InformationWeek
Defining The Business Value Of Technology
November 17, 1997
Intel's NC Push
Chipmaker tries to persuade NC vendors to adopt design specs based on its chipsBy Mary Hayes , Tom Davey , and Bob Francis
The hectic activity reflects growing user interest in NCs, which vendors promise will be cheaper to buy and much cheaper to manage than PCs. A recent InformationWeek survey of 200 IT managers found 33% were piloting or in production with NCs and planned to use them
to replace both PCs and terminals in many different types of applications.
The range of uses for thin clients is one reason the devices are settling into at least three categories: Windows terminals, priced at $500 to $800 and designed primarily to access Windows apps running on Windows NT servers; basic NCs typically priced at $700 to $900 and designed to access the Internet as well as Unix, legacy, and Windows apps; and powerful NCs priced at $1,000 or more and designed mainly to run Java applications.
Users may deploy more than one type, depending on application. "When making a choice, you really need to look at the type of systems you want to reach out and touch," says Duane Stanley, director of communication systems at AMR Eagle, the airline holding company. AMR's American Eagle carrier is buying 365 IBM Network Station Series 100 NCs for accessing Unix, legacy and Windows applications. But AMR may upgrade to an IBM Series 1000, which has the extra power needed to run Java well, when it impleme
nts Java applications that are now in development.
Windows terminals using software from Citrix Systems Inc. have been around for a while. This week, vendors including Network Computing Devices and Neoware Systems will show for the first time devices designed to access Microsoft's new Hydra multiuser extension to NT, which is due for general availability next year.
One common characteristic of most thin clients in all of these categories: They don't use Intel chips. But after eyeing the market for months, Intel has decided to jump in. At its recent fall analysts' meeting, the company disclosed that it's working on a "lean client" reference specification for NCs that could act as Windows terminals, NCs, or Java-based NCs. Paul Otellini, Intel's executive VP for sales and marketing, says the company is pursuing the "terminal replacement" market for devices priced as low as $500. Intel is likely to formally announce the spec along with more details of the plan by year's end.
NC vendors approached
by Intel say the chipmaker is pushing designs based on Pentium-class chips with clock speeds from 133 MHz to 200 MHz and faster, depending on whether the device is intended to run Java or less-demanding software. The spec also includes some of the Wired For Management capabilities Intel promotes for PCs, such as Wake-on-LAN.
Intel CEO Andy Grove has stressed that the company wants to make sure users have a common level of manageability for all client devices. "Intel is bringing the whole manageability story down to the thin-client level," says one executive familiar with the specification. But another source briefed by Intel sees it differently: "The specification will lock vendors into using an Intel chip."
But Intel may find it tough to attract vendors of thin clients. Because NCs don't directly run PC software, most NC vendors choose RISC chips based on PowerPC, StrongArm, and Mips architectures that offer better raw price/performance than Intel's, says Linley Gwennap, publisher of the Microproce
ssor Report in Sunnyvale, Calif. Unless Intel can make PC compatibility a key issue, it faces a tough job. "The only argument you can make for x86 is compatibility with PC hardware," Gwennap says.
Even Wintel's other half is courting other chipmakers. Windows CE 2.0, the operating system that Microsoft wants NC makers to run on their Windows terminals, will run on a range of different processor architectures. Neoware, for instance, is working on a PowerPC-based Windows CE terminal. Hewlett-Packard is planning a big push into Windows terminals, but its first models will use RISC processors, not Intel chips, an HP official says.
Intel's delay in entering the market doesn't help. "They are new to this whole thing, and they've come late in the game," says Lorraine Hariton, senior VP of marketing and business development at NCD, which is planning a Windows CE terminal based on a non-Intel chip. But NCD is considering Intel's design carefully. "Intel's name carries lots of market value," Hariton says.
Intel hasn't given up on another of its efforts-the NetPC, a sealed-box NT client devised jointly with Microsoft. Otellini says Intel is working on a simplified NetPC specification for diskless NetPCs running NT. The idea is that removing the need for a disk could cut the cost and improve the reliability of the NetPC. The original version of the NetPC has met with a lukewarm response, though Microsoft says six vendors, including Compaq, Dell, and HP, now offer the products.
If PC vendors' enthusiasm for the NetPC is lukewarm, their interest in Windows is cool. "We're not interested in terminals at the moment," says Michael Takemura, product marketing manager for Compaq's desktop group. "We believe the NetPC offers plenty of opportunity for our users who want a fixed-function terminal."
Not surprisingly, NC makers don't see it that way. Tektronix and Neoware will announce Windows terminals that initially will use Citrix software, and Windows CE and Hydra when those products ship.
Which thin-cl
ient product categories will ultimately succeed is uncertain. What is clearer is that the rapidly evolving market has reached a new level of activity-and with Intel's involvement, a new level of recognition.
With additional reporting by
Stuart J. Johnston
he momentum for network computers is exploding into a barrage of choices, with several distinct categories of thin-client devices emerging. At least a dozen products, including Windows terminals using new software from Microsoft, are expected to emerge at Comdex/Fall in Las Vegas this week. The rising noise level has also finally prodded Intel into action, and the chipmaker is quietly trying to persuade thin-client makers to adopt new design specifications based on its processors.
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