Doomed: the Net-PC (PCGH Retro, May 20)

… 1996: The future lies in the Internet – that was already clear to many in 1996. But the idea behind the network computer – in short: NC – was still visionary at the time: In the future, computers should only offer minimal computing power and no longer have their own hard drives, all applications are Java-based and run directly on powerful servers on which the NC accessed via web browser. Such “thin clients” could cost significantly less than 500 D-Mark, making them much cheaper than common PCs these days. On May 20th, the initiators of the NC, Apple, IBM, Netscape, Oracle and Sun, presented the first draft for the network computer in front and promise a great future for this system of open standards – above all Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle, wants to wrest power from the mighty alliance of Microsoft and Intel, who has been prophesying since 1995 that the PC will be replaced by simple NCs. But he is completely wrong: Although the first NCs came onto the market at the end of 1996, the concept did not catch on; Internet connections usually run via much too slow 28 kBit/s modems and are also too expensive for continuous use. At the same time, simple PCs are becoming cheaper and cheaper, the main advantage of the NC is disappearing, while the incompatibility with existing software is causing problems. So the network computer remains an interesting idea – but not anymore.