Are Network Computers For Real?
	By Rich Finkelstein President, Performance Computing, Inc.

Despite the fact that Network Computers (NCs) are still not available, I am extremely enthusiastic about the possibilities. They have been strongly endorsed by many industry giants including IBM, Oracle, and Sun Computers. These vendors are in the process of designing and manufacturing NCs and have been demonstrating them in computer shows around the country. What the NCs proponents are proposing is that we replace bulky and expensive PCs with sleek, efficient, and inexpensive "Internet appliances".

What is an Internet appliance? Since I have only seen a prototype, I have to rely on the information that I have been given by IBM and Oracle. Both companies describe NCs as a family of products which come in a variety of configurations. A simple NC might include a fast microprocessor, 8 megabytes of memory and some disk storage. More powerful NCs will include additional memory and disk storage, a CD-ROM, and a video display. NCs can also be specialized devices designed for kiosks, reservation systems, or signature verification. NCs are designed to cost from about $500 and up.

Now to an untrained eye, an NC might look like a PC but there is one major difference -- an NC does not include Microsoft Windows or any other type of operating system. In its place there is an Internet browser such as Netscape or Oracle's PowerBrowser. The browser contains an interpreter environment such as Java or JavaScript which is designed to execute "applets" which are downloaded from the Internet/Intranet (INET) Web server.

Well, if there is no operating system, then how does one run any applications? The answer lies in the way the Internet/Intranet (INET) works. Anyone who has been on the World Wide Web (WWW) knows that they can visit any WWW site and run applications on that site (i.e., order a book or request a stock transaction) without having to load any application on their PC. The reason is that the application is installed and executed on the Web server. The application on the Web server does all of the work and then sends the results down to the browser as a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) page. At times the application might send a Java applet down to the browser and the applet will be executed in the Java interpreter environment.

In essence, the Windows operating system is replaced by the browser and Java environment. At first blush this would seem to be insane but in fact it is ingenious. Corporate and home America has learned that owning computers is very costly. Buying, installing, and learning computer hardware and software is very expensive and time consuming. Even more expensive and time consuming is all of the hours spent maintaining and debugging PC-based application software. But costs really hit home when it is time to upgrade. Every two years -- - with the consistency of Big Ben -- Microsoft comes out with a new operating system. PC Windows users are then faced with the prospect of holding on to PCs and software which have become obsolete or to buy into a whole new operating system and associated software.

The rapid obsolescence of PCs and Windows - which is quite arbitrary and in some people's eyes being forced upon the PC community - means tremendous recurring costs. Can you imagine the TV industry making TVs obsolete every two years? Setting up a new computer operating environment is no fun. The operating system has to be installed. Software installed and retested. New bugs have to ferreted out.

And there is the issue of learning how to use an entirely new operating system and software. When experimenting with Windows 95 (I decided to forego the migration and stick with Windows 3.1 and DOS), it became obvious to me that most of what I learned about maintaining and correction problems on Windows 3.1 no longer pertained to Windows 95. I had a choice. I could go to Barnes and Noble and crack open the latest tomes on "2000 Windows 95 Secrets (and these were just the secrets) or I could read a few science fiction novels, practice my game of tennis, and spend some time with my family. I chose my family over Windows 95. I am living proof that it is possible to live a normal life without installing Windows 95.

Which brings us back to NCs. NCs are simple machines and require very little attention. There are no operating systems, applications, drivers, or complicated hardware components. Because they are simple, they will last a long time -- just like other appliances. From time to time the browser will be upgraded but this would be as simple as logging into the Internet and refreshing the browser by downloading the latest copy. That's it. Because there is no software on the NC there are no maintenance or upgrade costs. It sort of changes the entire landscape of personal computing.

At this time it is not clear where NCs will be initially deployed. Burlington Coats, a large Oracle customer, has indicated that they will be embracing NCs and deploying them among their sales force, branch offices, and ultimately throughout their organization. Burlington Coats feels that their personnel support costs will plummet as they deploy NCs.

The millions of 3270, VT100, and other dumb terminals that continue to be used in many organizations are excellent candidates for NC replacements. Schools, will be able to network many more classrooms with economical NCs. Government agencies that have to deliver information to millions of people all over the country and the world will undoubtedly find NCs excellent vehicles for distributing documents and capturing information. Home users will probably have the opportunity in the not so distant future to log into a service bureau with their NC and do their taxes, and then have their taxes electronically routed to the IRS. All of this with a simple NC and probably some nominal service bureau fee. Services of all types will spring up on the WWW because the number of families who can afford to purchase and maintain NCs will skyrocket when compared to the number of families that currently have workable PCs (i.e., PCs that are not obsolete). Already brokerage firms, air express companies, banks, airlines, travel agencies, and catalog ordering are proliferating on the WWW.

The NCs look like the perfect information appliance. They are affordable, easy to use and can tap into thousands of applications on the Internet. They can run applications locally if necessary and they don't require Windows upgrades or Windows software upgrades. If this is all true then the next question that needs to be answered is do we need Windows anymore?

Rich Finkelstein is featured at DCI's Database & Client/Server World and DCI's Data Warehouse World.