Maverick
P II lacks killer apps, part III
"From a software developer or Web site developer point of
view, your market is the installed base, so you tend not to
address your projects just at the high end," he said.
But the industry will gradually move toward adopting more
demanding technology, as it has with 3D, according to Hause.
3D demos have been standard fare at technology gatherings
for years, he pointed out. This year, however, 3D is finally
becoming a standard feature of business PCs.
Chrome won't even be out until early 1999, according to
Microsoft.
Incorporating new technology into business PCs will take
place slowly, said Stacy Hand, product marketing manager at
Gateway 2000. Michael Takemura, product marketing
manager for desktops at Compaq, concurred, stating that the
more taxing applications will likely roll out over the long term.
Graphics are not the only application that will require more
processing power. Microsoft has touted voice recognition for
years, and will come out with its first voice-recognition
product when the Auto PC platform makes its debut this
summer.
Still, the quantum leap in application complexity has yet to
occur. And without such applications, upward migration will
be a tough decision to justify.
"There is no real choice between talking machines or a GUI
[graphical user interface]. There are no thinking machines yet.
We haven't incorporated a ton of 3D into our business
memos," Nathan Brookwood, also of Dataquest, told CNET
earlier this year. "Without these computing-intensive
applications, people are saying, 'Hey, I can spend $1,500 or
$2,000 on a machine. I'll buy the $1,000 computer and a really
good monitor.'" |
