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{{for|the Sun Microsystems slogan|The Network is the Computer}}
{{Short description|Computer that depends on a computer network}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox Computer
| name = Network Computer
| developer = Oracle Corporation
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| discontinued = 2000
}}
The '''Network Computer''' (or '''NC''') was a [[diskless node|diskless]] [[desktop computer]] device made by [[Oracle Corporation]] from about 1996 to 2000. The devices were designed and manufactured by an alliance, which included [[Sun Microsystems]] (acquired by Oracle in 2010), [[IBM]], and others. The devices were designed with minimum specifications, based on the [[Network Computer Reference Profile]]. The brand was also employed as a [[marketing]] term to try to popularize this design of computer within enterprise and among consumers.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}▼
▲The '''Network Computer''' (or '''NC''') was a [[diskless node|diskless]] [[desktop computer]] device made by [[Oracle Corporation]] from about 1996 to 2000. The devices were designed and manufactured by an alliance, which included [[Sun Microsystems]], [[IBM]], and others. The devices were designed with minimum specifications, based on the [[Network Computer Reference Profile]]. The brand was also employed as a [[marketing]] term to try to popularize this design of computer within enterprise and among consumers.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}
The NC brand was mainly intended to inspire a range of desktop computers from various suppliers that, by virtue of their diskless design and use of inexpensive components and software, were cheaper and easier to manage than standard [[fat client]] [[Personal computer|desktops]]. However, due to the [[commoditization]] of standard desktop components, and due to the increasing availability and popularity of various software options for using full desktops as [[diskless node]]s, [[thin client]]s, and [[hybrid client]]s, the Network Computer brand never achieved the popularity hoped for by Oracle and was eventually [[:wikt:mothball#Verb|mothballed]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}
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The failure of the NC to impact on the scale predicted by [[Larry Ellison]] may have been caused by a number of factors. Firstly, prices of PCs quickly fell below $1000, making the competition very hard. Secondly, the software available for NCs was neither mature nor open.<ref>{{Cite book | author=Walters, E. Garrison | title=The essential guide to computing | year=2001 | publisher=Prentice Hall PTR | ___location=Upper Saddle River, NJ | isbn=0-13-019469-7 | page=[https://archive.org/details/essentialguideto00walt/page/13 13] | url=https://archive.org/details/essentialguideto00walt | url-access=registration | quote=information network desktop computer IT appliance 1970-2005. | access-date=2008-05-06 }}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=December 2008}}
Thirdly, the idea could simply have been ahead of its time, as at the NC's launch in 1996, the typical home [[Internet]] connection was only a 28.8
NCs ended up being used as the very 'dumb terminals' they were intended{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}} to replace, as the [[proprietary software|proprietary]] backend infrastructure is not readily available.{{Clarify|date=May 2008}} 1990s era NCs are often network-booted into a minimal [[Unix]] with [[X Window System|X]], to serve as [[X terminal]]s. While NC purists may consider this to be a suboptimal use of NC hardware, the NCs work well as terminals, and are considerably cheaper than purpose-built terminal hardware.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}
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* [[Open Blueprint]]
* [[Sun Ray]]
* [[I-Opener]]
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