A Jolt of Java for the Database
Corporate IS is carefully wading through both the hype and reality of using intranets as the basis for the next generation of application development. Conventional wisdom holds that users focus only on solutions to business problems, but the client/server systems we created typically haven't kept pace with the dynamic user populations the market has thrown at them. Hence, the enticement of the Internet's key benefits: any desktop, anywhere. The propo nents of this universal Internet client have gone as far as to say we don't really need PCs, we simply need network appliances. In this world view the client is stabilized by the transparency of dynamic, ongoing updates with the latest functionality, and servers are practically tangential. As long as the servers communicate with the client in a standard way, it doesn't matter if it's a 3090 or an Apple Macintosh, DB2 or Access on the other end of the network. Well, it does matter. We need to move applications among servers as easily as clients can switch between servers. CMP Network Computing
ReadFear and Learning at Trade Shows
Trade shows are a fact of life for users, vendors and associated hangers-on. It is difficult to imagine life in this industry without trade shows. It's also difficult to imagine trade shows without airport parking, hotels and bad food. Still, for a variety of reasons we all continue to show up for the festivities. Let's face it, either you love trade shows or you hate trade shows. But as you wander the trade show floor and the hospitality suites, one has to consider whether attendees are getting their money's worth. CMP Network Computing
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