New server will increase affordable computing in educational facilities by allowing multiple users to simultaneously share one computer using multiple screens, says Microsoft.

Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 is now available to OEMs and was made available to Microsoft academic volume licensing customers on March 1st. It’s described as an operating system that enables multiple people to connect to a single host computer with their own monitor, keyboard and mouse through USB or a video card.

Each person individually controls his or her own station with an “independent and familiar” Windows experience. Classrooms, labs and libraries are where Microsoft sees the technology being used.

Anthony Salcito, Vice President of Worldwide Education at Microsoft, said, “We heard clearly from our customers in education that to help fulfill the promise of technology in the classroom, they needed access to affordable computing that was easy to manage and use.”

Bill Rust, research director at Gartner, added, “Shared resource computing can multiply the number of student workstations available to schools, delivering more value while staying within the same budget. Teachers can better align computing resources with instructional strategies while deploying fewer fully configured computers and reducing workstation support liabilities.”