---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash A Workstation On Every Desktop SunFLASH Vol 37 #23 January 1991 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is from an internal Sun mailing list. Hope you find it interesting (even if it is a bit evangelical!) -johnj ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHY A NEW GENERATION OF SOFTWARE WILL PUT A WORKSTATION ON YOUR DESKTOP A consultant writing some business plans at our office recently asked if he could bring his personal computer from home. A confirmed PC user, he couldn't imagine getting any work done without it. We told him that was fine, but also gave him a UNIX workstation, asserting that in this company, at least, he would find it as important as his phone. "Right," he said trying not to look too cynical. Within two weeks, the consultant was a convert. Using the workstation's electronic mail facility, he was coordinating workgroups in Asia, Europe and several locations within the United States. He was pulling information from these far-flung sources, integrating it on his workstation, and producing the reports in a fraction of the time it would have otherwise taken. Totally smitten, he asked for a similar connection at home. And what about the PC? "Not good enough," he said. For millions of office workers and managers, the PC and Macintosh have become fixtures of the desktop, sights as reassuringly familiar as the telephone and coffee cup. It might seem heretical to suggest that these bastions of the office are the computing equivalent of a horse and buggy. But that, in fact, is the case. The standalone PC may have been the ideal vehicle to introduce people to the joys of desktop computing. But as applications grow more complex, the information pool gets larger, and computer users place more emphasis on collaboration, the personal computer is giving way to a more advanced platform: the UNIX-based workstation. The reason is simple: As our consultant found out, once you get your hands on this technology, once you try it in the heat of a real-world corporate project, it is very difficult to go back to anything less. Greater acceptance among commercial users In 1990, some 22 percent ($543 million) of Sun Microsystem's revenues came from commercial sales. By 1994, that figure is expected to rise to 40 percent, according to Forrester Research. Behind these figures are working installations that demonstrate just how far the workstation has come. At Northwest Airlines, for example, a network of more than 400 Sun workstations running imaging software helps management determine annual revenues--a feat that has challenged most airlines since deregulation. The multi-million dollar system, designed with the help of Andersen Consulting, manages a paper load of some 600 million transactions per year. From their workstations, operators can retrieve the images of audit and flight coupons that are scanned in by the thousands each day. They then compare this information to other records, thereby determining how much money a given ticket is worth. The process is much more accurate than statistical sampling, the method most airlines still use, and Northwest predicts it will become an industry standard over time. Banca Popolare di Bergamo, one of Italy's oldest banks, purchased more than 1,800 Sun workstations as part of its "Popolare 2001" project, which will competitively position the bank in anticipation of the 1992 European common market. The workstations will be used in all aspects of the bank's operation, including teller automation, cash and portfolio management and network administration. The bank went with workstations, rather than PCs, because of their support for open systems networking--essential in an era when the boundaries between European countries are blurring. Large installations are not the only ones migrating to the workstation environment. Numerous software packages, originally designed for the PC, have now been ported. The portfolio of workstation applications, for example, includes such familiar names as Lotus 1-2-3, WordPerfect, Ventura Publisher, Wingz, and Dbase IV. It also includes open systems packages like Uniplex Business Software, which runs on everything from standalone PCs to mainframes. In addition, the application portfolio includes many new players- -companies that have recognized the potential for workstations in the office environment and designed packages specifically for the platform. These vendors include Clarity Software, Island Graphics, Applix, Inc., and Access Technology, all of whom have built office automation packages specifically for UNIX workstations. "Network-smart" environment for workgroups Perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of UNIX workstations is that they are merely large versions of the personal computer. Yes, they are larger and faster, but as our consultant discovered, workstations are much more. UNIX workstations are designed to support the workgroup while delivering optimal power on the desktop. The technology allows people to work together, accessing resources on the network as easily as they currently do on their stand-alone machines. While it is true that personal computers can also be linked, neither the hardware nor DOS was designed for this purpose. Workstations provide a desktop software environment that allows the user to take full advantage of all network resources--data, applications, and peripherals--regardless of where