A network computer is a lightweight computer system that operates exclusively via a network connection. As such, it does not have secondary storage such as a hard disk drive – it boots off the network, but runs applications locally, using its own CPU and RAM. This set NCs as distinct from terminals, which act as a client for an application server. The lightweight division is the 130 pounds (59 kilograms) to 135 pounds (61 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. ... A computer system is the synthesis of hardware and software. ... Internetworking involves connecting two or more distinct computer networks together into an internetwork (often shortened to internet), using devices called routers to connect them together, to allow traffic to flow back and forth between them. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Data storage device. ... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ... An Internet payphone loading Windows XP In computing, booting is a bootstrapping process that starts operating systems when the user turns on a computer system. ... A computer network is a system for communication between computers. ... Application software is a loosely defined subclass of computer software that employs the capabilities of a computer directly to a task that the user wishes to perform. ... CPU can stand for: in computing: Central processing unit in journalism: Commonwealth Press Union in law enforcement: Crime prevention unit in software: Critical patch update, a type of software patch distributed by Oracle Corporation in Macleans College is often known as Ash Lim. ... Sharma Ram (disambiguation) Ram Sharma is an amazing, talented teenager that lives in Canada His talents include rapping, comedy, and cooking He is bound to success! ... In computing, a client is a system that accesses a (remote) service on another computer by some kind of network. ... An application server is a server computer in a computer network dedicated to running certain software applications. ...

During the mid to late 1990s, some commentators and industry players such as Larry Ellison of Oracle Corporation, predicted that the network computer would soon take over from desktop PCs, and that many users would use applications loaded via a network instead of having to own a local copy. Lawrence Joseph Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is the co-founder and CEO of Oracle Corporation, a major database software firm. ... Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) is one of the major companies developing database management systems, tools for database development, enterprise resource planning software, customer relationship management software (CRM) and supply chain planning (SCM) software. ... A desktop is the horizontal surface of a desk. ... A stylised illustration of a modern personal computer A personal computer (PC) is usually a microcomputer whose price, size, and capabilities make it suitable for personal usage. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... Look up Copy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Copy may mean: Copy (written) refers to written content in a large number of contexts including magazines and advertising, in contrast to photographs or other elements of layout. ...

So far, this has not happened, and it seems that the network computer "buzz" was either a fad or not ready to happen. The NC can be considered to be another computing paradigm. Just as PCs did not replace mainframes, so NC will not replace PCs. The new technology provides a more appropriate alternative in certain areas and can co-exist with established systems through open standards. In biochemistry, flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) is the precursor molecule to FADH2. ... Mainframes (often colloquially referred to as big iron) are large and expensive computers used mainly by government institutions and large companies for legacy applications, typically bulk data processing (such as censuses, industry/consumer statistics, ERP, and bank transaction processing). ... Open standards are publicly available specifications for achieving a specific task. ...

Distinction between NCs and terminals

While NCs were referred to as 'thin clients', the modern usage of this term generally refers to systems in which no local processing occurs. Examples of thin client hardware include VT100 and X terminals. The term 'thin client' also refers to applications, particularly on the world wide web, in which the server performs all processing, and the user interacts only with a HTML representation of the program via a web browser. The NC was distinct from what would today be referred to a thin client in that the processing was performed locally, using the NC's own hardware, with application and data storage performed via the network. The VT100 was a video terminal made by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) which became the de facto standard used by terminal emulators. ... KDE 3. ... Photo of a modern thin client. ... The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is a global, read-write information space. ... An excerpt of HTML code with syntax highlighting In computing, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is a markup language designed for the creation of web pages with hypertext and other information to be displayed in a web browser. ... Icons for Web browser shortcuts on an Apple computer (Safari, Internet Explorer, and Firefox). ... Hardware is the general term that is used to describe physical artifacts of a technology. ...

Whereas the dumb terminals (VT100, X) of yesteryear required both remote file server and remote central processing facilities, the NC promised to allow administrators to reduce costs while still retaining the low per-desktop support costs of centralised computing. In many universities and data centres, PCs are used in a similar configuration, with applications and email stored remotely but executed locally. A dumb terminal in computing consists of a computer screen and keyboard, but practically no processing ability. ... In telecommunication, the term file server has the following meanings: A high-capacity disk storage device or a computer that hosts files so that they may be accessed or retrieved by other computers on the same network. ... A stylised illustration of a modern personal computer A personal computer (PC) is usually a microcomputer whose price, size, and capabilities make it suitable for personal usage. ... E-mail, or email, is short for electronic mail and is a method of composing, sending, and receiving messages over electronic communication systems. ...

