Re: Java and NC

Tim Schaefer <tschaefe@mindspring.com> wrote: :Nils Myklebust wrote: :> :Tim Schaefer wrote: :> :Your instincts will probably take you away from Microsoft. The one :> :article I read about NCs noted an average per-user memory requirement of :> :at least 32 MB, if you use NT as the server. I'm curious to see what it :> :will be like for UNIX. :> :> What on earth is this? Do you mean 32MB per user on the server? What :> purpose should that possibly serve? : :I'm going from memory reading the review at ncworld.com or javaworld.com. :The folks who write that ezine did an eval of a new Xterminal that doubles :as an NC. : :Check it out, but if my memory serves me correctly, an NTserver would need :at least 32 MB per user to spawn Windows apps on behalf of each NC connected :to it. This isn't unreasonable <for windows apps>. Yes, I can understand this. Citrix is doing something similar. I am not so sure I would want to run MS apps in this way though. :But Java Apps may or :may not take as much memory--who knows. Any size apps can be written in Java. A regular bussiness type application like we now write in 4GL, NewEra, Delphi or whatever wouldn't require anywhere near this amount of memory per user if converted to a multi tier Java app, that's for sure. : The key will be to wean users :away from MS products if possible. I've got a 90-day eval of MS Office 97, :and it's pretty nice--lots of features, so it isn't going to be easy to get :users off MS. Although the product is in some office nearby here I haven't seen it, but even Office 95 is very nice indeed. However a well done implementation of Corel office in Java or another similar application could be nice as well.(Check the Applix one - the screen shots look nice - and it's reportadly available now - www.applix.com) They don't realy need to have all the bells and whistles of the MS Office packages. Management do understand the costs involved with PCs these days quite well, and they do also understand the requirements of regular office work. If that is meat they may upgrade to the NC/Java versions prety fast as witnessed by the reasant developments here in Norway that this tread is based on. :One of the ways you can do this is to start preaching HTML documents instead :of Word or even Wordperfect or Frame ( egad!). I can produce business :documents that are quite acceptable in HTML right now, without using any :special word processor--I can use Netscapes' editor and do quite well with it. :Ironically, MS has you go to an HTML doc to tell you more about Office97! :Go figure! Informix should be doing ALL THEIR DOCUMENTATION IN HTML. They :wouldn't need anything else to make it great... I can simulate Informix :documentation in HTML quite easily. Just look at my tool archive. For documentation HTML is great. Even Microsoft have reportadly gone to HTML presentation of help information in their Visual Studio 97 product (the new dev.tools product). I don't know if they are abandoning their current help system, but it's an interesting development. If Informix doesn't see the light soon I don't know what to say. It's shining quite brightly at the time beeing. I *must* have the complete set of all manuals in HTML format soon, very soon. For regular writing HTML is not good enough though. You *can* do a lot, but too many users need thighter control over what gets printed, better font support and so on. HTML is too "floating" as it's designed for another purpose. :> If it's on the NC itself I am quite sure it will not require :> significantly less memory than current PCs, all talk about thin :> clients notwithstanding. For single purpose NCs there will be cases :> when you can get away with relatively small amounts of memory, :> possibly 8 to 16 MB. But memory is cheap. :> : :The proof is in the application, no matter what we say here. ::-) Well, yes, I see your :-) but, I think..., we can say a lot. Java is nothing but another programming language we use to do more or less the things we have been doing with other tools. It will require memory :-) :The Informix FAQ is at http://www.iiug.org, but when will it be updated??? It is :-). The link at http://www.iiug.org is wrong though. The correct place is: http://www.iiug.org/techinfo/faq/informix.htm Nils.Myklebust@idg.no NM Data AS, P.O.Box 9090 Gronland, N-0133 Oslo, Norway My opinions are those of my company The Informix FAQ is at http://www.iiug.org