LTC - A Comparison of Personal Computers and "Dumb" Terminals

A Comparison of Personal Computers and "Dumb" Terminals

Personal Computers

Strengths
  1. Multi-tasking - allows employees to be more productive
  2. Graphical - more pleasant to work with, on-line help available
  3. Allows browsing of intranet & internet sites
  4. Fast network connection speeds host access
  5. Easy implementation of corporate E-mail
Weaknesses
  1. High initial costs (purchase, configuration, installation)
  2. High ongoing maintenance costs
  3. Employees require more training to use effectively
  4. Requires frequent upgrades (both hardware & software)
  5. Susceptible to viruses
  6. Employees are able to install un-authorized (and possibly illegal) software
  7. Requires a backup/recovery strategy for each desktop

Terminals

Strengths
  1. Low initial costs
  2. Easy setup and maintenance
Weaknesses
  1. Low functionality
  2. Requires specialized knowledge to fix problems when they do occur