Asri-unix.1389
net.works
utzoo!decvax!cca!Crocker@USC-ISIF@sri-unix
Mon May  3 23:09:29 1982
Cooperative Personal Computers
From: Steve Crocker <CROCKER USC-ISIF AT>
At the Aerospace Corp, where I run the computer science lab, I am being
peppered with queries about whether to get "terminals" or "workstations."

The corporate computing facility runs large CDC and IBM mainframes.  Terminals
exist around the company, but they are not located in individual offices and
are shared among all who need access.  Consideration is being given to
acquiring a substantial number of additional terminals, but there is concern
that additional terminals will lead to increased load on the mainframe with
poor consequences.

It has been observed that workstations and personal computers cost only
slightly more than terminals, so it has been proposed that we buy personal
computers instead of terminals.  While this sounds attractive, I don't see any
product line that combines the known advantages of the personal computer with
the known advantages of large-scale central computers.  Users who move from
the corporate machine to a personal machine -- even one with communication
facilities -- are going to be pleased that they get immediate and consistent
response from the machine, but they will be horrified that they can't do real
work, they can't coordinate their work with the "real" computer, they don't
have a fully developed file system, etc., etc.

I have a miniature version of the same problem cropping up within my lab.
We're bringing up a large VAX under UNIX.  Everyone has his own terminal, and
we expect to support some experiments in electronic mail and word processing
with a few people outside of the lab.  These people too are asking why they
shouldn't get personal computers and tie them in to our lab computer instead
of settling for simple HP2621 style terminals.  While their impulses are
understandable, how do I explain to them that the editors and formatting
systems available on their personal computers are far less powerful and
completely incompatible with the corresponding facilities on the VAX.  On the
other hand, I certainly do not want to support an arbitrary number of users on
the VAX...

Any ideas?
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