Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella looks on from the audience during a press briefing at Microsoft’s campus on May 20, 2024 in Redmond, Washington.
Jason Redmond | AFP | Getty Images
Microsoft is previewing a new PC designed to connect corporate workers to their programs and files in the cloud.
Windows 365 Cloud Link is available for limited use in the US, Canada and a handful of other countries. It will go on sale in April in select markets for $349.
After failing to crack the list of top PC manufacturers with its Surface product line, Microsoft is trying something new in an established hardware category. In the second quarter, Microsoft said its $1.2 billion in device revenue was down about 11 percent, while total PC shipments rose about 2 percent. An estimate.
“Early testers have used the devices for call centers and hot desking, the practice of placing workers in temporary work locations rather than fixed locations,” said Jillian Ringer, product leader for Windows Cloud Endpoints. told CNBC. The interview
The device is meant to be simple and secure. It runs a stripped-down operating system called Windows CPC, with no native applications or native users, and has a strict application control policy that cannot be disabled. It automatically downloads updates in the background and installs them at night.
Microsoft’s Windows 365 Link supports dual 4K monitors.
Microsoft
one Intel The chip runs inside the computer, which comes with 8GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Weighing less than a pound, the puck-like package can be placed on a desk or even mounted behind a PC monitor.
The release comes three years after Microsoft introduced Windows 365, which gives employees access to their custom virtual desktops on any device. Desktop virtualization, including an earlier Microsoft product called Azure Virtual Desktop, took off in 2020 after the start of the Covid pandemic, leaving workers stuck at home.
In July 2023, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that Azure virtual desktop and Windows 365 combined would hit $1 billion in revenue for the first time in fiscal year 2024.
Deal And HP Both sell thin client PCs that connect to a virtual desktop infrastructure. Organizations can configure them with Windows or proprietary operating systems.
Melissa Grant, senior director of product marketing at Microsoft, said Windows 365 Cloud Link is a “good alternative” for thin clients.
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