he network computer debate is heating up. Discussions range from the lower cost of NC ownership and maintenance to the real-world effectiveness of the devices.
The computer industry is on the verge of a "fourth wave." In the 1960s, the first wave of mainframe computing focused on simple data creation. The second wave, in the '70s, rode in
on the minicomputer. The third wave, PCs, evolved into information processing. And now, the NC or thin client allows instant access to all prior generations of computers, as well as taking users one step beyond client-server. Management, upgrading, maintenance, and support now migrate off hundreds, even thousands, of PC desktops in an enterprise and return to the server. Unlike the PC, the thin client is purely an information-access device, with little of the overhead and few of the headaches of today's PCs.
The NC has come a long way in a short time. In 1996, "network computer" described a yet-to-be-invented Internet access device for home users. Then, innovators such as IBM, Sun Microsystems, Netscape Communications, and Oracle described the Network Computer 1 (NC-1) Reference Profile of minimum requirements for a device called an NC. Today, the debate is not if there will be NCs, but rather what their structure will be, how many there will be, and who will provide them.
NCs fall into three categor
ies: the thin client, the Windows terminal, and the NC-1 compatible or Java environment. Even though my company's products are NC-1 compatible, I believe that, ultimately, thin clients and Windows terminals will win.
Although the reference profile is more of a vendor wish list than a user needs-oriented specification, the NC's concept was quickly adopted by businesses in response to IT nightmares that include the high cost and frequency of desktop upgrades, lack of corporate data security, and productivity dangers of infrequent backups of PC data. To these businesses, the solution is not an NC-1 compatible or browser/Java device right now, but access from every desktop to vital network resources.
Microsoft, Oracle, and Sun will continue their attempts to make each other's NC products incompatible, and it can be difficult to avoid the fray. I believe this issue will be resolved by leaving compatibility to the server.
The eventual winner won't be a Java-only NC or a Microsoft Windows-only terminal
, but a true thin client that meets our long-standing definition of a universal NC: a machine that can deliver any application to any desktop from any server. A true thin client doesn't worry about platform incompatibility because it connects to any server.
The benefits of NCs can be seen at companies adopting the new paradigm. Users find ease of use, efficiency, reliability, quick software updates, and access to more applications among the benefits of NCD's Explora computers. Users also gain a PC-like environment with increased access to business-critical information, while maintenance and backup headaches shift to IS. Similarly, IS takes control of the desktop, minimizing upgrade cycles by upgrading software on the server. CIOs enjoy lower cost of ownership and more productivity and security.
One happy customer, the University of Washington Medical Center, has 1,200 NCs, and has bypassed two major upgrade cycles of PC hardware while cutting maintenance to less than $100 per user per year. Many of t
he center's NCs have been in place for six years with no notable downtime.
This is just the beginning of the thin-client revolution. Over the next 10 years, CIOs will regain control of the desktop and reverse the paradigm from client-server to server-client. The fourth wave of computing is upon us.
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Future of the PC
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Read on about the "Future of the PC" from:
- Steve Luczo
, executive VP of corporate development at Seagate Technology and chief operating officer at Seagate Software in Scotts Valley, CA
- Bill Raduchel
, chief information officer of Sun Microsystems in Mountain View, CA
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he network computer debate is heating up. Discussions range from the lower cost of NC ownership and maintenance to the real-world effectiveness of the devices.
