Multiuser computing is nothing new. It’s been around for decades. The idea is that a single central processing unit can serve multiple users, each of them working on their own monitors, keyboards and mice. After all, the typical CPU mostly sits there, awaiting the brains in our fingers to tell it what we want it to do next. I assure you, if a CPU had opposable thumbs, they’d be twiddling a lot.

NComputing’s X300 lets you share one PC among seven users. Where would this be useful? In a home environment where more than one family member at a time needs to have access to computing power. In a small office, where computers aren’t what people sit in front of all day, but when they need to get onto one, they need it now. Educational environments where budget is tight but the need is great. In other words, each of those people doesn’t need his or her own computer, just a display, keyboard and mouse. These days, those components are relative bargains.

The X300 works on both Windows and Linux systems. To set it up, you install a PCI card and virtualization software onto the computer that’s to be shared. Then you connect access devices to the PCI card with cables that you get in the box. Finally, you plug in a user’s monitor, keyboard and mouse to each access device. That gives you room for four users. To get the full seven, you add a second X300 kit.

And, yes, each user can do multi-media and run their own sets of software applications in their own space on the virtual desktop.

Posted on February 22nd, 2008 by dian