Network World, 01/04/99

The struggle between fat and thin clients is over. And both sides lost.

In the coming year, network managers will see the continued mutation of the traditional corporate PC into something much more deserving of the label "network client."

It's clear from the continued absence of Java client applications that the Java network computer - once touted as the simpler, less expensive successor to Windows PCs - now is little more than a quaint idea. Most market research indicates corporations will keep buying Wintel PCs as their dominant desktop computer.

Yet the PCs they buy will never be the same again.

First, Microsoft has essentially acknowledged the power of the thin-client model by endorsing the Windows terminal and incorporating multiuser server technology into the upcoming release of Windows 2000. Upstarts such as 3Com's Palm Computing and heavy-hitters such as Sun, with its JavaOS, are promoting viable platforms for these thinnest of clients.

Network managers are increasingly embracing these intelligent information appliances because the devices can now communicate not only with each other, but also with corporate databases and applications. They offer simplified, specialized computing combined with access to networks of server-based functions, data and applications.

Looking ahead, network managers can expect to see more alliances among these device manufacturers and third-party software companies. The result will be specialized packages of hardware and software aimed at sales or inventory management and other functions within specific vertical industries, such as health care or finance.

These devices will become more intelligent as the systems' software becomes more sophisticated and as small databases become available. With this software, the devices can update and store data, and work better with networked PCs or servers.

Predictions: Windows terminals attached to Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition will supplant text terminals and, to a lesser extent, some older PCs. We'll see the proliferation of new client devices, such as handheld and palm-sized computers, intelligent pagers and "Web phones" that blend cellular phone and computer functions.