I like the idea of a collection of possible network
configurations. I'm with Steven on the way to do a SURVPC
cybercafe. My P-133 with 24MB was choking trying to run as my
Internet gateway, with one local Netscape and another on a 386 as
X terminal. So I abandoned that idea and use Arachne when I need
the graphics on that machine - but usually I just telnet in and
run Lynx. Note that this is an inefficient solution - I'm not
using the processing power of the 386 - but it works out OK.
Please note, my 386-16 runs a small Linux with_4 MB of RAM_and
doesn't seem to mind at all - even acting as an X terminal. I
don't see a lot of disc swapping going on either. Yes, most of
the current versions of Linux need the 8 MB - but there is a lot
of dead wood in there that people who know what they are doing
(I'm not one of them, yet) can strip out. I wonder just how much
memory some of the earlier versions of Linux needed...I suspect
that in ancient past (1993, that is) it may have run with 2 MB.
Correct me on this....
Maybe the thin client network grail lies in not getting locked-in
to any particular way of using the system components.
Remember that dumb terminals were the ultimate thin client -
and somehow they weren't the "right" answer. Why not have the
best of both worlds? When the platform can do the job itself - do
so. Things like Word Perfect, 123, etc...are not _that_different
from their counterparts in the Windowed world. When you need the
resources of the server - they are there for you. In a setting
where remote users are dialing in and may have different
configurations - this may mean that somebody goes without a
service because they don't have it and it isn't being served. But
in the controlled environment of an in-house LAN, you can load up
the machines with whatever apps you want. This is essentially
what I have.
One shortfall in my system, which I haven't taken the time to
figure out a solution yet, is that when a person uses a "local"
service, ignoring the net, that produces files which stay on that
machine. If you are using floppies, this is no problem, the user
saves to their own floppy. But with hard disks, they need to have
a way to make sure their files follow them whereever they may be
sitting. Setting up a virtual drive on the Linux server which is
accessable from DOS might help. But I don't know how to do that
yet - one of the NFS packages I would guess. For the time being,
I end up moving files around a lot - NOT a long-term solution.
This is way too long, better quit.
Bob
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