This page is aimed at answering your questions or potential criticisms regarding the NC paradigm. Got a question? Send it to me, Brian Fristensky (frist@cc.umanitoba.ca).

1. COMPATIBILITY WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD
1. We need PCs, because we need to train our students on a platform they will use in the real world.
2. Isn't Unix too hard for most people to use?
2. POWER AND AUTONOMY
1. With all those users, won't the server run like a pig?
2. What if I want to install a program that's not on the system?
3. The NC model may be fine for the casual user who does word processing and email, but I do a lot of high powered number crunching. What's in it for me?
3. TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP
1. We just spent tens of thousands of dollars on new PCs and Novell servers. Won't we lose that investment if we switch to the NC model?
4. HARDWARE
1. What if the server breaks down?
2. My terminal doesn't have a floppy disk drive. What if I want to write a disk?
3. What if my terminal breaks down?
4. I'm doing just fine with my IBM-XT, thank you very much.
5. Can an X-terminal play and record audio?
6. How about video?
7. How about laboratory equipment?
8. Can I hook up a printer to my X-terminal?
9. Can the screen of an NC be displayed using a video projector?

1. First of all, lets have a reality check. There are probably very few businesses that put up with the degree of obsolescence that is chronic in our student computers. As a general rule, students get the cheapest, oldest computers, and use software written for the home computer market, rather than professional, commerical applications.
2. There's more to the "real world" than just DOS and MS-Windows. In most areas of industry, multiuser systems have always been a fact of life. If all students see is the PC/DOS/Windows model, they are getting a very skewed view of what computing in the real world is really like.
3. As mentioned elsewhere, MS-Windows programs can be run under Wabi or Wincentre. DOS applications can be run either from an NT server via Wincentre, or using SunPC or Softwindows.
4. Finally, the "real world" is likely to be switching to the NC model in the next few years. Many companies and government installations have already begun making the switch. It can be argued that we should be turning out graduates who have trained on the cutting edge, and bring innovation to the workplace. Wouldn't it look good for the University if businesses all across Manitoba began saving money by switching to the NC model, at the suggestion of their U. of M. hirees?

1. Graphic interfaces were invented in Unix. Specifically the GUI was invented at Xerox PARC in the early 1980's, and have been available on most Unix systems since that time. They were popularized on  Macintosh and Windows platforms. On Unix systems, there is a large selection of GUI/desktops/window managers that provide a user friendly point and click interface. If you're used to MS-Windows, you'll feel at home with CDE, the Common Desktop Environment.
2. Windows and MacOS are not always easy to use. Although MacOS puts lots of windows on the screen, it still forces the user into a "one window owns the screen" mode. When you move from one window to another, the menu at the top of the screen switches to the application that the cursor is on. Unfortunately, most of these screentop menu bars look almost identical, so it's not always obvious that you've moved. On Unix desktops, menus are attached to their applications, or occupy independent windows that can all be on the screen simultaneously. Also, in MacOS, you have to find an icon to launch a program, whereas on Unix desktops, you can launch most X11 applications from a hierarchical workspace menu (borrowed by Microsoft in the form of the Win95 START button).  In both MacOS and Windows applications, you are typically forced to start looking for files in a directory specific for a given program eg. Adobe Photoshop. This forces most users to organize their files by program, rather than by topic. It is possible to go on and on about the differences of the various interfaces, but I just wanted to make the point that GUIs in Unix are no less user-friendly than on other platforms. The thing that has always annoyed me about PC platforms is the relative lack of a command line interface, totally absent on MacOS and only available in a pathetically limited sense through DOS. There are endless cases in which a command line interface is far easier to use than a GUI. Perhaps the most serious case has to do with remote logins. Under Unix, any user can login to a Unix server from anywhere in the world and do just about anything. A system administrator can log in and fix problems without physically going to a Unix box. No such capability exists in MacOS, and WindowsNT  only allows a few tasks, such as printing or file tasks (remove, rename etc.) remotely.
3. Ease of use should include how much time you have to spend fighting with the system to get things to work. In most workplaces, computer difficulties have replaced the weather as the cheif topic of conversation. Everyone thinks they're an expert, and the result is Windows and Mac systems that constantly have to be tinkered with to fix the problems that were introduced when a previous problem was fixed. When several users use the same PC, any user can make a change that will affect others. PC users take it for granted that they will have to reboot at least once a day. This is easy?

POWER AND AUTONOMY
What if I want to install a program that's not on the system?

