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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: J. P. who wrote (54928)	4/7/1999 10:17:00 AM
From: gnuman	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 132070

JP, re:"It's just a seasonal thing, what do those two jokers know." My sense is they're talking about a redefinition of the PC for the internet. When you say "PC" most of us think of a Wintel box, with all the bells and whistles. But by definition a set-top appliance, (ala WebTV), is a PC. It has a CPU, OS, memory, I/O, and application software. (Even cheap HD's are becoming an option). Considering less than 4% of W/W population has access to the net, and billions can't afford a Wintel box, there appears to be a new initiative by major company's, (including Microsoft), to develop set-top devices or other appliances suitable and affordable by this large segment. China, for one, seems to be a target segment for these devices. These boxes will require a cheap risc processor, (like Intel's StrongArm?). Many chip company's are developing integrated systems on a chip aimed directly at this market. I'm reminded of a quote I read recently by, (I think), the CEO of AOL, Paraphrasing, "People in silicon Valley think the world wants all their high tech. Normal people don't lust after technology." All a lot of people want is a cheap, simple, easy to use box that get's them on the net. Wintel boxes are not cheap, (relatively), simple or easy to use. Maybe that's what Platt and Gerstner are referring to.