History and NCs today

The failure of the NC to impact on the scale predicted by Larry Ellison may have been caused by a number of factors. Firstly, the idea could simply have been ahead of its time. At the NC's launch in 1996, the typical home Internet user was using only a dialup connection via a modem. The common 28.8 kbit/s speeds would simply not be sufficient for the delivery of executable content. In telecommunication, the term dial-up has the following meanings: Dial-up access, typically to the Internet A service feature in which a user initiates service on a previously arranged trunk or transfers, without human intervention, from an active trunk to a standby trunk. ...

The world wide web itself was not considered mainstream until its breakout year in 1998. Prior to this, very few Internet service providers advertised in mainstream press (at least outside of the USA), and knowledge of the Internet and the web was limited. This could have held back uptake of what would be seen as a very niche device with no (then) obvious appeal. An internet service provider (abbr. ...

As a result of the NC's perceived failure and the original low (sub-US$400) cost of the devices, NCs can still be purchased very cheaply from online auction sites such as eBay. In particular, Acorn NetStation and Sun JavaStation appliances can be found in as-new boxed condition for a fraction of the original price. An auctioneer and her assistants scan the crowd for bidders An auction is the process of buying and selling things by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder. ... eBay Inc. ...

Ironically, these devices end up being used as the very 'dumb terminals' they were intended to replace, as the proprietary backend infrastructure is not readily available. 1990s era NCs are often network-booted into a minimal Unix with X, to serve as X terminal. While NC purists may consider this to be a suboptimal use of NC hardware, the NCs work well as terminals, and are considerably cheaper than purpose-built terminal hardware. Proprietary software is software that has restrictions on using and copying it, usually enforced by a proprietor. ...

As of 2005, MIT has announced a project to create a sub-US$100 'laptop' for use in third-world countries. Details on MIT's project web site suggest that the device will operate on NC principles, supporting local processing but with minimal local storage. The laptop will be dependent upon network infrastructure, but will not require extensive centralised computation resources. Mapúa Institute of Technology (MIT, MapúaTech or simply Mapúa) is a private, non-sectarian, Filipino tertiary institute located in Intramuros, Manila. ... The UN Human Development Index is a quantitative index of development which some use as a proxy to define Third World. ... A website, Web site or WWW site (often shortened to just site) is a collection of webpages, that is, HTML/XHTML documents accessible via HTTP on the Internet; all publicly accessible websites in existence comprise the World Wide Web. ... An Acer laptop with touchpad A laptop computer or simply laptop (also notebook computer or notebook) is a small mobile personal computer, usually weighing from one to three kilograms, depending on size, materials and other factors. ...

NC Standards

The NC standard required that all 'NC' appliances supported HTML, Java, HTTP, JPEG. Many NCs operated via protocols such as BOOTP, DHCP, RARP and NFS. An excerpt of HTML code with syntax highlighting In computing, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is a markup language designed for the creation of web pages with hypertext and other information to be displayed in a web browser. ... A Java Virtual Machine (JVM), originally developed by Sun Microsystems, is a virtual machine that executes Java bytecode. ... HTTP (for HyperText Transfer Protocol) is the primary method used to convey information on the World Wide Web. ... In computing, JPEG (pronounced JAY-peg) is a commonly used standard method of lossy compression for photographic images. ... In computing, BOOTP, short for Bootstrap Protocol, is a UDP network protocol used by a network client to obtain its IP address automatically. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Reverse address resolution protocol (RARP) is a protocol used to resolve an IP address from a given hardware address (such as an Ethernet address). ... Network File System (NFS) is a protocol originally developed by Sun Microsystems in 1984 and defined in RFCs 1094, 1813, and 3530 (obsoletes 3010), as a distributed file system which allows a computer to access files over a network as easily as if they were on its local disks. ...

Both for Internet service provider-bound and LAN-based reference implementation NCs, a smartcard option was available. This allowed user authentication to be performed in a secure manner, with SSL providing transport security. The smartcard also provided minimal local storage for ISP dialup configuration settings. This configuration data was not required for LAN-based NC. An internet service provider (abbr. ... Lan can stand for several things: A local area network Lan (airline) formerly LanChile Lan Peru Län, a kind of administrative division used in Sweden Lan Mandragoran, a fictional character in the Wheel of Time fantasy series by Robert Jordan. ... A smart card, or integrated circuit(s) card (ICC), is defined as any integrated circuitry embedded into a flat, plastic body. ... Authentication (Greek: αυθεντικός, from authentes=author) is the act of establishing or confirming something (or someone) as authentic, that is, that claims made by or about the thing are true. ... Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS), its successor, are cryptographic protocols which provide secure communications on the Internet. ...

