... I really enjoy what Scott has to say. A man who knows what he is talking about, and not afraid to say it.
No fear. No more
Yeah, it was a nice happening. It was in high contrast to the MSFT annual meeting/Godzilla pep rally.
The quality of the questions and comment in the Q&A sessions indicate a HUGE gap between the two groups of shareholders as to BASIC level of worldview and technical understanding. One fellow (M$ shareholder, still in the '80s just like his company) complained/ranted, "The Governement should stay out of MSFT's way and go after the Savings and Loans!"
Suddenly, we have 'innovation'; just DAYS later...
nytimes.com
<cached>
STATE OF THE ART
The Web Without Microsoft
By PETER H. LEWIS
Occasionally a new product can be annoying and
delightful at the same time. Rarely, however, does a
delightful product become annoying without any help
whatsoever from the Microsoft Corporation, the notorious
monopolist.
Such is the i-Opener
Internet Personal Access
Device, or IPAD, one of
the first of a new class
of Internet appliances
from a new company
called NetPliance Inc.
Despite the depiction of
Microsoft's practices
outlined by the Justice
Department and Judge
Thomas Penfield
Jackson last week,
NetPliance has managed
somehow to create a
very interesting home
computer that handles
e-mail, Web browsing
and other simple tasks
and yet does not use Windows, Internet Explorer or any
other Microsoft code. It uses a version of the Linux
operating system.
The i-Opener is scheduled to go on sale nationwide next
week for $199, plus $21.95 a month for Internet service.
Microsoft probably has many things to worry about at this
moment other than a small start-up company in Texas with
a relatively cheap, underpowered computer that has limited
software, a clumsy mouse and a mediocre visual display.
But the i-Opener embodies so many clever ideas, and has
so much promise, that it could eventually become precisely
the sort of non-Windows information appliance that keeps
Microsoft's executives sleepless in Seattle.
The i-Opener, or more likely a future version of the
i-Opener or one of its competitors -- maybe Microsoft's
forthcoming Web Companion, maybe something from
Apple, maybe something completely unexpected -- could
someday become as integral to my household as the
telephone.
The i-Opener is not a desktop computer. Rather, it is a
countertop computer, a simple, stripped-down,
slimmed-down Internet device that is designed to be used
in the kitchen or any other room where a fully powered
desktop computer is unwanted or unneeded. It consists of
a 10-inch flat-panel display screen on a pair of skinny legs,
with a full-size keyboard attached. Although the user might
not care to know such details, the display contains a
microprocessor, 32 megabytes of system memory, a
printer port and a 56K modem. It weighs seven pounds
and takes up about as much space as a toaster.
Like a toaster, it is easy to use. The setup instructions are
simple: plug it into the power outlet and connect it to a
phone line. As soon as it is plugged in, the i-Opener comes
to life and in less than five minutes, the owner is ready to
send and receive mail and visit popular Internet sites.
Initially, the i-Opener can be bought only from NetPliance,
either by telephone (888) 467-3637 or, for those who
already have access to the Internet, from NetPliance's site
(www.netpliance.net). The beauty of this direct-ordering
process is that each i-Opener can be customized at the
factory for its owner. It is programmed with the owner's
e-mail account and the telephone number of the local
Internet host.
Because each i-Opener is
programmed for its specific
owner, it already knows what
number to dial to connect to
the Internet, and it does so
several times a day, when no
one is using the phone, to
gather e-mail, the local
weather forecast, the latest news and sports, the numbers
from Wall Street and other information of general interest.
The information is stored, or cached, in the computer's
memory. (It is also cached in the local NetPliance host
computers, to minimize online connection time.)
There are several advantages to this approach. For one
thing, it means that the computerphobes for whom this
device was designed are spared from having to mess with
connections to the Internet. Also, the i-Opener can update
its own system software automatically. But the real beauty
is that the i-Opener is useful as an information device even
when it is not connected to the Internet. It squirrels away
the latest information gathered during its periodic forays
onto the Net, and offers it, never more than a few hours
old, whenever the user is ready for it.
