Edge Computer, Thin Client Media Players and MiniPC

Edge Computing digital signage and thin client

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We cover edge computing and lately AI computing (since 1999) — thin clients, miniPCs, media players, and AIO resources. Managed endpoints come to mind as well. For more information — complete a contact form or you can contact Craig Keefner at craigkeefner@pm.me or 720-324-1837. We also run a large APAC group on WhatsApp for Shenzen and Asian participants.

Thanks to solution partners Intel (Kathy) , Pyramid Computer (Zahdan), TPGI (Traci) and NZ Technology .  

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Last 20 Posts

  • NRA National Restaurant Show
    See Association of Kiosk Manufacturers at National Restaurant Show The National Restaurant Association Show returns to Chicago from May 16–19, 2026, bringing together the full spectrum of foodservice innovation—from global brands to emerging technology providers shaping the future of hospitality. Held at McCormick Place, the event serves as a central hub for operators, IT leaders, and solution providers focused on improving efficiency, customer experience, and profitability. Visit Booth 5829 in the North Building to explore the latest in self-service kiosks, digital ordering, contactless engagement, and edge-powered restaurant technology designed to meet the evolving demands of modern foodservice environments. What and Where To See Floorplan Registration Schedule What To See in our booth Vispero — accessibility for quick serve restaurants and self-order kiosks Pyramid Computer – Kiosks — two different self-order kiosks Set up a Meeting text 720-324-1837 whatsapp or wechat — (
  • Payment Trends in Europe with VISA and Mastercard
    What’s Going On In Europe With Payments? Strategic takeaway: Europe isn’t dumping Visa and Mastercard—it’s quietly rewiring the plumbing so that, by the end of this decade, US card schemes become optional rather than existential for its domestic payments. Question: did Europe just turn their back on VISA and Mastercard Answer: Not entirely, but the “breakup” has officially started. As of March 2026, Europe is making its most aggressive move in decades to end its 95% dependence on U.S. payment infrastructure. It’s less of a sudden “turning of the back” and more of a massive, coordinated “eviction notice” through three major projects: Article – https://kioskindustry.org/payment-trends-in-europe-with-visa-and-mastercard/
  • Frictionless Payments and Consumer Spending
    Making It Easy For Customers To Pay “The less customers feel the payment, the more they spend.” One of our principles of ROI is keep TTT (Time to Transaction) at the top of priority metrics. Customers dwelling over payment stage are not good. Frictionless payments are no longer just a convenience feature—they are a primary driver of consumer behavior and revenue growth. New research from NMI confirms what many in self-service and unattended retail have been seeing in the field: when you remove effort, hesitation, and visibility from the payment process, consumers don’t just complete transactions faster—they spend more, buy more often, and think less about the transaction itself. In effect, payments have evolved from a necessary step in commerce into a behavioral lever that directly influences basket size, frequency, and brand loyalty. Article – https://kioskindustry.org/frictionless-payments-and-consumer-spending/ Excerpt – Frictionless payments are rewiring consumer spending habits, according to new research from NMI®, a global leader in embedded payments infrastructure. In its “Psychology of Payments” survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, half (50%) say they shop more frequently when payments feel seamless, while an equal share (50%) admit they abandon carts when the checkout process feels complicated or frustrating.
  • Why Cash Still Matters In A “Tap To Pay” World