NC implementations

Acorn Computers

Oracle's initial reference implementation of the NC was created by Sophie Wilson of Acorn Computers, which later changed its name to Element 14 before being bought by Broadcom. In computing, a reference implementation (or, infrequently, sample implementation) is a software example of a standard for use in helping others implement their own versions of the standard. ... Sophie Wilson, formerly Roger Wilson, is a British computer scientist. ... forever . ... General Name, Symbol, Number silicon, Si, 14 Series metalloid Group, Period, Block 14 (IVA), 3, p Density, Hardness 2330 kg/m3, 6. ... Broadcom Corporation NASDAQ: BRCM is a leading supplier of integrated circuits (ICs) for broadband communications. ...

The NCOS used in this first implementation was based on RISC OS and ran on ARM hardware. The NetStation was available in two versions, one with a modem for home use via a television, and a version with an Ethernet card for use in businesses and schools with VGA monitors and an on-site BSD Unix fileserver based on RiscBSD, an early ARM port of NetBSD. Both versions were upgradable, as the modem and Ethernet cards were replaceable podules (Acorn-format Eurocards). RISC OS, which stands for Reduced Instruction Set Computing Operating System is a British Graphical user interface-based operating system for ARM-processor based computers or similar devices. ... In anatomy, an arm is one of the upper limbs of a two-legged animal. ... A modem (a portmanteau constructed from modulate and demodulate) is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. ... Ethernet is large and diverse family of frame-based computer networking technologies for local area networks (LANs). ... Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a computer display standard first marketed in 1987 by IBM. VGA belongs to a family of earlier IBM video standards and largely remains backward compatible with them. ... BSD redirects here; for other uses see BSD (disambiguation). ... Unix or UNIX is a computer operating system originally developed in the 1960s and 1970s by a group of AT&T Bell Labs employees including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and Douglas McIlroy. ... Eurocard is a European standard format for PCB cards, which can be plugged together into a standardized subrack. ...

The second generation NCOS was no longer based on RISC OS, and instead consisted of NetBSD 1.2.1 code. Later NCs were produced based on the Intel Pentium architecture, although Acorn continued to produce ARM-based designs, including the StrongARM-based ConNCord. NetBSD is a freely redistributable, open source version of the Unix-like BSD computer operating system. ... Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC, SEHK: 4335), founded in 1968 as Integrated Electronics Corporation, is an American multinational corporation that is best known for designing and manufacturing microprocessors and specialized integrated circuits. ... Pentium logo, with MMX enhancement The Pentium is a fifth-generation x86 architecture microprocessor by Intel. ... DEC StrongARM SA-110 Microprocessor The StrongARM microprocessor is a faster version of the Advanced RISC Machines ARM design. ...

NetProducts NetStation

The first generation NetStation design and the NetStation trademark was licensed to NChannel, which provided the consumer equipment and Internet service (with associated infrastructure) for the UK market. After a few months, NChannel split into two entities: NetChannel (which provided the Internet service) and NetProducts which provided the consumer hardware. A trademark or trade mark[1] is a distinctive sign of some kind which is used by a business to uniquely identify itself and its products and services to consumers, and to distinguish the business and its products or services from those of other businesses. ...

NetProducts started working with Acorn to develop a next-generation product, NetStation II and separately from Apple started developing an email-only set-top-box (the TVemail). NetProducts went into voluntary liquidation in 1998 before either project was completed. E-mail, or email, is short for electronic mail and is a method of composing, sending, and receiving messages over electronic communication systems. ... Liquidation, or winding up, refers to a business whose assets are converted to money in order to pay off debt. ...

Sun Microsystems JavaStation

Sun Microsystems developed the JavaStation, a JavaOS-based NC based on SPARC hardware, initially similar to Sun's range of Unix workstations. Sun Microsystems, Inc. ... The JavaStation is a Network Computer (NC), that has been developed by Sun Microsystems between 1996 and 2000. ... JavaOS is an operating system with a Java virtual machine as a fundamental component. ... Sun UltraSPARC II Microprocessor Sun UltraSPARC T1 (Niagara 8 Core) SPARC (Scalable Processor ARChitecture) is a pure big-endian RISC microprocessor architecture originally designed in 1985 by Sun Microsystems. ... A computer workstation, often colloquially referred to as workstation, is a high-end general-purpose microcomputer designed to be used by one person at a time and which offers higher performance than normally found in a personal computer, especially with respect to graphics, processing power and the ability to carry...

RCA Network Computer

RCA created a Network Computer, but little is known about it. For other uses, see RCA (disambiguation). ...

