“Sun’s thin-client model — dumb clients dependent on big Sun
servers — most certainly has its benefits. The kinds of tasks once
entrusted to dumb terminals, be they VT100s or something similar,
are handled just fine by Sun Rays. Pure database entry systems,
such as bank machines or airline reservation programs, are very
well suited.”
“But I have reservations about wanting that model to be
universal. An article from the German Web site Telepolis titled
Turning Tides examines the connection between the Star Division
purchase and the recently-discovered Hotmail security breach.
Author Felix Stalder makes the interesting case that dumbed-down
terminals will be deceptively simple, and only the computer
literate will have the knowledge to figure out when their security
has been compromised by the maintainers of these increasingly
centralized servers…”
“Point is, Sun’s thin-client model is not universally Good.
But it’s not universally Bad. By the same token, Microsoft’s
thick-client model won’t fly or fall for everyone either. Both
approaches have their advantages and their downsides…“