From the Factory Floor to the Front Office

Over the course of the last decade, the growth of thin client computing in factories and industrial environments has continued to increase as demand has steadily risen.   In these facilities, where environmental and safety factors are often the primary influence when deciding on a reliable computing platform, there is a definite need for technology that replaces the PC.  As a machine, the PC is not intended to operate in an area filled with vibration, airborne particulates, or hazardous gases.   Such concerns and factors explain why there is constant growth in the industrial thin client computing arena.  But this beckons the question, if industrial operations continue moving to the thin client because they HAVE TO, then what is the impetus for the front office CHOOSING TO? [...]

MailBag Friday (#5)

Every Friday, we dedicate this space to sharing Technical Support emails we have recently received.  Our hope is that this weekly feature will help to educate other ThinManager users and provide them with answers to questions they may have about licenses, installation, integration, deployment, upgrades, maintenance, and daily operation.  Great Technical Support is an essential part of any software product, and we are constantly striving to make your environment as productive and efficient as possible. [...]

MailBag Friday (#3)

Every Friday, we dedicate this space to sharing Technical Support emails we have recently received.  Our hope is that this weekly feature will help to educate other ThinManager users and provide them with answers to questions they may have about licenses, installation, integration, deployment, upgrades, maintenance, and daily operation.  Great Technical Support is an essential part of any software product, and we are constantly striving to make your environment as productive and efficient as possible. [...]

A Walk through the Clouds


Unless you live under a rock on a deserted island, chances are you have heard about, considered using, or are moving toward “The Cloud.”  It is now a prevalent and unavoidable topic of conversation that has finally made its way from computing industry professionals to the general populace.   In the very near future, “The Cloud” will have become just another term in the lexicon of technology that people accept as a part of their daily computer activity, even if they don’t entirely understand it.  Much like instant messaging, search engine, the web, and Wi-Fi, the cloud is rapidly becoming as much a part of our daily lives as the bowl of cereal we have to start our day. [...]

MailBag Friday (#2)

Every Friday, we dedicate this space to sharing Technical Support emails we have recently received.  Our hope is that this weekly feature will help to educate other ThinManager users and provide them with answers to questions they may have about licenses, installation, integration, deployment, upgrades, maintenance, and daily operation.  Great Technical Support is an essential part of any software product, and we are constantly striving to make your environment as productive and efficient as possible. [...]

MailBag Friday (#1)

Every Friday, we dedicate this space to sharing Technical Support emails we have recently received.  Our hope is that this weekly feature will help to educate other ThinManager users and provide them with answers to questions they may have about licenses, installation, integration, deployment, upgrades, maintenance, and daily operation.  Great Technical Support is an essential part of any software product, and we are constantly striving to make your environment as productive and efficient as possible. [...]

Configuration and Setup for a Terminal

Here at ACP we often speak at great length about all of the amazing features ThinManager has to make your facility more secure and efficient.  But while perusing our blog archives, I realized that perhaps we have neglected explaining the basics and have placed the cart before the horse.   So I have decided to dedicate this week to explaining one of the most basic processes necessary to implementing ThinManager – setting up a ThinManager ready thin client.

Terminal Configuration Wizard

To connect a new terminal to your ThinServer, you must first set the basic configuration via DHCP or via a static IP.  Once the server and the terminal are communicating with each other, it is just a matter of clicking the appropriate selection boxes as you navigate the Terminal Configuration Wizard [...]

How Does Citrix Compare to ThinManager?

With the completion of the ThinManager 6.0 Launch & Training event, we are gearing up for the inevitable landslide of reviews and requests that follow a successful launch.  Some people are just hearing about ThinManager for the first time, while long-term end users are making plans for upgrading the ThinManager centralized management platform currently running in their facility.  One of the most common questions we are asked is, “Why do I need ThinManager if I already have another centralized management solution running my daily operations?” [...]

ThinManager 6.0 Launch Event Raises the Bar

Ready for Launch!
From the moment the music started and the partition wall was removed in a backlit shroud of darkness, attendees of the ThinManager 6.0 Launch Event started thinking that this was not going to be a typical expo event.  Less than 10 minutes later as the lights came up on a large room filled with rocket shaped display booths and more technology than they could shake a stick at, that feeling was confirmed.

Immediately following, Matt Crandell, CEO of Automation Control Products, took to the stage and clearly conveyed the magnitude of this event to a packed house.  There would be no product pitch or chest thumping because the ThinManager platform could stand alone without a need for bells and whistles.  There would be no “dead time” or aimless wandering because there was something for everyone regardless of the time of day.  And most importantly, there would be ample opportunity for everyone to experience a true interactive environment.  “The best way to explain the product is to put it in people’s hands and let them experience it for themselves,” said Crandell. [...]

ThinManager 6.0 What You Need to Know (#6)

Over the next month, we will be spotlighting some of the new features being introduced with the release of ThinManager 6.0, as well as improvements to existing features. With so many additions and advancements to our thin client management platform over the last year, we felt it was important to give you a detailed look at what ThinManager 6.0 brings to the table:

The Little Things

My grandmother was fond of the expression “the devil is in the details”.  Over the years I have heard that same expression used over and over again in many different forms, but it always means the same thing.  Most ideas have value, but it is the execution of each part of the idea that is the difference between success and failure.  After all, anyone can have an amazing idea, but implementation of that idea into a form that is easy to understand and use is what makes it accessible and approachable by the masses.  If it only makes sense to you, then even your best idea is of very little value to the person standing next to you. [...]