Chas,
We are in agreement that the largest market has yet to be tapped in this revolution. The point I was trying to make was that I think the multifacteted computer is here to stay. For many years, "experts" have been claiming that in the future, the computer will dissappear and be replaced by a number of dedicated appliances that contain microprocessors. I think this is incorrect. I think that powerful computers will eventually become part of most every home. The dedicated appliances will come in the form of input/output devices, software and handheld devices that can be carried away from the home. I think products like WebTV and game machines are just stop gap measures that will fade away, once modular, low cost boxes with simple interfaces become cheap enough. They wont be on desktops. They'll be tucked away like a water heater. You'll never even think about them, you'll just interact with the I/O devices (i.e. Wall sized flat screens and voice recognition, etc.) These systems will take care of the informational needs of people, which are considerable if you include media and commerce.
Regards,
Scott
P.S. It sounds like you've experienced the electronic communications revolution pretty much from day one (we won't count telegraph). Pretty amazing, isn't it? |
