“The Network Computer is a bad thing, everyone knows it failed.
The thin device is a good thing, everyone sees that it is growing
in importance. Why should this be?”
“Timing is the primary answer to the question. The Internet is
an ever-stronger driver within IT, and it has grown enormously
since Larry Ellison’s original Network Computer was launched in a
blaze of publicity. At that time, when people thought seriously
about replacing the PC with a thinner device, most decided it was
too much trouble. Now, different needs are prominent.”
“Commercial exploitation of the mass reach of the Internet is
commonly based on reducing the start up cost to the consumer. If
the cost can be driven to zero, it’s so much the better. Profits
come from the transactions that follow consumer use of the Internet
medium. The traditional PC has a problem here. Naturally, Internet
companies wanting to suck in consumers with zero cost deals don’t
want to pay out more than they need. The basic PC hardware is
cheaper than ever, but the standard Windows operating system is
costly and not always easy to use.”