    Why keeping cash in the mix still matters for consumers, small merchants, and the self‑service systems that serve them Scroll through the headlines and you’d think cash is already dead. Between mobile wallets, tap‑to‑pay cards, QR codes and “no‑cash” lanes, it’s easy to forget that simple paper money is still doing a lot of work in the background of the U.S. economy. For anyone who cares about payments, consumer choice and financial inclusion, cash is not nostalgia—it’s infrastructure. Full Article https://kioskindustry.org/why-cash-still-matters-in-a-tap-to-pay-world/
  • Embedded Industrial Computing and Giada
    Summary: Giada at Embedded World 2026—Powering the Edge AI Transition At Embedded World 2026 in Nuremberg, Giada Technology showcased its latest ...
  • China Infrastructure and Smart Lockers
    Summary: Smart Lockers as Urban Infrastructure—Lessons from China In China’s high-density cities, door-to-door delivery is increasingly inefficient. Smart lockers have emerged ...
  • China’s 15th Five-Year Plan
    Summary: How China’s 15th Five-Year Plan Accelerates Hardware Self-Reliance China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) represents a “structural pivot” toward technological sovereignty. ...
  • $200 AI Retrofit OR China’s AI-Native Smart Terminals
    Summary — $200 AI Retrofit vs. China’s AI-Native Smart Terminals Read full article 1. The $200 AI Retrofit Model This approach upgrades existing ...
  • China’s Plan Accelerate Tech Self-Reliance
    Summary — China’s 15th Five-Year Plan and Hardware Self-Reliance (2026–2030) China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) signals a major shift toward technological ...
  • Acer Repositions With Posiflex Buy
    Implications for Posiflex Group (Posiflex, Portwell, KIS) TAIPEI (February 21, 2025), Acer Inc. (TWSE: 2353) announced plans to acquire 25.6% of ...
  • Phygital 2.0: When AI Becomes Retail Infrastructure
    From “Unmanned Stores” to Intelligent Retail Systems Around 2018, the global retail industry became fascinated with the idea of the “unmanned ...
  • Edge AI and the Future of Self-Service Infrastructure
    Edge Computing – Hardware and Software Across the global self-service industry, kiosks are no longer simple transaction machines. In 2026, many ...
  • Best POS for Small Restaurants (and ones to Avoid)
    Gemini said Recommendations for POS for Restaurants (small restaurants) Based on the article from Kiosk Industry, here is a summary of the ...
  • LG Kiosk at CSUN next week with Dot
    CSUN – See LG Kiosk with Dot Inc. – Accessible kiosk LG at CSUN with Dot Braille Two notable things stand out: ...
  • Mini PCs Are Replacing Traditional PCs Inside Self-Service Kiosks
    Why Mini PCs Are Replacing Traditional PCs Inside Self-Service Kiosks in Asia Across China and the wider APAC region, the computer ...
  • TIG Weekly Self-Service & Retail Tech Briefing Feb 23
    What We Read This Week Reporting Period: January 24 – February 23, 2026 Focus: 18A Edge Compute, Trillion-Dollar Automation, and Federal Deadlines ## ...
  • Posiflex Redefines Self-Service with AI Food Recognition and Multimodal SOK Kiosks
    The Shift from Transactional to Intelligent: How Computer Vision and Voice AI are Driving QSR Efficiency At EuroShop 2026 this week, ...
  • Executive Briefing – Self-Service & Retail Tech Strategy Feb20
    Recent News for Self-Service and Retail Tech ## Strategic Watch List & Financials Walmart ($WMT): Automation vs. Human Touch Walmart reached a $1 ...
  • 2026 Self-Service Market Research TIG
    Table of Contents   How Big Is The Self-Service Market? In 2025 December we looked at Self-Service market as a whole. Here is summary of ...
  • Asia Self-Service Update — Feb 16
    Asia Developments — Self-Service, Kiosk & QSR Tech • Asia-Pacific Self-Service Kiosk Market Growing Rapidly The Asia-Pacific self-service kiosk market was valued ...

