Why Linux is Becoming the Residential Gateway Platform of Choice is an important article in the context of using Thick Servers in buildings (with Thin Clients in homes) as a way to create a much bigger consumer market for consumers:
There are many reasons for the accelerating trend to move Residential Gateway (RG) products to Linux-based platforms. These RG products include traditional router/gateway, firewall, and low-end functions that were handled by a proprietary RTOS, as well as new devices needing Virtual Private Network (VPN) support, Voice-Over-‘X’, and other value-add features.
Built as a networking operating system from the ground-up, Linux caters to a range of communication products throughout the embedded sector. An open system compliant with international standards, Linux is ideally suited for retrofit to existing boxes, and as a scalable OS platform for the emergent networking products of tomorrow.