Specialized PCs or why I was right all along :)
In one of my previous posts on how the PC should be re-invented to cater to specific scenarios, I had mentioned some far out scenarios around catering to the Indian household - check the link enclosed in this post.
Although not directly relevant, it is clear that the PC is evolving from a generic one-size fits all device into a scenario-based "genre" device - a sign of things to come......
Also read this press note on Adam Bosworth's opinions on Packaged Software vs Software as a service - http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=07B7445E-F82C-461D-84BB-FED9DBC55C68
For the relevance of this post, I am culling out the portions you should be looking at - "....Quoting Apple Computer Inc chief executive Steve Job's, Bosworth said: "PCs need to be as easy to use as TVs and radios, the browser can help achieve that...."
Though I am not sure how browsers as a form factor will help accomplish that. Comments are welcome.
posted by Vivek Ravindran @ 3:00 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I concur. Both software and hardware are heading in a direction of specialized verticals. A few years ago, a PC with multiple TV tuner cards, high capacity disk drives with a built-in hardware mpeg recorder would be considered a personalized super toy for the media geek. But Microsoft has now made it commonplace with the introduction of Windows XP, Media Center edition. Add to it the fact that it is only distributed preinstalled on suitable hardware. Such a sharp focus would have been a scary marketing contemplation a few years ago. I can see the light of Bosworth's statement about browsers too. Assuming that most information reaches the end user using the Internet (and hence, primarily the browser to a large extent): quicktime plugins, adobe plugins, media player plugins, etc. exist mainly for the purpose of simplified input/output.
I was looking for a laptop sometime ago and it does look like we have these "scenario-based" machines and I guess its been here for sometime now - atleast in the US. It wont be long before our maamis and maamas get their hands on such machines now. Checkout www.alienware.com or even our good old Dell!
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