When will utility computing filter down to home users?

[Fluff]

The idea of people accessing office applications / other programs from anywhere. Through a dumb terminal e.g. citrix. Seems like quite a good idea to me.

There would be propler firewalls antivirus etc. Reduced fear of losing data etc.

And on a pay per use system.

Any companies planning on doing this.

[VJ]

I believe Corel once had WordPerfect running in Java on their site. You actually could use it without installing it.

However, I think there are a number of reasons this in not very feasable:

1. network traffic
2. server capacity (must be enough to accomodate the users) and server CPU power
3. low cost storage & computer (a PC is cheap enough to prevent companies of researching this kind of application
4. it is done inside companies (application server)

Jörg

[az]

ALL companies are planning on doing this (or at least, pay-per-use).

Thin clients are not going to happen, though: Latency is just too high. Nobody wants to have to wait 0.1 second when pressing a button, it just doesn't feel right. If it's got a harddisk and is "dongled" over the net, then it's no thin client anymore.

BTW: I wouldn't want to see this, I prefer to own my computer and what's on it.

AZ

[xortam]

Originally posted by Fluff
The idea of people accessing office applications / other programs from anywhere. Through a dumb terminal e.g. citrix. Seems like quite a good idea to me.

There would be propler firewalls antivirus etc. Reduced fear of losing data etc.

And on a pay per use system.

Any companies planning on doing this.

We called that timesharing in the 60's. PCs killed that approach since users wanted localized customizations and control. The grass roots movements brought PCs into the corporate environment with IS screaming all the way. Computing architectures can swing like a pendulum over time and we've found ourselves going back to centralized computing in the last decade.

[GNEP]

Thin clients running a citrix window is one option in my company's suite of possibilities. We can all log into any machine and get our own desktop up as it is; and when I log in from home it's through a citrix window to my own "desktop" (It's only got the basic software installed on the server but knows all my settings).

But I am yet to actually see a thin client in use anywhere. To be quite honest the network probably isn't up to it - even in the head offices we are still running 10Mbps and it's pretty slow at times. And the cost saving isn't enough to justify the hassle and lack of flexibility. Besides I get "developer rights" and that wouldn't mean much on a thin client (I can install any software I like unlike 99.9% of users here).

And anyway an awful lot of people here use laptops so they can work on flights etc when not connected to the internet - not really practicable with thin clients!

[DGhost]

Microsoft tried something like this with their "Mira" devices. I believe they hit market under the "Windows Powered Smart Display" brand name.

it was essentially a low powered Windows-CE tablet pc that used 802.11b and RDP to connect to your main computer, allowing you to use it anywhere there is network access.

sadly, the cost of the devices were way too high (MSRP was around $1.2k, although Amazon has one of the Viewsonic ones for $500 right now) and they had several other issues.

when I was at school the Library used Citrix and some thin clients for their terminals. thats about the only time i've seen thing clients widely deployed anywhere.

[az]

Mira was actually a nice idea; it would have looked more like a wireless display rather than a thin client.

We had thin clients in my uni, very old ones. It was HORRIBLE! Netscape 4 was installed on them, and some kind of unix I think. Everything was dog slow, and it felt wrong (not like working on a slow computer feels like).

Fat clients with the software installed and requiring net access to use might happen (*cough* steam *cough*), centrally stored settings also (that one would actually be kind of nice). But thin clients is just a bad idea.

BTW, I disagree with Xortam that we're shifting more towards centralized computing again, I think we're moving towards something like "the network is the computer" (distributed computing, peer to peer etc.). Then again, I have no insight into any companies.

AZ

[Fluff]

http://www.sun.com/sunray/sunray1/index.xml

We used those at uni, and they seemed quite good.

[schmosef]

Originally posted by VJ
I believe Corel once had WordPerfect running in Java on their site. You actually could use it without installing it.

However, I think there are a number of reasons this in not very feasable:

1. network traffic
2. server capacity (must be enough to accomodate the users) and server CPU power
3. low cost storage & computer (a PC is cheap enough to prevent companies of researching this kind of application
4. it is done inside companies (application server)

Jörg

Did they ever finish porting Corel Office to Java? I thought they gave up in the end. I was looking forward to trying it. But that was when I was still in school and not sure that I wanted to become a Microsofti.

[az]

IIRC, Corel have dropped all their Linux plans (and microsoft helped them a lot financially), I guess this includes Java office. Though I heard it was dog slow anyway.

AZ

[schmosef]

Yeah, I heard it was a speed issue. Automatic Linux compatibility was supposed to be a side benefit.

[az]

I think the problem was that they didn't recode it in Java, but emulated it somehow... don't remember clearly though, it's been a while

AZ

[dbdg]

We use Citrix and thin clients, not impressed, slow as hell.

[High_Jumbllama]

It will happen when hell freezes over and M$ becomes benevolent.

[DGhost]

Originally posted by schmosef
Yeah, I heard it was a speed issue. Automatic Linux compatibility was supposed to be a side benefit.

interesting. Corel dumped a lot of time and money into helping WINE out - they were using it to easy the linux development of their office products.