Gates dismisses NC option as ?not compatible?

Microsoft CEO Bill Gates claimed that the NC will be just another format for the computer, as he expected the industry to adopt Windows-based terminals, Net PCs and palmtop machines alongside PCs.

?The true thin client does not include its own software and therefore does not need up-grading every few years,? said Gates, speaking at the Win HEC developers? conference in San Francisco.

?The vision of the wallet PC and smart card is many years in front of us, complementary to the full-screen PC. NC stands for ?not compatible?, because it doesn?t run Windows,? he said.

Instead, Gates saw the categories of Net PC and Windows terminal being added to palmtop PCs, notebooks, desktops and servers. He expects all devices to run Memphis, the Windows 95 upgrade, which was given out in beta form at Win HEC.

Gates admitted the NT 5 upgrade can only handle four node SMP configurations at present but Microsoft expects to include support for eight nodes before NT 5 is launched in beta later this year.

By 1998, Microsoft hopes it can control 16 nodes and the company promised to announce developments in its clustering technology within weeks.

Gates also showed Zero Administration for Windows, a system which makes configuration and access simpler for administrators, and On Now, a tool which allows the Windows machines to sleep, making PCs faster to switch on.

Net PC will ship in the second half of 1997. Gates also announced three specifications for hardware devices that conform to IEEE 1394 and a range of Win32 and USB drivers for multimedia peripherals. Microsoft plans to develop the use of its cut-down Windows CE OS in specialised computer devices.