"Microsoft in turmoil." That's the heading Lotus [NYSE:IBM]marketers last week urged Australian computer journalists to write, possibly a bit prematurely. Network computers (NCs) are about to hit the corporate world, Lotus says, and desktop computing will never be the same again.

Lotus Internet manager, Larry Roshfeld, visiting Sydney, said that after talks with IT managers in big firms across the world he believes 80 percent of PC users don't need the upgrade merry-go-round they are now riding. Companies question whether they are seeing the returns from the billions spent on PCs and networks, according to Roshfeld.

A general concern is the relentless march of upgrades, such as Windows 3.x to 95 or Office to Office 97. The software requires extra memory, speed or capacity, which in turn requires a hardware upgrade.

Of the 80 percent, some 50 percent are clerical workers, with tasks such as simple form-filling or word-processing; the other 30 percent are knowledge workers who require several applications but can live happily without the drive- clogging and memory-hogging bells and whistles. All could run a low-cost Java based-NC and download programs form the network, Roshfeld told the Australian press.

The Lotus contribution is Kona, a desktop GUI for NCs, claimed to deliver the features of Windows without the complexity and also a Java InfoBus that allows JavaBeans applets to share information, regardless of platform.

At last week's press conference, Roshfeld showed word processors that incorporated spreadsheet tables and charts to show how IT departments can build specialist apps, such as expense sheets, personnel records or invoices.

Kona will ship before the end of September, probably not in shrink-wrap but through the channel using a technique such as a general site license rather than individual copies.

Source: Newsbytes