We've Been Here Before

X terminals and their close cousins, ICA terminals for Citrix multiuser Windows NT, load and execute applications on the host; only screen graphics execute on the desktop. Oracle-standard NCs, on the other hand, do load applications over a network and execute them locally. However, NCs won't necessarily suffer from the problem you describe, either. For one thing, they'll often find their niche in client/server environments where the client-side application is relatively small. Second, desktop applications written as components in object-oriented languages such as Java don't have to load megabytes of code into memory all at once. Parts of the program can load only when needed. Finally, NCs can optionally cache programs on local hard drives or in RAM. I've seen some prototype NCs that trickle power to RAM even when switched off. When you switch them back on, they come to life instantly, and your previously loaded programs are waiting for you. -- Tom R. Halfhill, senior editor