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Deciphering the NC world
Network computers and Internet appliances hold great promise for the world at large -- and for Java in particular
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While the computer industry rushes products to market, television and electronic game makers have entered the network appliance fray. Mitsubishi is using Spyglass technology for an Internet-enabled television, and even Sega is using a browser from Planet Web as an add on to its Saturn gaming products. The first and perhaps most exciting of these new players is WebTV. Its eponymous WebTV products include a browser designed for Web illiterates and optimized for the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) format. Most observers predict a slow adoption rate for Internet televisions, but eventually they will take the Internet to the world at large.
AT&T, Nokia, and others are developing Internet-ready telephones that use alphanumeric browsers to provide instant network access to telephone directories as well as more sophisticated applications. New versions of these 'Net phones are designed to run a Java virtual machine, opening up the world of the telephone to limitless possibilities.
"Java at your fingertips"
What do all these devices share beyond a basic browser? Java. While JavaSoft's slogan "Write once, use anywhere" ultimately may become a debatable proposition on the server, increasingly it rings true on the client. Both the NC and the NetworkPC will be Java-enabled through use of a Netscape or Microsoft browser, and WebTV recently announced its intent to license Java for its set top boxes.
Microsoft is actively licensing its Windows CE product for handheld devices, but so far it has provided little competition for the avalanche of Java-enabled clients. ActiveX will continue to be a major player on personal computers and on the corporate intranet. But Java has the chance to dominate on nearly all the new consumer products designed for the Internet.
Wei Yen is right: Internet access should be as automatic as electricity. More than 90 percent of the people in the world do not have access to a computer. Many who do have access still find computers intimidating. Yet, telephones, televisions, and electronic games are everywhere. Can the Internet and Java be far behind? In 1997, it seems that everyone is in that phase three listed above. Let's face it, if Alexander Graham Bell were alive today, he, too, would claim to have invented Java.
About the author
William Blundon is president and COO of SourceCraft Inc., a leading developer of Intranet development tools using Java and other Internet technologies. His focus in the last seven years has been on distributed object environments and the Internet. He is a former director of the Object Management Group.- Feedback
Resources
- A wide-ranging set of material on Network Computers is available through NC World magazine:
http://www.ncworldmag.com
You also can find a discussion of the original reference specification for the network computer here:
http://www.ncworldmag.com/ncworld/ncw-01-1997/ncw-01-ncref1.jw.html - The preliminary NC Reference Profile version 1:
http://www.nc.ihost.com/nc_ref_profile.html - Information on existing and planned developments for WebTV are available through Phillips Magnavox:
http://www.webtv.net/corp/HTML/home.product.html
and WebTV Networks:
http://www.webtv.net/corp/HTML/home.product.html
You can also find information on the support for Java technology by WebTV:
http://www.webtv.net/corp/HTML/home.realaudio.html - The introduction of the Network PC is covered at:
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,4851,00.html
A comparison of the NC and NetworkPC can be found at:
http://www.ncworldmag.com/ncworld/ncw-02-1997/ncw-02-netpc.html
- Previous Blundon's Corner articles
- How Microsoft is broadening Java's scope -- Presents a positive spin on Microsoft's "embrace and extend" directive.
- "Netscape TWO" -- The Open Network Environment (ONE) improved -- Describes how Netscape has enhanced its intranet strategy and formed a response to Microsoft's position in the corporate computing world.
- So you want to build an intranet? -- Presents six key issues to think about before implementing an internal Web site.
- Oracle redefines the balance of power -- Focuses on Oracle's Networking Computing Architecture, a serious player on the intranet.
- Netscape outlines its vision for the futureNONE -- Discusses the Open Network Environment (ONE) and how it has taken on Microsoft behind the firewall.
- Java and ActiveX -- Points out that Java may have won on the Internet but that the intranet rules.
- What can kill Java? -- Pinpoints the serious land mines that the new programming language must now dodge.
- The center of the universe is a database -- Talks about Java and its role in the corporate database.
- Plug-Ins? Opt Out! -- Discusses how plug-ins can't rival Java as an option for developing distributed software.
- Microsoft 2, SunScape 1 -- Explains how, despite its late arrival to the Web, Microsoft still leads Sun and Netscape in the battle for the Internet.
- How can Java rule the world? -- Suggests three key steps to Java's success.
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