Scott,
I have been following this discussion for the last several days.
You certainly are correct that from a MIS and even, perhaps, a corporate perspective, the NC makes much more sense than the PC (easier upgrades, easier maintenence, etc.).
From the user side, however, I don't think that this solution will be attractive for several reasons.
While you may not have been involved in MIS during the mainframe period when MIS solutions to business problems generally solved the wrong problem, many business people were around at that time. For these people, centralized MIS solutions are a hard sell.
In my previous environment, my MIS department knew much less than I did (they even suggested in mid 1995 that my colleague only needed a 540 meg hard drive for his new 90 Mhz Pentium - it is now full).
In my current environment, the MIS department is too busy to solve user problems on a timely basis. Even if they were able to rely on NCs, they would have significant difficulties supporting the necessary applications.
Another related issue is the continued advances in programming. The new programs require faster processors and more memory (the trade-off being generally improved user friendliness and some additional utility). The NC would need fast processors in addition to high bandwidth to overcome the limitations of relying on a server.
IMHO the NC will do well where the user does not necessarily have to be creative, but will have an extremely hard time in other environments.
Just my thoughts,
Larry |
