Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : All About Sun Microsystems -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: paul who wrote (22357)	11/5/1999 2:02:00 PM
From: JDN	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 64865

Dear Paul: I disagree with you ALL. It isnt the power, it isnt the cost, it isnt the management its the COMPLEXITY vs SIMPLICITY. I want a machine NO MORE complicated than my T/V and I DONT CARE WHAT IT COSTS. I just want to be able to turn it on and use it without having to study BOOKS to learn how to download and without having it FREEZE up on me every once in awhile while I stare at it in ABJECT FEAR@!!! JDN

To: paul who wrote (22357)	11/5/1999 4:26:00 PM
From: Thomas Mercer-Hursh	Respond to of 64865

The internet isn't the primary mover behind the thin client approach, at least it wasn't initially. You are closer to the mark with the network traffic issues since the big problem with traditional two tier client/server was that it wouldn't scale because the network became a bottleneck very quickly. N-tier distributed systems divide the computing up so that you can put it where it belongs... and where it belongs can be vastly different depending on the network topology, e.g., introducing a slow WAN link can cause the best position for some components to be at the far end of that WAN pipe where otherwize they would be on a shared server. The internet is just one instance of this issue. It just happens that except for special applications, like SETI, you really don't want very much going on at the client except UI whether it is a browser, PC, or Sunray.

To: paul who wrote (22357)	11/5/1999 6:33:00 PM
From: Stormweaver	Respond to of 64865

Looking at 1979 to 1999, desktop computing has been the evolving force in the computer industry. "Powerful" PC's - my definition is more multi-CPU GHZ+ chips. Within 3 years multi-CPU GHZ+ chips will be the price of current single CPU systems. This coupled with greater availablility of distributed software architectures and GHZ+ bandwidth will negate the need for super big centralized iron. I can "wire" a bunch of my cheap "powerful PC's" together and achieve the same affect as spending a $million on a big piece of iron; and I can scale it (and gain fault tolerance) by dropping in additional "powerful PC's". All in IMHO. Cheers James