Method and apparatus for display of windowing application programs on a terminal
View Patent ↗A video display terminal capable of operating with a graphical user interface such as Windows provides windowing functionality to permit use of popular applications programs resident on a server, without requiring more than application data to be transmitted from the server, and keyboard and mouse information to be transmitted from a terminal to the server. A terminal for communicating with a server includes a network interface for communicating with a server and a processor coupled to the network interface for operating with the network interface and for accessing a windows application resident on the server without executing locally the windows application resident on the server. The processor provides windowing functionality to permit use of a windows application resident on the server without requiring more than windowing information of the windows application to be transmitted from the server, wherein the windowing information includes application data. The terminal further includes one or more memories coupled to the processor, wherein the total amount of the one or more memories in the terminal is less than the total amount of one or more memories in the server. The terminal does not include a hard disk, and the terminal is for providing an appearance that is essentially the same as an appearance provided by a personal computer.
1. A terminal for communicating with a server, the terminal comprising:
a network interface for communicating with a server; and
a processor coupled to the network interface, the processor for operating with the network interface, the processor for accessing a windows application resident on the server without executing locally the windows application resident on the server.
2. A terminal according to claim 1 further comprising:
a display coupled to the processor, the display for displaying windowing information from the windows application; and
an input device coupled to the processor, the input device for receiving an input from a user,
wherein the terminal includes no hard disk.
3. A terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the terminal is a thin-client device.
4. A terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the terminal is secure.
5. A terminal according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a flash memory configured to store an operating system that is updated through communication with the server when the terminal is placed in a predetermined state.
6. A terminal according to claim 5 , wherein the flash memory has a flash file system that is partitioned into multiple single-directory drives having no clusters or sectors, wherein the flash memory permits a file to be executed out of the flash memory.
7. A terminal for communicating with a server, the terminal comprising:
a network interface for communicating with a server; and
a processor coupled to the network interface, the processor for operating with the network interface, the processor for providing windowing functionality to permit use of a windows application resident on the server without requiring more than windowing information of the windows application to be transmitted from the server, the windowing information including application data.
8. A terminal according to claim 7 further comprising:
a display coupled to the processor, the display for displaying information from the windows application; and
an input device for receiving an input from a user,
wherein the terminal is a thin-client device.
9. A terminal according to claim 7 , further comprising:
a flash memory configured to store an operating system that is updated through communication with the server when the terminal is placed in a predetermined state.
10. A terminal according to claim 9 , wherein the flash memory has a flash file system that is partitioned into multiple single-directory drives having no clusters or sectors, wherein the flash memory permits a file to be executed out of the flash memory.
11. A terminal for communicating with a server, the terminal comprising:
a processor for receiving windowing information supplied by a program executing on a server, the server for running a multi-user operating system, the program resident on the server; and
one or more memories coupled to the processor, a total amount of the one or more memories less than a total amount of one or more memories in the server.
12. A terminal according to claim 11 further comprising:
a display coupled to the processor, the display for displaying windowing information from the program executing on the server,
wherein the terminal is a thin-client device, and the server is a remotely located server.
13. A terminal according to claim 11 , wherein the one or more memories comprises:
a flash memory configured to store an operating system that is updated through communication with the server when the terminal is placed in a predetermined state.
14. A terminal according to claim 13 , wherein the flash memory has a flash file system that is partitioned into multiple single-directory drives having no clusters or sectors, wherein the flash memory permits a file to be executed out of the flash memory.
15. A terminal for communicating with a server, the terminal comprising:
a network interface for communicating with a server;
a processor coupled to the network interface, the processor for operating with the network interface, the processor for providing windowing functionality to permit use of a windows application resident on the server,
wherein the terminal does not include a hard disk,
wherein the terminal is for providing an appearance that is essentially the same as an appearance provided by a personal computer.
16. A terminal according to claim 15 further comprising:
a display coupled to the processor, the display for displaying information from the windows application resident on the server and for displaying the appearance that is essentially the same as the appearance provided by the personal computer;
wherein the terminal is a thin-client device.
17. A terminal according to claim 15 , wherein the terminal is for providing one or more features associated with a multi-user system and for providing one or more features associated with a client-server environment.
18. A terminal according to claim 15 , further comprising:
a flash memory configured to store an operating system that is updated through communication with the server when the terminal is placed in a predetermined state.
19. A terminal according to claim 18 , wherein the flash memory has a flash file system that is partitioned into multiple single-directory drives having no clusters or sectors, wherein the flash memory permits a file to be executed out of the flash memory.
20. A machine-readable storage medium comprising:
software code for communicating between a terminal and a server, the software code for performing the steps of:
operating with a network interface;
accessing a windows application resident on the server without executing locally at the terminal the windows application resident on the server; and
providing windowing information to a display.
21. A machine-readable storage medium according to claim 20 , wherein the terminal is a thin-client device, and the machine-readable medium is included in one or more devices.
22. A machine-readable storage medium comprising:
software code for communicating between a terminal and a server, the software code for performing the steps of:
operating with a network interface;
providing windowing functionality to permit use of a windows application resident on the server without requiring more than windowing information of the windows application to be transmitted from the server to the terminal, the windowing information including application data; and
providing windowing information to a display.
23. A machine-readable storage medium according to claim 22 , wherein the machine-readable medium is included in one or more devices.
24. A machine-readable storage medium comprising:
software code for communicating between a terminal and a server, the terminal having one or more memories, a total amount of the one or more memories less than a total amount of one or more memories in the server, the software code for performing the steps of:
operating with a network interface;
receiving windowing information supplied by a program executing on the server, the server for running a multi-user operating system, the program resident on the server; and
providing windowing information to a display.
25. A machine-readable storage medium according to claim 24 , wherein the machine-readable medium is included in one or more devices.
26. A machine-readable storage medium comprising:
software code for communicating between a terminal and a server, the terminal having no hard disk, the software code for performing the steps of:
operating with a network interface;
providing at the terminal windowing functionality to permit use of a windows application resident on the server; and
providing at the terminal an appearance that is essentially the same as an appearance provided at a personal computer.
27. A machine-readable storage medium according to claim 26 , wherein the machine-readable medium is included in one or more devices.
28. A machine-readable medium storage according to claim 26 , wherein the terminal is a thin-client device.