Intel Corp has stepped into the Network Computer fray with the announcement that it is developing design guidelines for a ‘lean client’ and an optimized network server, with which it hopes to attack the ‘terminal upgrade’ market. The guidelines are currently being reviewed by OEMs and will be published on Intel’s web site in the first quarter of next year. So far the only concrete thing in the guidelines is the recommendation that the lean client use an embedded Pentium 100 processor, and that the servers use Pentium II and Pentium Pro processors. Intel differentiates a lean client from a thin client, because, it says, the thin client has become associated with being a Java-only machine, whereas the lean client as envisaged by Intel, supports a variety of operating systems including Java, Windows CE, and Unix. The company says based on its guidelines, some lean clients will sell for less than $500 each. The chip giant refutes suggestions that its dominance of the desktop is threatened by the Network Computer model. A spokesperson for the company says Intel does not see the Java-based NC as competition to the desktop personal computer. It believes the two will have very different applications in separate markets, she said. Intel believes it can get into a whole new market segment by tapping the terminal upgrade market. The guidelines aim to ensure NC’s mesh seamlessly with existing Intel-based PC systems. Microsoft, IBM, Citrix, Network Computer Inc, Novell, SCO are working with Intel on the specifications.
