At work, we've just started experimenting with Sun Rays and I've got a 2FS on my desk. I have used these devices at Java One in the past but this is the first time I've got to take a closer a look at these devices. The 2FS is a sleek package about the size of a notebook. In front, it has a smart card reader slot, one USB 2.0 port, a stereo line level in, a headset jack and a microphone jack. At the back, it has a serial port, a 100 Base-FX optical connection, a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet jack, two USB 2.0 ports, two DVI outputs and the power input. The two DVI outputs are definitely advantage especially for programmers. At present I'm using the Sun Ray with my existing desktop via an Iogear KVM switch (model GCS42UW6) and our office is only wired up for Ethernet. the 2FS uses a RMI Alchemy™ Au1550™ Processor. All that information is based on external appearances and the technical specs from Sun; I haven't looked at the innards yet.
The 2FS comes off as a pretty neat package until you look at the price tag. The 2FS costs $499 plus a $125 Sun Ray Software Right-To-Use (RTU) License from Sun. There's also the cost of the server backend required to support a slew of Sun ray clients. Of course, the purported savings are in the lack of maintenance costs related to upgrades, viruses, etc. That may be meaningful for large companies but for a small to mid-size organization, I'm not convinced about the financial advantages. It definitely puts the Sun Ray out of the home computing market.
Over the next few days, I'll post more information about the Sun Ray based on my use.
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