Re: Citrix & ASPs

Kragen Sitaker (kragen@pobox.com)
Fri, 2 Jul 1999 16:50:03 -0400 (EDT)


Jim Whitehead writes:
> Reinterpreting this in language I understand, it sounds like Citrix has
> reinvented X-Windows.

Yes, and badly.

I have used WinDD from Tektronix, which is the equivalent of an X
server for Citrix's ICA, on SunOS. Several bits:
- the server ("WinFrame"? Not sure) is slow, unreliable, and hacky,
although not nearly as slow as you'd expect; at the time (1996)
it was based on WinNT Server 3.51.
- the WinDD client is extremely slow compared to the X server, and only
connects to one server (equiv. of a machine running X clients)
at once.
- Microsoft has decided to incorporate this stuff into NT Server.
Microsoft has gotten stingy about source licenses to Bristol et
al. recently; they may decide to kill Citrix too. I can't
remember if they already have.

If it killed X, it wouldn't be the first time Microsoft has won with a
grossly inferior product.

-- 
<kragen@pobox.com>       Kragen Sitaker     <http://www.pobox.com/~kragen/>
According to my medieval text in the seventh century a finalizer raised a
dead object named Gorth who infected every computer in Cappidocia ending
Roman rule in the region.  -- Charles Fiterman on gclist@iecc.com