RE: Thin Clients -- MIDRANGE-L

Are you saying that Java is not going to be the magic carpet that
everyone claims it is going to be then. 

I have some colleagues who are saying it is the next big thing, and that
I need to ditch RPG, and learn Java today.
I'm not convinced, as we've seen this kind of thing before!

>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Roger Pence [mailto:rp@rogerpence.com]
>>> Sent: Friday, September 17, 1999 8:31 PM
>>> To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
>>> Subject: Re: Thin Clients
>>> 
>>> 
>>> > I got an interesting response to my question about thin 
>>> clients.  The
>>> > responding individual feels that thin clients are on 
>>> their way out.  His
>>> > opinion is that they don't perform well over all and that 
>>> they are not
>>> well
>>> > supported.  Can anyone agree with or dispute this opinion?
>>> 
>>> On their way out! They've never been in! But seriously...
>>> 
>>> A lot depends on your intended uses, what you're calling thin client
>>> computing, and how correctly you've configured the server. 
>>> You _must_ have
>>> an appropriately configured server for the thin Windows 
>>> model. Remember, you
>>> don't get something for nothing, and subtracting horsepower 
>>> from the desktop
>>> means adding it somewhere else.
>>> 
>>> There are at least three models of thin client computing, so pick a
>>> definition before you pick a fight:
>>> 
>>> 1. Networkstation running a browser and green screen. Great 
>>> substitute for
>>> dumb terminal.
>>> 
>>> 2. Networkstation running a browser, green screen and Java,
>>> browser-delivered applications. This model didn't come true 
>>> and isn't likely
>>> to. This month, Lotus pulled the plug on its e-Suite Java-delivered
>>> alternative to MS Office. Java clearly isn't science 
>>> fiction anymore, but it
>>> also won't deliver on _every_ promise it initially made.
>>> 
>>> 3. PC attached to Terminal Server/Citrix solution. This is 
>>> a potentially
>>> good solution, but needs _lots_ of horsepower on the 
>>> backend. And, MS
>>> products are just barely thin-client aware. You may spend 
>>> less tweaking
>>> desktops with this model, but expect to do so at a 10%-25% 
>>> performance hit.
>>> Also, expect tradeoffs with application compatibility; for 
>>> example, the only
>>> version of CA/400 that 100% (almost) supports Terminal 
>>> Server is Express.
>>> And, remember too, that with this model, your users will 
>>> still drive you
>>> nuts with printer problems, how do I do mail merge, I can't 
>>> get the menu bar
>>> I had yesterday... it's all such an ugly cycle. We all 
>>> oughta open a deli.
>>> You don't have to reboot roast beef.
>>> 
>>> Today, with the lower buy-in of PCs and better desktop management
>>> possibilities (such as system policies), stand-alone PCs 
>>> are quite likely to
>>> be around for a long, long time.
>>> 
>>> rp
>>> 
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