Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!B.GP.CS.CMU.EDU!Scott.Fahlman
From: Scott.Fahlman@B.GP.CS.CMU.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: X Terminals
Message-ID: <8902182037.AA26757@ATHENA.MIT.EDU>
Date: 18 Feb 89 20:37:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 19


Why does everyone assume that a low-cost X terminal must necessarily
down-load the server and all its fonts and bitmaps from some central
Ethernet host?  CD-ROM drives are now pretty cheap -- something like $500,
I think, if you don't need fancy options.  Why not put such a drive on each
terminal?  Then the terminal could get the vast majority of read-only info
it needs from the CD-ROM, and only bother the Ethernet to get site-specific
stuff.  The terminal manufacturer could put out a CD with the latest server
for various configurations, a large collection of fonts and bitmaps, and so
on, and this could be updated every month or two.  Proprietary fonts could
be on the CD with some hardware interlock to prevent them from being read
unless you've bought that particular license.

Is anyone out there doing it this way?  Is there any reason it couldn't be
done this way?

Scott Fahlman
School of Computer Science
Carnegie-Mellon University