I don't know about you, but I couldn't do without my personal computer, although I realize this is not a universal feeling. However, I know that if people like my technophobic wife can't do without their computers, then there are a whole lot of folks out there who have come to rely on their PCs.

The reason I can't do without my PC is because I make my living with computers. That makes me a power user, and power users have a warped view of the world. Take, for example, a CNet online forum contributor who recently commented on a story about how Microsoft is worried Google will create a service, delivered over a thin-client architecture, that will eliminate the need for an operating system:

Thin clients are yet another chunk of hype with no strong future. Why move everything off your system and use everything you did before on remote servers?

You will have to trust that your data is secure.

You have to deal with slower computing. If it makes you less productive, what is the point?

It will likely be more expensive. Why rent software? That makes as much sense as renting music or everyday clothes.

Gaming will not work on something like this.

Thin clients- hype with no substance

Where to begin in pointing out the flaws in this screed?

I'm the last guy to advocate the return to the mainframe-and-terminal, hierarchical, priesthood-dominated world prevalent up until the last decade or so. But given the extreme irritation of dealing with fat client MS Windows machines, I can definitely see the appeal of thin-client computing, at least for the non-power users among us.

Think about it. How many times have you installed a program, uninstalled a program, or just looked at your PC wrong and all of a sudden the stupid thing doesn't work like it used to? Wouldn't it be nice if you could always get your email, always browse the Web without problems (like viruses and popups), and always do your word processing without annoying hiccups, incompatibilities and other major annoyances?

Dealing with the mess that is your average Windows PC has forced me to reach a conclusion that is startling to those around me: I hate computers! If I could, I would take all seven of the little tyrants I own and purify them in the waters of Lake Minnetonka.

In comparison, thin-client computing promises such an idyllic world. All the software you use runs on a server, maintained and installed by somebody else. You may have some local storage for data, or you might have vast reserves to store your stuff on the server. Then, wherever you go, there you are you log in, and, boom, your familiar desktop with all your applications and all your files is there. Marvelous!

Yes, as the raving power user says above, you will have to trust that your data is secure. But sometimes trusting such a thing to professionals is better than trusting it to yourself. When was the last time your Mom or Dad backed up their data? (Of course, I assume you are backing your stuff up regularly to CD or DVD!) Just ask the client of mine (who shall remain nameless) who deleted his Outlook data file because his drive was filling up, despite me pleading with him on the phone at the time, "No, no, no! Don't do that! That's your address book and all your messages!"

The second point our raver makes is that you will have to deal with slower computing. Well, most of the things that our light and medium users do aren't exactly heavy breathing, computing-wise. Otherwise people wouldn't be so fond of Web-based email services like Yahoo, Excite, and Gmail. Further, most folks don't type at 100 words per minute, nor do they usually create huge word processing files that might take a while to save.

So big deal. It takes a little longer to open a document, a little longer to save. Let's face it: Most tasks ordinary people do with their computers don't really take much horsepower.

I know what the raver is saying, though: You won't be able to play Battlefield Vietnam or other massively multiplayer shooter games on a thin client. He's right. For that, you will want your own fat PC. Ditto if you're a day trader, or any other user with high computing needs.

It's just that most people aren't like that.

The raver's third point, that thin-client computing will be more expensive, is hard to determine. In some sense, you're trading your own time and headaches for the ability to pay someone else to worry about it for you. Besides, this is an assertion, and, as I tell my sons, assertion is not proof. Once you factor in all the costs of owning and maintaining your own computing equipment, the premium for thin-client computing might not seem so large.

As far as the raver's comment about renting music goes, you just wait. The recording industry is doing their best to make it so you can't so much as play the music you bought in the car as well as the house without their permission.

As I mentioned, the raver is right on when he or she says that you won't be able to do serious gaming on thin client. But you could play the odd game of Tetris, or Spider Solitaire, or any number of role-playing games on thin devices.

Now in the past, I have not been a fan of thin client appliances, especially back several years ago when they were all the rage. With full PCs now available at under $400, it's going to be hard to find a price point where the appliance approach makes sense, at least as far as up-front investment is concerned. Unless the thin-client is built into something you already buy like, say, a new TV.

Sure, Microsoft's WebTV (now known as MSN TV) has been a failure, if something with more than a million subscribers can be termed a failure, but that doesn't mean the concept is totally wrong. People haven't been signing up in droves for a $200 poorly-performing Web appliance with lame applications and a $10 a month surcharge that looks crappy on your old TV. But have you noticed that many of the new flat-panel TVs also double as PC monitors?

Or another possibility: The Tivo is already a pretty heavy duty computing appliance, and is available in some places for $100. What if it were bundled with a bunch of thin-client applications and marketed to the folks who are weary of dealing with the complexity of unreliable Windows PCs?

Ready to chuck the boat anchor into Lake Minnetonka yet? Next issue, we'll take a look at some of the new technologies that will make thin-client applications work more and more like installed applications.