RE: Green-screen versus browser

 
Green screen is:
1. More network efficient
2. More CPU efficient
3. More user efficient
4. More secure


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Doug Hart
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Reeve
Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2005 11:02 PM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: Green-screen versus browser

I'm writing a management paper for a customer (in support of the iSeries but
trashing the WebSphere "solution" and the lack of native browser support)
and working on a concise description of the green-screen vs. browser
question.  The context is to explain why the iSeries, in spite of all its
greatness (performance, low TCO, reliability), isn't known to and/or
accepted by a large portion of the IT community.  One factor is IBM's
previous marketing failures (no other word for it, sorry; well, maybe
"absence"); another reason is the preponderance of the green-screen UI, my
current topic.

Here's what I have so far:

"The problem with green-screen is that the programmer is limited to a fixed
font size, a limited color palette, essentially no support for graphics,
only 132 columns (across), only 27 lines (down), and the requirement to use
a non-standard, usually non-free terminal emulation program (Client Access,
etc.), which means you can't talk directly to many new communications
devices like PDA's.

"There is nothing innately good about browsers; except for Firefox, they're
bloated with generally useless features, each has its own unique
characteristics (meaning it doesn't work exactly the same as other
browsers), and many continue to be a gateway ("Gates way"?) for viruses and
spyware.

"The benefit of browsers is that the programmer has much greater control
over what the user sees and how the screen works...but it takes a lot more
programming effort to deliver a browser-based application.  The basic
tradeoff is balancing time-to-deliver (low for green-screen, high for
browser), function (low for green screen, high for browser), and performance
(relatively high for green-screen, relatively low for browser).

Am I missing any points meaningful to senior management?

Thanks,
Reeve