[THIN] Re: CE thins and nFuse

  • From: "Braebaum, Neil" <Neil.Braebaum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 16:56:22 +0100

Just thought I'd chip in with some feedback - whether it's of interest,
or not, is debatable ;-)
 
My NFuse users are currently Mac users. I had considered NFuse / WI or
possibly MSAM for a few hundred remote locations that currently access a
published desktop via legacy Wyse Winterms (mainly 2315s some later 3000
series).
 
I've always deployed a very stripped down desktop - mandatory profiles,
extensive policy and scripting. I had a request to make the desktop more
"simple", appliance like, if you will - and with the ability to have a
portion of the screen as a sort of notice board, with updateable
messages.
 
I did consider a portal approach, here - either modified NFuse / WI or
MSAM. Neither would have particularly suited the cosmetic look and feel
that management wanted, nor truly the flexibility. And with MSAM, I
would have no obvious single-sign-on, with a published browser session
(at least without other products).
 
So what I've done is stripped down the desktop even more, removed all
icons, and have an extremely small / basic start menu (basically just
has a link to the "desktop", and logout), and run a HTA as the desktop.
My reason for still having a desktop, even being as minimal (truly!) as
it is, is that the flexibility of being able to switch between apps
using the taskbar, was still likely needed.
 
So I run a HTA as the desktop (it appears like the wallpaper, really -
no borders or menus) - the source isn't viewable, nor does it appear in
the taskbar. Only one instance of it can run. On the HTA is big, chunky,
buttons to the main, line-of-business apps - which is what was really
required - the simplest, most obvious link to the business app(s), and
an upper portion of the HTA is a frame displaying (with fairly frequent
refreshes) a sort of notice board. I've also written a sister HTA for
the operations people so that they can update the message / noticeboard
area with their HTML file of choice (it is constricted within it's
frame, though, in the HTA).
 
Some of this was based on the rationale that without a local browser,
the NFuse / WI model may still be tenable - but there are other choices,
too. This was mainly driven by business needs to make the desktop as
simple and as encouraging to make the business apps as easy as possible
to get to.
 
Neil

        -----Original Message-----
        From: Ron Oglesby [mailto:roglesby@xxxxxxxxxxxx] 
        Sent: 23 September 2003 16:24
        To: thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
        Subject: [THIN] Re: CE thins and nFuse
        
        

        I have done this (but not for a thousand users) I am also
planning one right now for about 600 or so to access this way.  

         

        Any. The concept with NFuse is simple. Have the CE client launch
to anonymous NFuse (published IE). Then the users can sign into that and
launch applications.

        Alternatively you can have a STRIPPED down desktop with a
taskbar.  From within the desktop they can use NFuse. BUT I have found
that often times it is better to give users the ability to run all the
apps right from that desktop (even using the passthrough client to
launch apps from other silos)

         

        But to address your individual questions:

         

        Is it possible to achieve a user bombproof environment with
nFuse (Web Interface) on CE devices and still maintain the taskbar? 

        Maintaining a taskbar mean giving them a desktop (even if
stripped) Bomb proof would mean mandatory profiles with maybe a flex or
hybrid mixed in. That is about as close to bomb proof as you can get.
BUT any desktop is a hole, never forget that.

        What are the pitfalls of CE devices, other than the inability to
have any local apps?. 

        Not anything you would want to run.... And generally these
devices don't have enough CE to do anything other than connect to a
server.

        How was your experience with implementation? 

        Been good in most cases. I don't like giving the user a desktop
if I don't have to. If I do I give them mandatory profiles. If they
gripe about saving settings I then add in the flex or hybrid profile kit
so the admins determine what is saved and not the user.

        How do users like the environment? 

        Just fine once they get done gripping. You have to find a
balance between giving them anything they want and not giving them
anything. I found that these are easiest when moving them from older
slower machines.

        Any other comments? 

        Not now.

         

         

         


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