A PC can be a dumb terminal, a thin client, or a fat client depending on which software its running, or how it is configured in the system. Now, PC s are so cheap in comparison that they are used in most situations. A current example of a dumb terminal is the ATM machine. Movement may be away from fat clients because of maintenance problems. This is why you see the movement to the intranets which uses the thin client of the browser.
Cost is another consideration.
If it breaks, you replace it rather than repair it. 2.12 Operations and Management Classifications of information systems. A Relational DataBase is the most common structure. A database is a structured grouping of data. Dirty data can t rely on the data.