Thin man Larry goes after the fat cats

Electronics Times, Oct 19, 1998

The battle may be over but the war goes on. Stewart Gore talks to Larry Ellison about the next Internet revolution

Although Bill Gates has declared victory in Microsoft's battle against the network computer, Larry Ellison is refusing to give up his war on client/server computing.

Oracle CEO Ellison, has outlined his predictions of how the Internet is likely to mould the current fat desktop PC into the thin client which he believes is the most sensible configuration for desktop computing.

"We're about to enter a unique era of computing: Internet computing," he said, explaining that the only application a desktop PC should run is an Internet browser.

As far as Ellison is concerned, the market did not catch on to the network computer (NC) because of confusion brought about by its name. "I should never have called it the NC. I should have called it the IC - Internet Computer."

But Ellison still believes that the `thin client' principles behind the NC were correct. "Network computing and Internet computing are the same thing," he said. "It's like Bob and Robert."

A network, or Internet, computer relies heavily on receiving its applications over a network that uses the Internet protocol to send data. This is because, although the Internet computer might have a large amount of random access memory and a high specification microprocessor, it does not have the hard drive which is usually used to store such capacious applications as Windows NT. Instead, the computer downloads applications, written in an Internet language such as Java, only when the user needs them.

"Anyone can access those applications," said Ellison. "All they need is a modem and a browser."

So a home PC user might have an Internet service provider who can provide him not only with Internet access, but also with use of a word processor, spreadsheet tools, games and others for a very small charge whenever dialled up. The user just accesses these applications through the Internet browser.

There is no need to pay for, and install, new versions of software whenever they are released. Any application wanted can be simply downloaded and it will run as normal.

Of course, you do not have to be much of a cynic to see that such an idea might not be a hit with home computer enthusiasts around the UK.

Unlike the US, local phone calls still cost money over here, and spending hours connected to the Internet every night can still amount to a hefty bill at the end of the month.

But in the world of corporate computing, Ellison may still be on to something. For a start, Internet computing is not just restricted to users of the Internet. Intranets also use the Internet protocol, which means that one very fat server can download applications to corporate PCs whenever needed.

"Private networks are going to be corporate intranets," said Ellison.

Such an approach, he pointed out, will free up plenty of IT professionals who would otherwise be engaged on a perpetual milk round of PC upgrading. "I think [the IT] industry is going to be a lot less labour intensive," he said.

The current taste for fat PCs, on the other hand, means that floppy disks have to be used every time a PC needs an upgrade of an application. Also licenses have to be bought for each PC using the new software, and, in any case, some PCs may be so application-fat that they don't have the memory left to cope with any new ones.

"Internet computing solves all these problems by putting applications on one [central] server, allowing anyone in the world to access that application," said Ellison.

The use of Internet browsers, that all have common fundamental features, allows users to access and use any kind of application, just as users now can access any Web site on the Internet. "Have you ever changed your software to view a new Internet site?" Ellison pointed out.

This leads to all kinds of advantages, especially for workers on the move. "Any of the applications you can access at work you can access at home," he said.

Ellison also pointed out that the client/server approach to computing, where every cluster of PCs must have a server dedicated to it, is going to die out once people see that this is a highly inefficient way of running corporate IT. "Client/server, unfortunately, distributes complexity," he said.

Take corporate databases for instance. Organisations that use client/server usually replicate their databases at different sites, making them a nightmare to keep up to date and manage. "The data should always be held on a [central] server where it can be professionally managed," Ellison explained.

But the Oracle boss believes that a steady evolution towards Internet computing will occur as people realise the inadequacies of the client/server. "The client/server is most certainly dead," he insisted. "It will be like watching a glacier melt."

Instead, organisations will hold more and more applications and information centrally, using the Internet and corporate intranets as channels for access. This will eliminate the need for a hard drive on PCs, and for memory-devouring operating systems like Windows. "I think the Internet is going to roll over Windows," he said. "It's going to roll over everything."