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[ Go to July 1997 Table of Contents ]
Letters
(Readers found our examination of the PC vs. the NC enlightening. Also, our readers prove they have a strong sense of fair play when it comes to software piracy and the outcome of a computer programmer's legal case.) A fter reading the feature on the pros and cons of NCs ("PC vs. NC: The Whole Story," April), I found myself pondering a couple of things. My experience is that most computing problems in businesses are attributable to the internal network, not the individual systems. Therefore, I don't see NCs as a solution to a problem. On the home front, WebTV has a much better chance of success than the NC. If you want to market an information appliance to non-PC owners, make it work with the TV; don't make it look and act like a PC. Rusty Neff via the Internet Mike Elgan's arguments in favor of PCs are right on target. The polarity between individual freedom and one-size-fits-all solutions occurs in many realms of life. Take transportation planning, for instance. In spite of the best efforts to get commuters to use mass transit (which you could compare to NCs) the overwhelming majority prefer privately owned vehicles (analogous to PCs) NCs that require LAN-type support for everything (whether a real LAN or an Internet provider) are a step backwards toward mainframe computing. The interdependence of NCs and LANs is the flaw that popularized distributed processing using PCs as a replacement for dumb terminals and mainframes. Jim Thigpenn via the Internet Sounds like NC proponents are just Macintosh users who want to make sure there's a manufacturer somewhere that will still make DLL-less, mini-monitor, "I-don't-want-to-know-how-it-works" computers. Considering how unsuccessful Macs are now (about 4 percent market share), I think the NC will have an even shorter life span. It probably should be called a MacNC. Vaughn K. McVey via the Internet
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