Speaking here at the company's Oracle OpenWorld trade show, Ellison introduced the Network Computer Version 2, a sequel to Network Computing Incorporated's much talked-about original.
The Oracle division itself apparently will be reestablished. Ellison promised a new chief executive and management team will be announced soon, along with several companies that will manufacture the NC2 for the new NCI.
In May, the first iteration changed its name to Liberate Technologies; in July the company went public. The provider of software for interactive television services has recently been a precious commodity, as Liberate's shares soared 44 percent Tuesday, following a 50 percent climb last Friday on news that its software is being deployed in the United Kingdom.
Though hotly debated in computer industry circles in 1996 and 1997, the NC failed to gain a market foothold, in part because PC prices suddenly fell to historic lows. When Ellison and others first began touting the NC, traditional "standalone" desktops typically cost well over US$1,500. Today prices begin around US$400.
But as prices dropped, users seemed to conclude that controlling sophisticated software applications is less important than accessing the Internet. Consumers in particular often rely on so-called Web-based applications such as Hotmail, while Internet-based corporate networks are commonplace.
PC makers and electronics companies have accordingly turned their sights toward manufacturing easy-to-use "information appliances" that deliver email and Web access. Thus the NC, one of the first computing devices to contemplate doing away with hard drives and relying on network storage, could be positioned for a return, even if questions about the server end of the equation remain.
Ellison, the flamboyant head of the world's leading database maker, said Wall Street's reaction to Liberate endorses his vision of "thin client" devices such as NCs, telephones, and Palm Pilots that access applications from central computers. "The personal computer is a ridiculous device," Ellison said today, arguing that while information appliances won't obviate PCs, the latter have hidden costs, create more labor for corporate information technology departments, and don't make sense for many users with scaled-down PC needs.
Ellison also wryly noted that Microsoft Chief Bill Gates, who once claimed "the NC is the stupidest idea I've ever heard of," introduced a pared-down device called the MSN Web Companion at leading computer trade show Comdex this week. Still a prototype, the Web Companion will run the software giant's scaled-back Windows CE operating system and is expected to cost under US$200.
The NC 2 that NCI plans to ship will cost US$199, Ellison said. The updated device will include a CD-ROM, a 56-kbps modem, and keyboard. A monitor costs extra.
Ellison underlined the NC's practicality, saying that upgrading the new machines will be as easy as swapping an Ella Fitzgerald CD with a Miles Davis CD.
Separately, he did not rule out licensing the technology to a Sony or Philips, for example, or selling the machines at superstores such as CompUSA.
Kevin Restivo, an analyst at IDC Canada, predicted Ellison will still have a tough time convincing many corporate customers that their users don't need a full-blown PC.
"He's trying to dispel the PC as a computing method, but the challenge is that there's still a level of functionality that people demand," he said.
Ironically, Ellison asserted the network computer concept is somewhat overblown, as it will be used like such appliances as a television set, telephone, or handheld to access the more important Web. "Everybody gets so fascinated by this device," he said of the NC. "The interesting part is the Internet."
Ellison also said the company will spend a total of US$100 million over the next decade to provide free network computers to children worldwide. Los Angeles Lakers star Shaquille O'Neal was on hand to endorse Ellison's new program, urging attending companies to invest in buying children NCs.
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