Microsoft ships new Windows server optimized for shared educational use

Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 -- a Windows Server 2008-based product for educational users, especially in emerging markets -- is shipping as of February 24.

The newest product from Microsoft's Startup Business Group allows multiple users to share simultaneously a single computer.

MultiPoint Server 2010 may be purchased today through OEMs including HP, Howard Technology, NComputing, Wyse and Seneca Data. It also be available via Microsoft academic volume licensing, as of March 1. At launch, Microsoft said to expect the product to support Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.

Microsoft officials said last fall that they planned to ship MultiPoint Server 2010 in the first half of this year.

Microsoft is touting the forthcoming MultiPoint Server as being designed for non-technical professionals, so they won’t need a consultant or administrator to set up and manage the system.

MultiPoint Server maps a USB 2.0 keyboard, mouse, and headset to a monitor to create a student station. Each station gets an individual Windows desktop. The teacher management interface is called the MultiPoint Manager and allows the management of desktops, student accounts, and student sessions, plus provides teachers with a way to distribute content to students’ desktops.