Imagine TWO zips in every home:
This is an article that doesn't mention Zip, but it might help you to understand why i have no intention of selling IOM anytime soon. By James J. Cramer
12/5/97 4:39 PM ET
What gets tech moving again. I mean really moving?
Frankly, the indestructible, cheap home personal computer
is the Next Big Thing. If it has television in it, even better.
Let me explain. Right now, in my home our computers are in
the study on the third floor. They have become the
destination, as in: "Do you want to go use the computer?"
We have a second phone line up there as well as a fax and
a printer. The computer is now part of our routine, but it is
not integrated into our regular life, in part because of its
location. And it is incredibly inconvenient for my wife, whose
locus of operation is the kitchen.
In our kitchen is a ledge that serves as my wife's desk. It's
where the bills go. It's where our notes go. It is the central
organization hub of the house, and its convenience and
accessibility make all the sense in the world. On the same
ledge is a small television my wife uses occasionally to
watch the news when she is cooking.
That's where the personal computer has to be. Chase
On-line Banking just won't cut it until it's in the kitchen. The
recipe file will always consist of three-by-five cards until the
PC is in the kitchen. Our methods of communicating to
each other will always be with Post-it notes until the PC is
in the kitchen. My wife will do whatever online shopping she
does by phone, until there is an additional phone line in the
kitchen for the personal computer.
Why hasn't it happened yet? First, the price point. You just
don't put delicate $2000 machines next to hot tomato sauce
and kids who hit keyboards with chicken nuggets. PCs are
not as cheap or as durable as microwaves or the $100
television. Second, the size. My computers at home have a
big footprint. We could put a laptop in the kitchen, but the
durability would still be in question. It also doesn't look like it
belongs in the kitchen.
I am not advocating that Williams-Sonoma get in the PC
biz, but would it hurt Compaq or Dell so much to call
someone like WSGC in to ask what the kitchen PC needs
to look and feel like?
What happens if PCs win a spot in the kitchen? I predict
that online shopping will take off overnight, that online
newspapers like TheStreet.com will supplant one of the
papers that comes to the house, that kitchen-dwellers will
watch television on the PC when they are not online, and
that kids will see that the computer is an integral part of
everybody's life. (One of those is a hidden motive.)
Until this happens, however, the Web will be niche and the
computer a stepchild to the doltish, shallow TV that rules
the house. |
