Madeline Kirby
Chapter 7 Homework
March 18, 2004
MIS200
Questions Responses
1. What is the difference between a
thin client and a fat client? Provide
an example of who would most
likely be using each.
In a thin client approach, the servers
handle most of the application logic unlike
in fat client approach where the clients
handle most of the application logic.
Large server vendors, like IBM, would
more likely use the thin client approach. A
personal computer software vendor, like
Microsoft, would more likely use the fat
client approach.
2. Provide an example of a small
company that might want a hosted
website. Provide another where it
would make more sense for them to
host the site themselves.
A local parking company might want to be
hosted because of the low monthly
payments, lack of skilled workers in the
technical field, and the low security issues.
A large company, like AG Edwards, might
consider hosting their own web site
themselves because they have a larger
skilled workforce for help in maintenance,
more money to put towards it, and high
security issues to look out for.
3. A medium-sized company should
never need a mainframe as its
server. Is this statement true? Why
or why not?
I think that statement is false. A medium-
sized company may need to run multiple
applications and support information
processing for multiple users, which is
what mainframe servers do. It also
depends on other factors such as customer
service and support, warranty, and
reliability of equipment to make a
complete decision on which server to use.
So you should never say never in this case.
