Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

BC - the Browser Computer

Author:Peter Janick
Posted:5/25/1999; 2:30:02 PM
Topic:BC - the Browser Computer
Msg #:6681
Prev/Next:6680 / 6682

I am very heartened by the renewed interest in the NC concept and ecstatic about the prospect of manila. I also think this ties into the importance of server based applications for content creation applications and for database applications. This brings us back to the primacy of the browser and raises the question why not just develop a Browser computer: Namely a simplified OS (i.e. linux) that provides a simple file system and network services to support a single application - the browser. Face it, the vast majority of users do little beyond surfing, email and simple word processing - all of which could be handled by a browser. In business, most computers are used in just as restrictive a fashion - email to communicate and to access the mission critical software, usually some sort of database application. The number of "Power Users" who build their own databases and their own spreadsheets is really pretty small. The number of programmers and scripters is smaller still. I work in a hospital. We access the information system via terminal emulation. We could do much better accessing the information via a web browser format- it would provide a better GUI and familiar interface for users - the industry is moving slowly in this direction but the number of computers needed is astronomical - one in every patient room, every examining room and many in every nursing station, etc. My hospital, a 450 bed facility would probably need 2-3000 PCs to function properly in such a fashion. With a browser computer, the CPU requirements would be low allowing very inexpensive computers to be used or even to recycle the old Pentium 133 that are now being replaced.

Furthermore, the vast majority of computer users or potential computer users are totally befuddled by the complexity of current software. A simplified browser interface would go a long way to decreasing user training requirements and increasing productivity.

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