InformationWeek

November 24, 1997

Java NCs Delayed

Problems with delivering viable products push back large-scale deployments

ast week marked a bittersweet anniversary for the Java-based network computer. The Java NC, introduced in concept at Comdex/Fall in 1995 by vendors looking to provide an alternative to the Windows PC, has helped fuel huge user interest in thin-client computing. But some makers of Java NCs-including Sun Microsystems-are having difficulties delivering viable products. That's pushing back some large-scale deployments of the systems.

Federal Express, which issued a request for proposals for up to 75,000 NCs last summer in hopes of selecting a vendor by the end of this year, has decided to delay its choice until at least mid-1998. "Based on our requirements, several vendors told us product models scheduled for availability next spring were the most appropriate for our needs," says a FedEx spokeswoman.

Java NC delays aren't t he only factor holding back Java deployments, of course; the immaturity of the Java applications market is also a contributor. And problems with Java NCs haven't dampened interest in thin-client computing overall. Several vendors rolled out new thin clients at Comdex/Fall last week; Microsoft has begun beta-testing software for Windows-based terminals; and Intel is pushing thin-client hardware designs based on its chips.

But some full-fledged Java NCs-devices positioned as PC replacements and designed to run Java applets on the desktop-are clearly running into problems. Sun said last week that it's delaying commercial availability of its JavaStation, announced in October 1996, until the first quarter of 1998. Experts say the immaturity of the device's Java operating system accounts for what's at least the third JavaStation delay. "The JavaStation is still slow and buggy because of the JavaOS," says Gartner Group analyst Neil McDonald. "Sun is paying the price for overhyping its devices before they're rea dy."

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, perhaps the loudest proponent of banishing "fat clients" from the desktop, claimed last week that some users are "deploying 10,000 to 20,000" NCs that use software from Oracle affiliate Network Computing Inc. But NCI has announced just one corporate user for itssoftware: 1-800-Flowers in Westbury, N.Y. A spokesman for 1-800-Flowers says the company will install a 25-desktop pilot by December, and plans to roll out 2,000 systems next year.

Committed To Functionality
NCI's CEO Jerry Baker says NCI has just begun to ramp up production with its hardware partners. He says NCI's commitment to deliver a fully capable Java NC is the reason development has taken so long. "We've positioned our NC as a very full-functioned, completely integrated desktop," says Baker. "We truly believe that having Java local on the desktop is the right paradigm."

But processing Java locally can require an NC that's almost as fat-in terms of its memory and processing requirements-a s a PC. NCI says its software requires 32 Mbytes of RAM, for instance. Some vendors say that's not what users want-at least for now. Wyse Technology Inc. said last week it has scrapped plans for its Winterm 4000, a Java NC bundled with NCI software. Instead, Wyse plans to introduce in the first half of 1998 the Winterm 4010 Java Network Terminal, which will offload most Java processing to a server. "We've decided not to introduce a [Java] NC, because of a whole series of problems associated with the design," says Wyse general manager Jeff McNaught. "Users tell us they're looking for systems designed for terminal-type applications. They're not looking at a PC replacement which includes lots of RAM and an expensive processor."

Some sources say NCI is going back to the drawing board to develop simpler software that can run on cheaper hardware-and that it's laying off employees. Baker denies the rumors. "We have not laid off anyone," he says. "We're very happy with the stability of the platform. There are no plans to sell NCI to Apple Computer, or to split up the company."

Delivery And Deployment
A few vendors, including IBM and Network Computing Devices, say they're still on track to deliver Java NCs by year's end. IBM's Java-based Network Station 1000 was announced at Comdex; by late next year, IBM hopes to add a two-pound portable Java NC.

IBM claims 1,500 pilots of its Network Stations-mostly using older models with capabilities that fall somewhere between terminals and Java NCs. "Customers are taking a longer time than we would have thought" to deploy NCs, admits Bob Dies, general manager of IBM's Network Computer Division.

Vendors' slow delivery of Java NCs has helped create an opportunity for Microsoft to stake its claim to thin-client computing. Microsoft announced beta availability last week of Terminal Server, a Windows NT add-on formerly code-named Hydra. Terminal Server, due to ship in the first half of 1998, will let PCs and Windows-based terminals-devices expected to cost a round $500 and run Windows CE or other compact operating systems-run Windows applications remotely on a shared NT server.

Terminal Server is strictly Windows-centric, but other clients will be supported by add-on software from Citrix Systems Inc., code-named Picasso, that will let users run Windows apps from Macintosh, DOS, Unix, and Java-based clients, says Mark Templeton, VP of marketing at Citrix, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

NeoWare Systems, NCD, Wyse, and others are introducing Windows-based terminals that work with Terminal Server. One market for these products is replacement of dumb terminals. "The terminal-replacement market is low-hanging fruit," says Gartner analyst McDonald. Also, "Microsoft is trying to push this terminal model because it doesn't want the NC market to take off," he says.

What's saving vendors of Java-based NCs from complete embarrassment is that even users with big Java plans regard Java NCs as a long-term proposition. FedEx plans to roll out Java NCs over three to five years, for instance. Adds Verna Muckle, MIS director at the U.S. Department of Justice, which has a JavaStation pilot: "It's going to be a slow migration."

McDonald doesn't expect Java-based NCs to take off until 1999. Still, he says, Java NCs will ultimately be of greater interest to many users than more limited NCs and terminals.

--with John Foley , Bob Francis , Stuart J. Johnston , and Tom Davey

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