In May 1996, a group of major hardware and software manufacturers jointly announced a set of guidelines forming an industry standard for a new class of devices called network computers (NCs). The new industry standard-called the Network Computer Reference Profile 1-is designed to accelerate the development of low-cost computing. The group of firms, consisting of Apple, IBM, Oracle, Sun Microsystems and Netscape Communications, unveiled plans to provide network computer operating software and a variety of NC hardware models by the end of 1996. The NC Reference Profile 1 considerably builds upon existing Internet and World Wide Web technology. This paper gives a brief overview of the goals pursued by the introduction of NC Reference Profile 1. It surveys the technologies employed for NCs and discusses their application and market potential in different environments.

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