCs and what is needed by the average user.”

One mission of the company is to sell the machines to schools in developing nations. It just announced a deal to sell 50,000 of the machines to schools in India, for instance. But a few colleges in the U.S. have bought some as well.

Northern Virginia Community College recently bought some NComputing terminals to use in a computer lab for English courses, and for information kiosks around campus. Kevin F. Kelley, a computer-operations manager for the college, said that all costs considered, the college spent only about $500 per terminal for the machines, half what it pays for traditional PCs.

But he said he wouldn’t use them in too many computer labs on the campus, because the terminals lack CD-Rom drives and aren’t as fast as traditional PCs. “I’m not too sure how the science department would feel about it,” he said. He said he plans to buy more of the terminals for kiosks, because it’s easy to upgrade the terminals remotely.

The University of Maryland at College Park is among the colleges trying out terminals made by another relatively new company, Pano Logic. The company’s chief technology officer, Aly Orady, said in a phone interview this week that its terminals, which are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, are designed to be used with servers rather than basic PCs, and as a result they’re a little more expensive — about $300 per unit when software costs are factored in. One of the company’s target markets is colleges, he said.

Mr. Orady’s pitch was similar to that of Mr. Dukker. “Servers have become obscenely overpowered,” he said, noting that some colleges have servers that are 95 percent idle. He said the company’s devices use those servers to power rooms full of terminals so that the servers are “100 percent utilized.” —Jeffrey R. Young

Categories: Gadgets