InformationWeek

November 10, 1997

Many NC Choices

IBM's Series 1000 runs Java vertical applications

akers of thin clients will show off a variety of choices at Comdex/Fall this year, from Java-based network computers to Windows terminals.

IBM aims to quash one criticism of Java-based NCs-that they don't run Java as well as most PCs-with its Network Station Series 1000. "The Series 1000 has the capability to run robust, Java-intensive vertical applications," says Howie Hunger, director of channels and marketing distribution for IBM's NC division.

The Series 1000 uses a 200-MHz PowerPC 603e chip and comes with a price tag of about $1,100. NC vendor NeoWare Systems Inc. is also showing a new system based on a PowerPC chip.

However, users remain wary about the near-term potential of Java-based NCs. Sears, Roebuck and Co. has bought more than 2,400 thin clients from Boundless Technologies for its tire stores, but for now those systems will be used to access Windows NT applications, not Java. "The big wait-and-see is if [NCs] can become fully functioning termi nals," says Steve Junk, VP for automotive and marketing systems at Sears.

Hesitancy about Java is one reason many vendors are aligning with Microsoft's upcoming Hydra, the multiuser extension to Windows NT. Network Computing Devices will show a prototype Windows terminal running the Windows CE operating system, which will sell next year for just over $500.

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