Volume 8 Issue 2

The Application of Remote Control Software in a Judicial Environment

TONY DE LA FOSSE*

The paper describes the use of emerging 'thin-client' technologies within the High Court of Australia to solve a number of practical problems in providing court staff with access to networked applications. Whilst the case study focuses on the use of thin-client technologies within the High Court, the technology itself has potentially far broader application in law firms, courts, law libraries and similar organisations.

The emergence of thin-client technology is particularly pertinent in an environment where increasingly organisations are faced with significant and ongoing budget reductions. As a result, many organisations are forced to continue to use relatively old PC's, heritage 16-bit operating systems and software applications, low quality cabling and slow communication links between outlying offices. Thin-client technologies offer a potential solution to many of these problems. Importantly, the technology can be delivered in a functionally rich, yet cost-effective way.

As an example, a law library with a large number of old 286 PC's and heritage cabling infrastructure could install a single Pentium 300 Mhz server and through the use of thin-client technologies, simulate the processing speed of the faster Pentium server across all client workstations. All users can be provided access to the latest 32 bit resource hungry applications from their existing 286 PCs without memory or processor upgrades. This may allow the organisation to defer the replacement of older equipment for many years.

Additionally, the thin-client technology can be used to provide remote access to networked applications over standard telephone lines achieving performance levels normally only achieved if the user was connected to the network using structured cabling.

Thin-client technologies should be viewed as a powerful tool set that can be used to solve practical problems within the organisation.

* Tony de la Fosse, BA, GDip HRM, MBA is the Senior Deputy Marshal -Administration of the High Court of Australia. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the High Court of Australia.