Newsgroup: it.comp.os.dibattiti
Titolo: cosa ne pensate??

This seems to be the week to think about Linux. First, as you'll see in
the news section of this newsletter, Red Hat is now shipping the Linux
Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) client with its version of
Linux. You can download this software for free from the Citrix Web
site, but now Red Hat users don't have to go to the trouble of
downloading the client--they've already got it. "So what?" I hear you
cry. Okay, think of it this way: The sellers of an open-source OS think
it's desirable to include a tool that lets Linux users easily run
Microsoft applications. You can think of this development as either a
triumph for Microsoft or, as I prefer, a triumph for true
interoperability. You can use the OS you need when you need it, but
you're not prevented from using the abilities of another OS from the
same desktop--no reboot required.
   This week also marks the anniversary of Eric S. Raymond's
publication of the first of the "Halloween Documents." If you're not
familiar with these documents (published at
http://www.opensource.org/halloween
), they're a collection of internal
Microsoft white papers, the first of which discusses the threat to
Microsoft's space in the server market from open-source software, such
as Linux. Halloween is here again, and Linux is not only a potential
challenger to Windows' place on the desktop, it's on the desktop. You
can't see it most of the time, you might not even know it's there, but
an increasing number of Windows-based terminals (WBTs) are using Linux
as a local OS for connecting to a terminal server.
   In September 1998, Citrix released the Linux-compatible ICA client,
giving WBT manufacturers the option of using Linux as the client-side
OS. Since then, several Linux-based WBTs have emerged. In fact, Boca
Research just announced its Linux-based WBT contribution, which
includes a Java-based version of the RDP display protocol so the
terminal server doesn't have to have MetaFrame installed.
   Why Linux? WBTs are slowly becoming more multifunctional. A year or
so ago, many people assumed that the network computer was dead. It
wasn't dead then and it isn't now--it's just been assimilated into the
WBT design as a more powerful WBT, one that needs a more mature client-
side OS than Windows CE can provide. Linux is good for the same
marketplace that Microsoft is targeting with its Windows NT 4.0
Embedded WBTs.
   Linux has several advantages when it comes to a client-side OS.
First, it's flexible. If you're a manufacturer building the better WBT
based on Windows CE or NT 4.0 Embedded and you want to include some
functionality that the OS doesn't support, you're out of luck. If
you're using Linux (or your own OS), you can modify the kernel to add
that support. Second, Linux has a relatively small memory footprint,
and when you're talking about an OS stored in flash memory, size
matters. Third, it's cheaper to license than Microsoft OSs. Because
licensing fees represent a good chunk of the cost of a WBT, that's
important.
   This isn't to say that Linux is inherently a better OS for the WBT
environment. Whether it's the best one will depend on the job the WBT
is meant for. The marketplace is split between the dumb terminal WBTs
and the PC-wannabe WBTs, and the OSs are not equal when it comes to
serving those different markets. The point is that, only a year after
the publication of Microsoft's concerns about the threat from Linux as
a server OS, Linux as a client OS is contributing to the success of
multiuser NT. Interesting twist.
,

 multiuser NT. Interesting twist.
Basta, vado a vedere "Il processo" di Biscardi.

 ....
Non c'ho capito niente. Spiegamelo.
Ciao!!
__________________
DinoGen
http://members.tripod.com/dinogen
Togli CIVETTA dal mio indirizzo per rispondermi.

 Linux.
Ohi ohi, Linux come O/S per un Winterminal...
Comunque, scherzi a parte, si tratta di un client per un'altro S/O
operativo.
Che forse ci si scandalizza se si usa un TN3270 o un TN5250 per collegarsi
a degli ES/9000 o a degli AS/400 di IBM?
Saluti.

Non c'ho capito niente. Spiegamelo.
Dunque , provo a spiegarlo in modo schematico e semplicistico, per
motivi di lunghezza glisserò su certe parti e dirò cose che
tecnicamente non sono corrette al 100% ma rendono l'idea.
Dopo essersi mangiata novell, MS vuole sfondare nel mondo unix.
PEr fare ciò ha ANCHE bisogno di fornire accesso a dei terminali che
funzionino in grafica. Fa una joint venture con Citrix che fa questo
servizio per NT. CItrix continua a sviluppare il suo client basato su
protocollo ICA che si è inventata lei stessa, MS si imventa un
protocollo chiamato RDP basato su ICA ma incompatibile con questa. Se
uno vole usare ICA, il cui client è gratis, olte ad NT terminal server
edition, si deve comprare metframe che costa alcuni Mil di lire. Se
uno non vuole usare ICA ma RDP, deve coprete terminali basati su
windows CE, ovvero paga a MS anche i client. Se il server è per forza
NT si aprono varie possibilità sui client, ovvero CE o qulcosa di
altro. Qualcosa di altro può essere anche linux, in quanto è
diponibile ICA per linux. Questo permette di usare come client linux
ma occore metaframe sul server che costa tanto. LA vera notiza è che
Boca Research ha fatto un client RDP in java che funziona anche su
linux, questo permette di non dover comprare metaframe e di poter
usare linux come client, ovvero non pagare la licenza di windows CE a
mamma MS.