Windows Thin PC: because budgets are shifting to tablets

When Microsoft announced the release of Windows 7 SP1 in early February, the company also released some information about a couple of upcoming products: Windows Thin PC (WinTPC) and Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM.)

Monday, Microsoft shared the first round of information about WinTPC, how it will fit in with volume licensing somewhere between Windows Virtual Desktop access (VDA), and Microsoft Software Assurance (SA), and why it is coming out in the first place.

"Depending on the device and the capability, a thin client could cost as much as a low-end PC," Microsoft's Karri Alexion-Tiernan said on Monday. "Many of you told us that budgets for buying new devices have been reduced, and that you prefer allocating funds towards devices that offer more functionality and flexibility, such as new Windows 7 PCs, tablets, or slates."

So WinTPC will help businesses turn their aging PCs into thin clients without incurring the VDA licensing charge for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) typically ascribed to Windows Embedded thin clients or old PCs running Windows Fundamentals.

WinTPC instead will be a benefit of the Software Assurance (SA) program, and businesses enrolled in the program will be able to turn their hardware into WinTPC clients with no additional VDA licensing costs. Businesses that don't have SA on their Windows PCs will still be able to purchase a VDA license for each device to get access to WinTPC, but Microsoft hasn't outlined how much this will cost yet.

Microsoft will be disclosing more information about WinTPC at an event this Thursday March 10, and we'll be looking for more information at that time.