< h3>The primary AI Computing, Thin Client, Mini PCs and Media Player providers we highlight are:

Members of our APAC group also provide thin client and media players

  • Giada — providing digital signage player, edge computer, OPS/SDM and embedded motherboards for enterprise customers. Contact Lily at  giadatech.com
  • HYSTOU – top mini-pc manufacturer
  • NEXCOM International — embedded computing — nexcom 2025-IPS-Brochure-compressed
  • Centerm – thin client embedded
  • Minix – embedded
  • Newsmay – mini-PC

Recent Thin Client, MiniPC, Media Player and AIO News

Lockdown clients are available for those “old systems” as well. You can use Sitekiosk to lock down a Windows Terminal desktop to prevent unauthorized data transfers and web browsing as well as filter security threats.

And we extend that definition to include Chromebooks and ChromeOS which these days are often less than $300 and complete with remote management.

And now we have ultra-micro players creeping into the digital signage market.

Contact info@thinclient.org with any questions.

What is a Thin Client aka Thinclient?

  • Originally all data stored/accessed from cloud (a browser with no hard drive)
  • NComputing had some really nice and super inexpensive “workstations”
  • Became the marquee deployment for Windows Embedded
  • Began adding new ports, functions until it almost became your standard PC  (it might cost $600 too)
  • With advent of raspberry, high-speed internet, and the pandemic to push it along it is now evolving back towards to ultra-micro less than $200
  • A new player in the thin client market is the Raspberry Pi.  You can get fully configured touchscreen units now from Amazon for less than $200.
  • What we are NOT are the usual Dell or Lenovo office desktops. Those are “fat” clients and typically require singular discrete support and security.
  • See our feature is the test and review of the Raspberry Pi 400 as a Thin Client (just add a monitor).

About Us

Since 1999, Thinclient.org has been reporting the thin client computing market and the ChromeBook, Zero Client, Android clients, Pi Raspberry Clients, and Thick Client market. Generally, the cloud computing market has been around since it started with companies such as Citrix back in the late 80s.

What is it?

A thin client is a miniPC computer optimized for digital signage content or establishing a remote connection with a server-based computing environment.

The server does most of the work, which can include launching software programs, performing calculations, and storing data. This contrasts with a fat client or a conventional personal computer; the former is also intended for working in a client–server model but has significant local processing power, while the latter aims to perform its function mostly locally.

Thin client hardware generally supports a keyboard, mouse, monitor, jacks for sound peripherals, and open ports for USB devices (e.g., printer, flash drive, webcam). Some thin clients include legacy serial or parallel ports to support older devices such as receipt printers, scales or time clocks. Thin client software typically consists of a graphical user interface (GUI), cloud access agents (e.g., RDP, ICA, PCoIP), a local web browser, terminal emulators (in some cases), and a basic set of local utilities.

New hardware interfaces include socket-based enabled devices, eliminating the need for a physical USB connection. Bluetooth wireless connectivity is also a big factor for devices.

AI Computers

  • Start with the usual suspects from Dell, HP, Wyse, 10Zig, IGEL, etc
  • Add in Chromebooks
  • Add in converted desktops running a remote desktop
  • You can add in smartphones
  • Hardware starts at $25 Pico ITX and Raspberry PI
  • You have Power Over Ethernet versions
  • Many conventional historical thin client computers have assumed so much of a standard PC’s functionality that they are almost a Thin Client in name only.  The price can be higher than a standard desktop.
  • We have AIO or All-In-One Computers – typically with touchscreens.

Other Links

Here are some good resources for edge computers (edge computing devices and solutions):

  • Top 10 Edge Computing Devices for 2024

    • Detailed comparison and review of leading devices such as NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX, Google Coral Dev Board, Raspberry Pi 4, AWS DeepLens, Intel NUC, plus industrial models like Lenovo ThinkEdge SE50 and Dell EMC PowerEdge XE2420.extrapolate

  • Best Edge Computing Platforms 2025

    • Reviews of the best industrial edge computing platforms: Helin, Microsoft Azure IoT Edge, Sensia, Siemens Insights Hub, and more.helindata

  • CRN’s 50 Hottest Hardware, Software, and Services in Edge Computing (2024)

    • crn

  • Enterprise Networking Planet: 6 Best Edge Computing Companies & Solutions (2023)

    • enterprisenetworkingplanet

  • OnLogic: How to Find the Best Edge Computer

    • onlogic

  • Dell Edge Solutions

    • dell

  • InoNet: What Is an Edge Computer?

    • Explains edge computer concepts, focusing on industrial applications like IPCs for on-site processing and analytics.

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