By Agam Shah
IDG News Service (New York Bureau)
June 15, 2010

NEW YORK - Lenovo on Thursday announced the ThinkCentre M90Z all-in-one touchscreen PC, which will be offered with Intel’s VPro technology for easier management and maintenance.

The desktop comes with a 23-inch display and touch input for users to interact with the PC. The PC facilitates for easy replacement of components like hard drives without the need for tools, said Bill Dominici, product manager at Lenovo.

All-in-one PCs build most of the components in a single panel, except the keyboard and mouse. The desktop runs on Intel’s Core i3 and Core i5 processors, and offers up to 1TB of storage. It can be configured to include Intel’s vPro platform, a set of hardware and software technologies to improve system security and make remote management easier.

Using the platform, system administrators will be able to secure a desktop by remotely disabling systems and locking access to data. Through the platform, support personnel can also get pre-boot access to systems, which helps solve problems including disk and OS failure. Remote system maintenance can be done over wired or wireless networks.

The desktop is targeted at businesses, where touchscreen adoption is growing, Dominici said. Touchscreens provide a more effective input mechanism in certain businesses like schools and hospitals, he said.

The ThinkCentre M90z is available worldwide starting at US$899.

The company also introduced two workstations, the ThinkStation C20 and C20x, which will run on quad- or six-core Xeon 5600 series processors. The workstations support up to 96GB of RAM. The systems will be available in mid-June. Pricing information for the products was not immediately available.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Wireless Desktop Adapter
• Genius Wireless Keyboards
• Connect in Style with Buffalo’s New Hubs
• ‘World’s Smallest’ Android smartphones
• Windows 7 Compatible Router

By John Mark V. Tuazon
Computerworld Philippines
November 18, 2009

ALBAY, BICOL - Investing in PC refresh every three years, rather than waiting for the hardware’s end-life, is optimal for most firms to get the most value out of their investment, an executive from chip innovator Intel Technology Philippines urged Friday.

Speaking at the Synergy 2009 Forum jointly organized by Intel and HP in Cagraray Island, Albay, Bicol, Ricky Banaag, Intel Philippines country manager, said three years is the ideal time frame for a refresh strategy because most warranties phase out after that designated period.

“Most devices are already out of warranty after the third year, driving support costs up and heightening operational costs in the process,” Banaag explained. Among many support cost drivers due to a lag in the refresh cycle include out-of-warranty repair, deployment of new applications, service packs, updates and patches, and hardware and software malfunctions.

Banaag said most companies are missing out on potential benefits of newly-developed computing technologies if they refuse to upgrade their hardware systems after the optimal timeframe. “New PCs can be a lot more secure, protecting companies from security incidents that add to the risk factor of firms,” he stressed.

According to independent data from Wipro Consulting shared by Banaag during the forum, security risks usually increase by the fourth year of the product life cycle, escalating to as much as 87% by the fifth year.

Innovations such as Intel’s vPro technology, Banaag shared, shield PC’s from potential risks brought by the increasing number of threats each year. “vPro’s inherent proactive security, embedded manageability and energy efficiency will help the computing environment more secure,” he noted.

More importantly, Banaag emphasized, refreshed PCs help firms save costs by delivering business functions at a faster and more efficient rate. “Companies can save as much as $3 million and reduce operational costs by 50% if they make the decision to upgrade on their third year versus the fourth year,” he said.

The same data from Wipro Consulting reveal that companies are sticking to their normal refresh rates, or are speeding it up, even in the midst of the global economic downturn. At least 60% of companies polled—composed of 106 firms in North America & Europe—said they have not altered their refresh policies, while a small yet significant 8% said they are speeding up their refresh rates.

“Companies are taking advantage of new technologies that deliver better TCO, that’s why they are investing on a refresh despite the downturn,” Banaag suggested. “Tech refresh offers a viable scenario for sustaining growth during the crisis.”

Possibly Related Posts:

• Check Point clears the path to Web 2.0 application control
• Water cooling returns to IBM mainframe
• Microsoft still mum on programs prone to DLL hijacking attacks
• Mobile data traffic set to soar
• More IT managers plan to spend less, Oracle struggles with users, survey finds