AWS debuts Amazon WorkSpaces Thin Client device for virtual desktop access | Hacker News Reader

AWS debuts Amazon WorkSpaces Thin Client device for virtual desktop access

aws.amazon.com

51 pointsalbertwang16 comments

And we're circling back to these awful thin clients. Man computing is going to suck for worker drones for the next while. WYSE eat your heart out!

Cloud based environments have been relatively common in big corps since EC2.

Much easier to manage than procure desktop or laptops for external devs.

I'm not sure they should be promoting this as a device that is suitable for disaster response. They also don't mention the total cost of ownership upfront. Seems like their initial arguement is hinged on the cost of Windows and other licences and they don't really compare themselves to something like Chrome OS.

Really chomping into Microsoft's domain here.

$195 / per device + $6/month usage. Which for corporate IT, is probably a bargain vs some depreciating hardware + Microsoft OS + Office licenses + backups/virus/etc.

Edit: Wait, I misread, it is $6 / month + whatever virtual machine is being hosted.

Office 365 subscription licences are quite cheap too. With a bare minimum laptop (say 600usd) excel/word/browser work can be done with no issues. Considering that a laptop is also self contained with no need for extra devices (amazon thin client still needs a screen, peripherals attached) it may not be so much better for IT departments.

Doing this. All documents synced to the cloud. Os striped down and autoupdated with just Office.

No connection to the internal IT other then the sync.

If something goes haywire the Laptop gets nuked and replaced on the same day

So it is basically an upgraded SunRay 3i except it has a few more smarts (probably including a CPU that has hardware encryption like almost all do now) to reach out to AWS to configure itself rather than needing a local DHCP and SunRay Server software.

AWS is now entering its Sun era I see.

Those of us that started working with UNIX and Novel Netware servers, where all development was done server side, are getting some déjà-vu.

I hope this becomes available on GovCloud, that would be a game changer for remote workers working with CUI data. For a small business, I wonder if a completely managed, GovCloud based IT infrastructure might make it easier and cheaper to achieve CMMC compliance.

There is a good use case for WorkSpaces: DR. Having an on-demand desktop for staff in the event of a disaster.

WorkSpaces definitely has value. The question is whether AWS-hardware vs commodity computers is better.

https://clients.amazonworkspaces.com/

I would not want to depend on a thin clients network in a disaster, would you?

Depending on the nature of the disaster, I think I would prefer it.

A ransomware incident where every "workstation" becomes encrypted, losing availability. We could re-create every workstation (in this case, Desktop in a Cloud) likely within an hour.

Compared to rebuilding every laptop? Days.

If availability of the Thin Client is lost, the DR might be as simple as a factory reset or could be to use a personal device to connect to the Desktop in the Cloud.

Then a COTS thin client could be re-shipped which has no customisation. Using Amazon for fulfillment, that would be at the persons house or office the following day. As it doesn't need any changes made, there is reduced pressure on IT support to re-onboard everyone.

Surely network access is often lost during disasters? Sure, for ransomware recovery, it might be good, but not any random disaster. A cheap Google Chromebook offers essentially the same hypothetical advantages but with much less dependency on the network, and with much less ongoing cost. I have no vested interest in this, I use Ubuntu and a Mac myself, but I get the appeal of wanting to have a locked down thin client. I'm not quite sure a device that depends on good internet, all the time is such a good idea, seeing how often there are often outages for networks and popular central services. Slack, GitHub, OpenAI, Cloudflare etc. If the device had some open API it could be used with, so it's not a brick in the event of wanting to switch services, it might be more interesting.

One more way for Amazon to put a microphone in your home office.

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