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[Image] [Image][Image] [Image]Oct 26, 1996

Microsoft, Partners Ready NC Response (10/25/96) By Kelley Damore & Deborah Gage, Computer ResellerNews

Redmond, Wash. -- Microsoft Corp. on Monday will break its silence regarding its response to the various network computers coming into the market.

Microsoft and a handful of PC company allies will launch a new specification for "Windows-based maintenance-free" PCs. The initiative will be backed by Intel Corp., Compaq Computer Corp., Dell Computer Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co., said sources.

The companies together will define a new standard to reduce the cost of owning a PC equal to that of a network computer.

Microsoft is counting on the move to steal Sun Microsystems Inc.'s thunder surrounding its Java-based NC announcement on Oct. 29.

Will Microsoft's scheme work? "A well-managed PC will be price-competitive with a network computer," said Bill Kirwin, analyst at The Gartner Group Inc., Stamford, Conn. "But a poorly managed PC will have be at a significant disadvantage," Kirwin said.

The Gartner Group's Kirwin said that by integrating management features a customer could shave up to 26 percent off the total cost of ownership figure.

"Twenty-six percent is what we would consider to be best practices, said Kirwin. "But even at a 15 percent reduction, a company could lower the cost it takes to manage a PC from $7,500 per year to $6,400 per year."

But according to Sun, the estimated cost of operation for its Java clients will be less than $2,500 per seat. Sun estimates the cost of running "fat clients" (Windows NT, Unix and so forth) at $10,000 to $15,000 per year.

Sun's thin client will include a SPARC chip and a PC board, and will run Java applications through the Hot Java browser. Sun itself is manufacturing the machines and will introduce them along with new Netra servers and other software.

"This is the final nail in the coffin for Sun to offer a complete client and server Internet solution for those tempted to go down the NT/Pentium path," said Beth Wright, director of marketing and business development for Merisel Inc.'s Open Computing Alliance, El Segundo, Calif.

"There will be no need to use a PC if the application is Internet-functional. If you need a local application--Microsoft Word or whatever--this hardware configuration will accommodate that in the second release," said Wright.

"It's a completion of Sun's vision of 'the network is the computer' as it relates to predominance in servers. It's not just Java--it's Solaris 2.5, WABI, desktops, this new device, the Ultra back end, new Netras--a whole family of products that will let you create Internet-enabled client/server applications." [end] [TechWire] + Headlines + Top Stories + Industry + Financial + Internet/Online + Software + Networking + Components + Products + International [Techsearch] Search All of CMP's Publications:

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