The PC Has Become a Mainframe

[Brad Jones]

Microsoft MultiPoint Server 2010 has managed to turn a PC into a mainframe. In fact it is much more like a mainframe than ever before. MultiPoint provides the ability to allow multiple people to use a single computer simultaneously. Using their own monitors, keyboard, and mouse, they have access to the Windows machine in much the same way that terminals could access a mainframe in the 80s.

It seems that the more things change, the more they return to the same!

Of course when you hear MultiPoint Server, you might cringe as a developer as there is a fair chance that you use more than one machine versus th intent of MultiPoint, which is to have multiple users on one machine. However, this does give you new opportunities for writing applications, so that should peak your interest. In fact, there is a MultiPoint 1.5 SDK that you can freely download to develop applications.

One of the fun things this SDK will allow you to do is to create support for multiple mouses (mice?) in your application. In fact, you can build applications that support up to 25 simultaneous users on a single PC. Each of these users can even have their own mouse! There is even a guide for getting started available online.

If you check out the SDK and build a cool application, be sure to share it with the rest of us at Codeguru. Of course, feel free to share your thoughts on the MultiPoint Server -- or the concept of the software -- in the comments below!


For more on MultiPoint Server you can see the Microsoft press release



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[MrViggy]

Interesting. However, hasn't Linux provided this ability since it's inception?

Viggy

[S_M_A]

I guess the difference here is that 25 users can actively use the same program? Like 25 users that all paint in a common area thru multiple "main"-windows?

[MrViggy]

Ahh, I'd have to see a demo. I took this to mean that each user would log in, and have their own desktop (like multiple users logging into a *NIX box).

Viggy

[Joeman]

Well there is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-Pointer_X I never tried it.

[dglienna]

How many people can I share my work or projects with?

You can share individual documents or workspaces with up to 100 people for online collaboration.

http://workspace.officelive.com/en-us/