they reside. For example, when a user boots up a workstation, a special desktop software utility called File Manager displays a "map" of all available file folders as a way of easily locating any document on the network. While some may be located on a local disk drive, others may be on a server across the room or down three floors. Another useful software product is a calendar management facility, which is sometimes included as part of a workstation's standard selection of computer utilities. Like a comparable utility on a personal computer, it allows users to enter and track appointments. But on some workstations, the facility can be set up so that colleagues on the network can browse through the pages using their own copy of the program, requesting appointments or scheduling meetings. Access to information on the corporate database is another example. Workstation vendors have developed front-end software packages that help novice database users access data from multiple databases and even generate reports--without ever having to master the SQL query language. Some network-smart applications are still in the testing stages. One will allow users to enter the name of a colleague and view a scanned image of that person, together with a diagram locating his or her office. The program could easily be extended to meet the needs of a given organization. For example, it might show where in the management hierarchy that person belongs and a brief job description. The whole facility could be keyed in with electronic mail, so that you could literally drag a document icon over and know it was sent. Another workgroup application only now on the horizon is the electronic whiteboard, a program that would allow design engineers in different cities to collaborate on a project. An electronic schematic drawn by the designer in San Francisco could be modified by colleagues in New York and Zurich, all working in real time. Because UNIX is a multitasking operating system, the electronic mail facility, calendar function, and on-screen calculator are available at the same time. A user can even run a lengthy background task--searching a large database, compiling and linking source code, or running a heavy number crunching application. The ability of UNIX to handle several processes at once is reflected in the workstation's graphical user interface. For example, the Macintosh offers just a single menu bar across the top of the screen, which make sense as you can only do one thing at a time. By contrast, workstation interfaces like the OPEN LOOK environment assume multiple processes in multiple windows, and specify an internal menu for each one. Similarly, some interfaces make use of "pushpins" that enable the user to save menu options on the screen like Post-It notes. The mechanism is especially valuable when working with several applications at once. Some interfaces also extend the concept of dragging and dropping icons to the network. On the Mac, for example, you can print a document by dragging its icon over to the printer icon. On a workstation, that printer might be on the next floor, or even across the country--yet the mechanism works the same. Making life easier In the past workstations have been criticized for being difficult to set up--requiring a specialist knowledgeable in UNIX and networking before any work gets done. But this situation is fast changing. Admittedly, the system administrator has not been eliminated (any more than it has on PC networks). But the job is much easier. For example, Sun now prints the Ethernet address of a given workstation right on the box. After the administrator adds it to the network database, the user can literally complete the installation--plugging in the machine and running through a pre- loaded demonstration program that introduces the system's capabilities. The operating system, once an installation challenge, is now preloaded at the factory. An emerging trend with UNIX workstations is the use of CD-ROM technology to make life easier for users. For example, the media could be used to store on-line help documentation that would include not only text, but photographs and pictures in full color. Some vendors are also using CD-ROMs as a convenient distribution medium for their applications and are encouraging third-party developers to do the same. Clearly, the workstation's time has come. Just as minicomputers partially eclipsed mainframes, and PCs did the same to minis, workstations represent the next wave in the evolution of computers. We may not be so audacious as to contend the personal computer will disappear. But if you want to preview the kind of machine that will sit on your desk a few years from now, the UNIX workstation has the future written all over it. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For information send mail to info-sunflash@sunvice.East.Sun.COM. Subscription requests should be sent to sunflash-request@sunvice.East.Sun.COM. Archives are on solar.nova.edu and paris.cs.miami.edu. All prices, availability, and other statements relating to Sun or third party products are valid in the U.S. only. Please contact your local Sales Representative for details of pricing and product availability in your region. Descriptions of, or references to products or publications within SunFlash does not imply an endorsement of that product or publication by Sun Microsystems. John McLaughlin, SunFlash editor, flash@sunvice.East.Sun.COM. (305) 776-7770.