Comments on: The virtualized client is coming

Citrix's XenClient offers a window to a future where virtualization is just part of the way that client systems are designed and built.

[rcardona2k]

A PC as we know it and Type 1 hypervisor machnine are intractably incompatible. Nothing has unseated BIOS in over 20+ years. Even Apple has to emulate in U/EFI for Boot Camp! You can never game effectively with a Type 1 hypervisor setup, and the pass-thru 'standards' for the hardware access required aren't even close to reality.
What's the underlying filesystem for a Type-1 machine? MSFT NTFS, VMware VMFS, Xen/KVM xLVM?

The more Corporate vendors and enterprises attempt to lock down the client (cough, PC), that just drives computing freedom, innovation, and personalization into the Web or the Cloud.

[ghaff]

"Fundamentally incompatible" seems pretty strong even if I agree that a lot of the details (probably including standards need to be worked out). Where I really disagree though is with the contention that this is about locking down PCs more. Seems the opposite. Let employees use whatever devices they want while meeting IT security requirements with a corporate image VM.

[alainassaf]

I think you're missing the point. A type 1 hypervisor frees enterprise IT and the user completely from hardware. If you use a Mac at home, a thin client at work, and a netbook/laptop while traveling you can use the same virtual desktop regardless of what device you use. This frees enterprise IT from having to support end-user machines since the hypervisor will run an IT blessed VM that's configured and secured from the user's local system/network. It also frees the user by allowing them to chose what hardware they want instead of a corporate issued machine that is severely locked down and not really functional except to connect to work.

This won't be a solution for everyone in every situation, but the most these vendors want to do is support Web 2.0 and streaming media, which are the biggest demands on an enterprise client.