Thin Clients : Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

Heres a very interesting write-up that you MUSTgo through.
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2000/01/27/179160/thin-clients-enter-the-space-age.htm

For any product category that we sell - as important as it is to know the product, it is also very important that we know the history of the device evolution - and also have a perspective of where it is headed next. This article gives you that perspective on thin clients.

For example : Did you know that every day of your life, each one of you uses a thin client ? "The future will see the rise of the thinnest device to date - the mobile phone. At the moment, the modern cellular telephone has most of the requirements to qualify as a thin client: it has a permanent connection to a network; it has high reliability and its services are provided from a central source."

Then again : "We envisage that within five years IT professionals may well have a Thincard in their wallet, simply plugging the card into a network attached device to access a virtual desktop, anywhere in the world."