Sun Microsystems plans to debut a new line of its Sun Ray thin client terminals and shed more light on its UltraSparc T1 “Niagara” processors and other multithreaded chip plans.

The Sun Ray thin-client computing platform is actually a combination of hardware and software. At the hardware end, there are two new clients available. The modest Sun Ray 2 offers 10/100 Ethernet, sound, and USB support. The Sun Ray 2FS is larger but adds 100FX support for greater security at the transport level, as well as the ability to run dual monitors. Both clients are outfitted with SmartCard readers to support two-factor authentication.

If previous ideas from Sun come true, the new Sun Ray models will be able to connect not just by 10-megabit-per-second Ethernet networking, but also via home broadband and 802.11 wireless networks.

Sun hasn’t had much luck getting the world to scrap PCs in favor of thin clients, which Sun argues are easier to manage and more energy efficient.Sun has promised Sun Rays that come with Internet calling features using voice over Internet Protocol i.e VOIP.