For those who want up-to-the-minute information, stock
quotes and e-mail, the i-Opener makes it exceptionally easy
to go online. The system is programmed with the World
Wide Web addresses of dozens of popular Internet sites,
in a variety of subject areas. A single click on any of the
addresses causes the i-Opener to dial into the local access
number, and in less than a minute the i-Opener is
connected. The user can then browse through the
preprogrammed sites, or use the keyboard to enter an
address for any other Web site. With another click, a
frequently visited site can be added to a "favorites" list for
one-click access later.
Some people hate even the idea of pointing and clicking,
so the keyboard has a number of one-touch buttons for
tasks like e-mail and shopping. It is like having a TV set
with channel buttons preset for comedy, drama, news,
cartoons and so on.
One can even request an i-Opener specifically tailored for a
child or a teenager. Not only are the programmed menus
tailored to reflect the different interests of children, with
security protections, but you will soon be able to
customize the i-Opener by getting it in yellow, green or
blue, turning it into something more jazzy than the gray or
beige of the mom and dad or grandparent models.
If someone calls the house while the i-Opener is using the
phone, it immediately disconnects so there is no busy
signal. If someone wants to make a call, the online session
can be ended instantly by pressing the "hang up" button on
the keyboard. A light at the top of the display indicates
whether the i-Opener is using the phone or not. Another
light signals if the user has unread e-mail.
When it has been idle for a few minutes, the screen
becomes an electronic bulletin board. It displays the
number of unread e-mail messages, the current time and
date and the latest news headlines. If a headline is of
interest, a single click calls up the article without going
online.
It is that easy, and so cute I wanted to hug it.
But it also had some annoying features that made me want
to mug it.
The i-Opener is limited to one e-mail address per device.
For an information appliance intended to be used in family
settings, allowing only one member of the family to have a
private e-mail account is dumb.
Similarly, there is no easy way to use the i-Opener as a
family message center unless one uses a Web-based
calendar system. There should have been a button to call
up a shared calendar, where events like piano lessons and
doctor's appointments could be entered and seen by
everyone. In version 2.0, I would also like to see a simple
way to use the i-Opener's built-in microphone and
speakers to dictate and play back short voice memos, like,
"Mom, I went to the library to study," or, "Junior, take out
the trash tonight if you want to get your allowance."
The mouse, or, more accurately, the rubber-coated
cursor-steering nubbin, is embedded in the upper right
corner of the keyboard, while the buttons that activate the
cursor are at the upper left corner. With practice one can
get the hang of holding the keyboard in both hands while
navigating on screen, but it is awkward.
The on-screen navigation is made more frustrating by the
tendency of the cursor to "submarine," or disappear
briefly, when moving swiftly across the screen, the result
of feeble graphics performance. It is made even worse by
the i-Opener's use of a passive-matrix liquid crystal display
screen, instead of a sharper, brighter active-matrix screen
that is more readable -- but also more expensive.
Although NetPliance says the device can be used in any
room of the house, I'm not sure it would be welcome in the
bedroom, unless one is seeking an exceptionally bright and
precocious night light.
Most annoying, NetPliance has been test-marketing the
i-Opener in my town, Austin, Tex., ahead of its official
national debut next week, with a marketing pitch that touts
it as the first Internet computer designed for women -- in
effect: "This computer is so simple even a woman can use
it." It is a pitch so misguided that even a man should have
thought better of it.
NetPliance says it is developing other i-Opener models,
including a wireless tablet, a screen phone, a handheld unit
and a version of the current i-Opener that replaces the
dial-up modem with an always-on, high-speed connection
to the Internet. When those arrive, probably early next
year, the era of the information appliance will be truly upon
us.
Microsoft tried to convince Judge Jackson that its
overwhelming dominance of the desktop computer
marketplace, which the judge termed a monopoly, could
evaporate as a result of just such a shift to information
appliances. The i-Opener could have been its Exhibit A.
-JCJ |
