Talk:Network computer

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Should also contrast a modern-day somewhat eqivalent, the nettop, and maybe netbook. W Nowicki (talk) 17:48, 21 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Maybe - would these be classed as types of thin client? (Note that I'm not proposing mergers.) I've been wondering whether it's appropriate for Network computer to redirect to Network Computer. This is a result of the move in 2009 but there's an argument that Network computer should redirect to thin client instead, as that may be a more likely intended destination. A few hatnotes and some inclusion of alternative terms in the leads would also be desirable. This would have to be discussed elsewhere too - possibly the most appropriate place being Talk:Network computer - with notifications placed on talk pages of likely affected articles. --Trevj (talk) 21:07, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

Yes first stage would be to do some research and see if they are not notable before merging. Another idea would be convert Network computer to a disambig page. Then again there is Network Computing Devices which did thin clients even earlier, and Network computing which are both quite stubby. W Nowicki (talk) 20:46, 22 June 2011 (UTC)
 * In reading WP:DAB, I see that WP:PTM seems to suggest that a dab page may not be appropriate. Therefore, it may be worth considering:
 * Network computer redirecting to Thin client
 * Listing network computer as alternative terminology in the lead of thin client
 * Including nettop and netbook in the article text of Thin client
 * Hatnotes at Network Computer and Thin client pointing to Network computer and Network Computer respectively
 * What about Network computing? Should it be merged into Computer network?
 * --Trevj (talk) 13:42, 24 June 2011 (UTC)

Yes, hatnotes might be easiest if there are only two or three alternatives. And also explanations in the body to clarify even more. I might be dating myself, but "network computing" in my day was more like what is described in distributed computing, where a bunch of computers work together on a single problem. As in Open Network Computing Remote Procedure Call for example, which was called just "Open Network Computing". The second definition there of cloud computing is not supported by the cited source, so should be removed. Then there would be effectively no sourced content in network computing and it could just be redirected to distributed computing, although right not the lead is a bit misleading, only mentioning the field that studies the technique, not the technique itself! So that lead would have to be fixed anyway. For that matter, cloud computing should be fixed to link to thin client (in the sense that thin clients generally use cloud computing or some other server, although full PCs can also use cloud computing). In my mind, "cloud" generally implies a commercial model where one entity is the service provider and another is the customer using the service, while in "distributed computing" both sides can often be under the same owner, and therefore issues of privacy are different. On the other hand, I just did a quick search and found a 10th IEEE International Symposium on Network Computing and Applications that mentioned "Cloud", but this conference pre-dates the "cloud" term trendiness. So perhaps a mention of "cloud computing" in "distributed computing" as a modern scenario.

Other than that, I would agree with your first four proposals; they sound like progress. W Nowicki (talk) 23:25, 24 June 2011 (UTC)