I like this model, but it brings up the biggest concern I have for
distributed computing like this, and a problem I am currently facing.  Ad
hoc batch request by remote users, and getting the print out.  Given Wirt's
passing association with QueryCalc, I would think he might have some
thoughts on this.  Picture this scenario.  You have this great system
running on the 3000, the interface has been web deployed and people time
share your system from all over the world and pay you huge sum's of money
for the privalage.  Now they go to launch a previously saved high speed
ad-hoc QueryCalc report that does submission time prompting via STREAMX.
What do you do?  Pop up a telnet window in the browser to handle the
STREAMX command and prompting?  How do you get the print out back to them?
Fax it?

I would love to hear ideas on this.  I have a few, but they are highly
custom and I would like to solve this generically.

thanks,
shawn







Wirt Atmar <[log in to unmask]> on 02/24/99 12:09:25 PM

Please respond to [log in to unmask]

To:   [log in to unmask]
cc:    (bcc: Shawn Gordon/IS/FHM/FHS)
Subject:  Re: OT : Need a bare-bones box to run Linux on




Gavin & Stan write:

> PCs are cheap-like-dirt these days.  We bought one of these $399 wonders:
>
>     http://www.e4me.com/infocentral/product_tower300k.html
>
>  for my father-in-law recently, and I was shocked at how much better this
>  system was made (rivaling the $3000 Dell I have here at work) than what
>  I expected from an inexpensive PC.

Several years ago, before we began putting even our plans for QCTerm
together,
I told everyone here that where we're going is towards a $600, 600MHz PC.
At
that price, I said that a free terminal emulator would be a very hot item.
But
let me say, a $300, 300MHz machine is just as good, if not better, for most
uses.

I also said then that where we're going is right back where we started
25-30
years ago, towards a host-terminal model. That trend too is greatly
accelerating.

These cheap-as-dirt PCs are going to make excellent high-quality, brightly
colored terminals -- and they're not going to do Bill Gates all that much
good. But they might do the HP3000 a great deal of good.

All of this together means that we're on the verge of re-invoking the
timesharing model, where you won't sell and install large hosts into an
organization but rather sell them time on remotely served applications,
such
as payroll, dental office management, lumber yard software, etc. All a
remote
customer will need to do in a year or two is buy a half-dozen of these
cheap
PCs, load the client terminal software on them, and connect to application
vendor's remote host through the internet to be up and running.

In the world that now seems inevitable, all of this will liberating for the
small-office end-user. The small-business customer won't need to make a
fundamental decision about what host to buy, nor will he have to bear the
cost
of an on-site data processing staff. Rather, after he's signed just a few
pieces of paper, he could be up and running by the end of the week -- on an
extremely reliable machine, staffed by very knowledgeable people, anywhere
in
the country (or possibly even planet).

Wirt Atmar