Network Computers conceived to run under Java operating system could be running Windows applications over the Internet in the not-so-distant future when Microsoft Corp ally Citrix Systems Inc, Coral Lakes, Florida converts its server-centric thin-client architecture for the Java operating system. Although the Network Computer was cre-ated to circumvent Windows, Citrix believes it won’t take off unless it finds a way to run Windows applications from a server – and Citrix’s WinFrame will be that way. Citrix’s WinFrame technology, while primarily perceived as a multi-user Windows NT application, launches Windows applications of virtually any size over any network, be it the Internet or a dedicated private network. Java computers – network or personal – will be able to run both Java and Windows applications simply by having a Java Virtual Machine-enabled machine and the Citrix ICA Intelligent Console Architecture client. Intelligent Console Architecture facilitates the use of large appli-cations over the network by having the server running most of the application, leaving the local pro-cessor to handle graphics. Conceptually, it is a model closer to X Window than the classical Network Computer approach. The combined Java-Winframe approach has been taken by Citrix-licensing Network Computer vendors HDS Network Systems Inc and Wyse Technology Inc. While Cit-rix reportedly has no plans to embed Java in its thin client, sources indi-cated that an initiative is under way to convert Intelligent Console Architecture for the Java operating system.
No announcements or agreements
Citrix officially has no announcements or agreements, but the Java version clearly makes sense to anyone making a network PC. For Citrix, which has implemented Intelligent Console Architecture for everything from NT personal computers to ageing MS-DOS machines, Java OS is just another platform – albeit a strategic one. WinFrame licensee Insignia Solutions Ltd, whose NTrigue product integrates the X protocol with the Intelligent Console Architecture base, has also indicated that it’s not averse to running Java and its thin client product together, although it’s even more hesitant to discuss plans. Closer integration with the Citrix technology and its door to the Windows world could be a boon to Network Computers, the Florida company says. Despite the Network Computer hype from Sun Microsystems Inc and Oracle Corp, there are no full-size applications Network Computers can run, apart from Corel Inc’s recently announced Java office suite. Where Java-based Network Computers are limited to lightweight applets, WinFrame’s thin client architecture runs full-sized Windows applications from the likes of Great Lakes Software Inc over the Internet and performs well even in low-power, low-bandwidth situations. How successful can [the Network Computer] be without access to Windows applications? asks Citrix market-ing director David Weiss who claims Network Computer people will need Citrix technology to carry off their plans because developers and customers won’t abandon Windows. He predicted that in the next two years, hype or not, more new applications will be written for Windows NT than Java, and businesses will maintain and continue to buy Windows software. Although there are synergies between Citrix’s WinFrame work and the Network Computer efforts, he claimed the public has failed to make that association yet. The low-profile Citrix, dissatisfied with its shadowy public image, will embark on a marketing and advertising campaign in August to get consumers to connect it with the Internet. Citrix’s Guttenberg pro-ject, which embeds applications in Web pages and launches them over the Internet, is about to move to beta test and is due in the second half. Citrix will produce a Navigator plug-in and an ActiveX version. Citrix will target the intranet since folks already know what to do with applications inside the company while uses are still being invented for the greater Internet.