IBM Network Station

IBM also created a number of NC appliances. As with the later reference design, the Network Station used a NetBSD-based NCOS booted over a LAN from an AS/400 or IBM PC server. The Network Station supported local execution of basic applications, such as a web browser and console. In addition, X capability was also implemented to allow both locally and remotely run applications to be used on the same machine. In practice, the lack of real applications meant that this was little more than a hardware X terminal. Big Blue redirects here. ... i5 Model 570 (2006) The Application System/400 (also known as AS/400, iSeries (since 2000) and System i5 (since 2006)) is a type of minicomputer produced by IBM. It was first produced in 1988 and, as of 2006, is still in production. ... IBM PC (IBM 5150) with keyboard and green screen monochrome monitor (IBM 5151), running MS-DOS 5. ... Icons for Web browser shortcuts on an Apple computer (Safari, Internet Explorer, and Firefox). ... Console may be: An organ term for the area of an organ including the keys, stops, and foot pedals manipulated by the organist. ...

The IBM Network Station was originally based on the PowerPC architecture, but the final few models used Intel Pentium processors. IBM PowerPC 601 Microprocessor PowerPC is a RISC microprocessor architecture created by the 1991 Apple-IBM-Motorola alliance, known as AIM. Originally intended for personal computers, PowerPC CPUs have since become popular embedded and high-performance processors as well. ... Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC, SEHK: 4335), founded in 1968 as Integrated Electronics Corporation, is an American multinational corporation that is best known for designing and manufacturing microprocessors and specialized integrated circuits. ... Pentium logo, with MMX enhancement The Pentium is a fifth-generation x86 architecture microprocessor by Intel. ...

Apple Interactive Television / Apple Set Top Box, Model# M4120

The Apple ITV is quite a mystery. An early prototype based on LC 475 hardware was demonstrated at MacWorld Expo Boston in 1995, but the final product never shipped and a great deal about the product, including the technical infrastructure that it was to operate on, remains unknown to the general public. Produced by Boston-based IDG World Expo, Macworld Conference & Expo is a trade show dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform with conference tracks occurring twice a year in the United States. ...

Later efforts at an Apple network computer evolved into the iMac. The title of this article should be iMac. ...

• some info on the Apple ITV
• Front
• Rear

Similar technology

Apple Computer has a technology called NetBoot that allows New World Macs to boot from a network. NetBoot is included as part of Mac OS X Server. Apple Computer, Inc. ... NetBoot is a technology from Apple that enables New World ROM Macs to boot from a network. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... MAC may refer to: Multiplexed Analogue Components, a high-definition television transmission standard. ... Mac OS X Server is the server-oriented version of Apple Computers modern operating system, Mac OS X. It is based on the BSD-Unix-based operating system that Apple Computer acquired from NeXT Computer and which formed the basis of the current Mac OS X. The regular version...

Many other Unix implementations support network booting and diskless operation. These standards were the basis for the original NC implementations. BOOTP, RARP, DHCP and NFS were the main network-end configuration protocols. Unix or UNIX is a computer operating system originally developed in the 1960s and 1970s by a group of AT&T Bell Labs employees including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and Douglas McIlroy. ... In computing, BOOTP, short for Bootstrap Protocol, is a UDP network protocol used by a network client to obtain its IP address automatically. ... Reverse address resolution protocol (RARP) is a protocol used to resolve an IP address from a given hardware address (such as an Ethernet address). ... DHCP in the context of computing can stand for: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol - one of the protocols in the TCP/IP networking suite Decentralized Hospital Computer Program of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs This article consisting of a 4-letter acronym or initialism is a disambiguation page — a... Need for Speed (NFS) is a series of video games by EA Games released on platforms including personal computers, Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation 2 consoles. ...

See also

• WebTV, a Microsoft-led competitor to the Oracle NC.
• Acorn Online Media [1], Acorn's 1994 video on demand set top box project, based on similar hardware and another RISC OS variant.
• Network Computer Reference Profile

MSN TV (formerly WebTV) is an Internet appliance owned by Microsoft. ... The Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with 2005 global annual sales of US$39. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal. // Events January Bill Clinton January 1 : North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect. ... Video on demand (VOD) systems allow users to select and watch video content over a network as part of an interactive television system. ... The term set-top box describes a device that connects to a television and some external source of signal, and turns the signal into content then displayed on the screen. ... Network Computer Reference Profile (NC reference profle, NCRP) is a specification for a network computer compliance put forward by Oracle Corporation, endorsed by Sun Microsystems, IBM, Apple Computer, and Netscape, and finalized in 1996. ...

External links

• An FAQ on the NC: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/network-computers/faq/
• Contemporary article on the NC: http://www.byte.com/art/9704/sec6/art1.htm
• No Network, No Demo; Oracle's NC Demo Dies Onstage: http://www.techweb.com/wire/news/1997/09/0924ellison.html
• Contemporary press coverage of NC pricing: http://news.com.com/Oracle+down+to+brass+tacks+for+NC/2100-1001_3-243680.html
• Acorn CoNCord release article: http://news.com.com/2100-1033-203957.html
• A brief overview of the (IBM) Network Station: http://www.uwasa.fi/~f76998/netstation/overview/