Now, that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. A long time! Few remember it, but there was a version of Windows known as Windows Thin PC. Or there still is, but not for long.
That’s because Microsoft is here with a reminder that support for this variant of its operating system will see the end of support next month.
As the company explains:
“For organizations still maintaining Windows Thin PC, Microsoft recommends that you consider moving to a newer remote desktop client. Enterprise organizations needing information on upgrading should contact the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or Microsoft Authorized Distributor.”
End of the line to be reached October 12 this year.
Launched on July 1 2011, Windows Thin PC was based on Windows Embedded Standard 7. It was essentially a stripped-down version of Windows 7 for low performance PCs, and offered a thin client solution with a remote desktop experience via RemoteFX.
The PC could also be locked down using write filters.
IT administrators had the ability to configure it through System Center Configuration Manager and updates could be deployed via Windows Update.
Highlight being its very modest hardware requirements, which asked for a 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and a DirectX 9 graphics device with minimum WDDM 1.0 capabilities to go with a bootable DVD-ROM drive.
It was this, and the remote capabilities on offer that made this variant such a hit with users.
But as the software landscape evolved, and Microsoft came out with more and more advanced alternatives that offered new capabilities, focus started to shift from Windows Thin PC.
Redmond now recommends that organizations that still have a use case for this OS should consider upgrading to newer remote desktop clients instead. They can trigger this process by getting in touch with a Microsoft Authorized Distributor or OEM.