Unix users can write or install their own programs. In some cases, it may be necessary to ask a system administrator to help. Also, remember that ACN does have a budget for acquiring new software. If the program you need isn't on the system, maybe they'll buy it and install it. It can't hurt to ask!

The NC model may be fine for the casual user who does word processing and email, but I do a lot of high powered number crunching. What's in it for me?

If you do really CPU intensive work, you are probably going to buy a workstation anyway. Here's a suggestion. Instead of putting the workstation on your desktop, where you have to do all the administration, let ACN administer it for you, as a clone of the regular ACN servers. That way, you'll have the full NC environment on your desktop, via your NC, plus, you can run CPU intensive applications on your own server, with no competition from other users for resources.
 
 With all those users, won't the server run like a pig? I  can only speak from experience. We do all our computing on a Sun Ultrasparc server, shared among several labs. During the day users are running Web browsers, graphics programs, word processors, DNA sequence analysis programs etc. simultaneously. Our public campus servers typicaly have even higher CPU to user ratios, and performance is typically good on those. A multiuser system can give you better performance than a PC as long as you have enough memory and a high enough CPU to user ratio. The point is that on a per user basis, it is cheaper to provide an given level of performance on a multiuser server than it is on an equivalent number of PCs. Also, with a powerful server, the power is there when you need it.
 

TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP
We just spent tens of thousands of dollars on new PCs and Novell servers. Won't we lose that investment if we switch to the NC model?

No. The LAN servers can be switched over to NT servers, to run Windows applications via NCD's Wincentre . Conversion of these LAN servers into NT servers preserves, or perhaps enhances the value of this investment. There are a number of MS-Windows packages that can be installed on existing PCs that effectively let the PC act as an X terminal.

HARDWARE
What if the server breaks down?

Just log in to another server. Your files will still be there, and your session will run the same regardless of which machine you are logged into.

My terminal doesn't have a floppy disk drive. What if I want to write a disk?

First ask yourself, do I really need to write a disk? The vast majority of the time, files can be sent across the internet by email or FTP instantaneously. Surface mail is slow. With a networked system, there is no need to write files to disk to bring home at night. Just go home, and if the mood strikes to work on something, simply login and download the file, or run an X11 session from home and work on it without downloading! Another advantage is that you don't have to anticipate the need to bring home a file, and you don't need to go to the trouble of writing it to diskette. After all that, if you still need to write to a diskette, simply find a PC and download the file to a diskette. You really shouldn't need to do this often.

What if my terminal breaks down?

Plug in another terminal and get back to work. Your files are all still intact on the system, and everything is still configured. Imagine what would happen if your PC broke down! Files need to be recovered (if they were backed up). Software needs to be re-installed and reconfigured. It may be weeks before you're working normally again.

I'm doing just fine with my IBM-XT, thank you very much. Not being in the Internet is nothing to be proud of. Until you begin using the Internet on a routine basis, you really can't appreciate how far out of the loop you are falling, in almost every field. Besides, it you are still using such an old machine, its probably because you want to spend as little as possible on computing, and make your purchase last as long as possible. In that case, the NC is perfect for you.

Can an X-terminal play and record audio?

Yes. NCD terminals allow you to plug in the same speakers and microphones that are used with PCs. Click here for more information.

How about video?

NCs are usually optimized to do graphics very quickly. In particular, the NCD HMX terminals now have 64-bit architecture. MPEG movies are no problem.

How about laboratory equipment?

In principle, any serial device can be hooked up to an X-terminal. Since each serial port has its own IP address, it could be run from anywhere, simply by logging into your Unix account. In practice, it's hard to say what complexities may be involved in running laboratory devices that are sold to be run from PCs. In the short term, this may be one area where you'll need a dedicated PC. In the longer term, as more and more electronic devices begin to be driven by JAVA software, they may become easier to run in an NC environment, than on a PC.

Can I hook up a printer to my X-terminal?

Yes. In fact, most NCs have serial ports that can be used for many different types of serial devices. The beauty of this is that each serial port has its own IP address, so it can be used by any authorized user, anywhere on the system.On the other hand, part of the savings associated with Network Computing comes from the sharing of peripheral devices. It's worth taking a good hard look at how badly you need to have a printer on your desktop. That money could be spent elsewhere.

Can the screen of an NC be displayed using a video projector?

It's as easy as pie. Bring your X-terminal to any lecture theatre with ethernet and a high-resolution video projector. Lecture theatres so equipped can be found in Agriculture, Armes, Fletcher Argue, and in Basic Medical Sciences on the Bannatyne Campus. There are probably more sites that I don't know about.
 
 

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