The return of thin client for desktops, brought to you by zero-configuration

Some time ago, the notion of a "thin client" for desktop computers (mostly Windows PCs, as this was before the rise of Apple) got some attention but little traction. The "thin client" applications of the time evolved into "web applications" and people kept their desktop applications as "thick client" apps.

We may see the return of "thin client" apps for desktop computers, combined with a return of "zero-configuration" applications. Apple's iOS manages apps with close to zero configuration, as does Android and Windows RT. Apps are easy to install -- so easy that non-technical people can purchase and install apps. The experience is a far cry from the experience of the typical Windows install program, which asks for locations, menu groups, and possibly registration codes.

The success of smartphones and tablets is also due to the managed environment. Apps on smartphones have less control than their desktop PC counterparts. An app on a smartphone responds to a select set of events and the operating system can shut down the app at any time (say to allocate memory to a different app). On the PC (Windows, Mac, or Linux), the application once running has control and "takes over" the computer until it decides that it has finished. (Yes, all modern operating systems can shut down applications, but in general the operating system attempts to keep the program running.)

Will we see a managed environment for desktop PCs? Such an environment would be a program running on the computer that performs the same tasks as iOS, Android, and Windows RT. It would allow apps to be "installed" in its environment (not on the native OS) and these apps would respond to events just as smartphones apps respond to events.

Who would create such a product (and ecosystem)?

Well, not Apple. Apple has nothing to gain by extending iOS apps to the Mac OSX (or Windows) desktop. Nor do they gain with a new (competing) environment.

And I suspect not Google. Google also has nothing to gain by extending Android to the desktop.

Microsoft? In a sense, they already have built an app ecosystem for Windows: their recent Windows 8 product. It runs apps in "Windows New UI" mode and classic applications in "Windows 7" mode. But I'm not thinking about Windows 8, I'm thinking of a different environment, possibly an Android simulator or something new.

Canonical, the providers of Ubuntu Linux, are working on their "Unity" interface and they may change Linux from an application-based system to an app-based system, but that doesn't get anything onto Mac OSX or Windows desktops.

To be sure, such an effort has challenges and uncertain payoffs. The product is a combination of virtual machine, environment manager, and distribution network. Beyond the software, one has to create the ecosystem of developers and users; no small task now that Apple, Android, Microsoft, RIM/Blackberry, and Amazon.com/Kindle have started such efforts.

Yet it could be possible, for the right players. I see them as HP and VMware. The former has WebOS, a platform that had decent acceptance at the technical level. The latter has the technology for virtual machines and a good reputation. I could see a joint project to create an app environment, with each partner contributing. Add Salesforce.com with its development environment, and one could have a powerful combination.