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A PC in every pot | page 1, 2, 3
The concept, according to the evangelists, is that most low-end consumers will use their PCs only for Web access, word processing, and e-mail. Instead of owning an expensive PC that includes everything but the kitchen sink, they say, you'll eventually own a variety of cheaper "appliances" that do one or two things well. Imagine a computer in every room, serving a specific function -- sports data by the television, kid's games in the playroom -- each including basic Internet tools, and all for a price low enough that you can afford multiple machines. "We don't see supplanting the PC, but in addition to the PC in your study, you may well have a device in your kitchen that's optimized for doing the things you want to do in your kitchen, for example," says Boosman. "We think there are opportunities to build a whole variety of those kinds of devices, whether for kitchens and cooking or sports or news or entertainment or stock trading or what have you. We think that there's an opportunity there for us." Take the iToaster, a new computer about to ship from Microworkz. Based on the BeOS, the black iToaster is a stripped-down device with a proprietary interface that consists of a number of square buttons across the screen. There are buttons not just for word processing, calendars and e-mail, but for music, auctions, shopping, weather, news and stocks. It's more utilitarian than a WebTV, but not as expandable as a PC; the cost is $199, or "free" for those who sign up for two years of Internet access from AT&T at $19.95 a month. But there is no way to load new software onto the machine or even upgrade what's there. The idea, says Microworkz CEO Rick Latman, is that the iToaster will offer simple, one-button functionality and the basics of family computing -- and no more. "To be successful in the Internet appliance market you must make it easy," he explains, pointing out that installing new features is too daunting for many newbies anyway. "You don't need a full PC to do what most people do with their computers." The concept of the iToaster is quite similar to another product shipping this month -- Ebiz's Personal Internet Appliance. The PIA is a little gray-and-silver box, whose guts are based on the Linux operating system. Like the iToaster, the proprietary PIA desktop features an array of one-click buttons for e-mail, games, Web browsing and word processing; users don't even have to know that Linux is working on the back end. The PIA will cost $199, or $99 if you sign up for a year's worth of Internet service with Prodigy. In addition to the Be and Linux operating systems appearing on cheap boxes, prepare to witness the revival of the Amiga operating system as PC maker Gateway quietly slips into the appliance market. Using patents it bought from Amiga, the classic computing system that has all but disappeared from the market, Gateway plans to release a series of "appliance products" early next year. According to the Wall Street Journal, the new Amiga line from Gateway will consist of a series of low-cost computers -- not merely desktop PCs but everything from game machines to portable music players to handheld devices, which will all link to the Internet and each other. A new Amiga operating system is supposed to be released this week. Amiga executives declined to comment for this story, but unit president James Collas last week told the Journal that "there's a new computer revolution on the horizon that has to do with making computers a natural part of everyday life," bringing "the information age to the common person." Even the MacOS is being given a shot at the Free PC market -- a start-up called FreeMac recently emerged to announce that it would give away a million iMacs in exchange for signing up for three years of service from an as-yet-unnamed ISP. A quarter of a million people responded within 24 hours. Why are discount computer manufacturers choosing alternative operating systems, rather than sticking to tried and true Windows? One reason is expense: Windows costs $85 to license for each computer, far pricier than the free Linux. (Be would not reveal the cost of its operating system.) Another is differentiation -- a non-Windows machine can give the discount computers a unique look and feel that may draw attention in a sea of near-identical Windows PCs. As Be's Boosman puts it, "that may be the most fundamental thing we offer [computer manufacturers] -- we allow them to stand out." It also has a bit to do with evangelistic idealism. "We are continuing the Linux community's desire and vision to bring Linux to worldwide distribution, into the mainstream. That was an initiative of why we use Linux as an operating system," says Jeffrey Rassas, CEO of Ebiz, before rattling off the advantages of a Linux operating system. "It makes sense -- it's open source, stable, requires less hardware; you can use components that are off the shelf to put together a basic PC. It's not proprietary -- it's fully upgradable." However, Ebiz and Microworkz also market cheap PCs running Windows. Be, in turn, is finding that its 8-year-old operating system, typically used by high-end aficionados who already own multiple computers, is being tested as a low-end consumer product because of its reputation as a solid performer. iDot, for example, is putting a $449 Be-based computer on the market (a free-with-ISP deal is in the works), because, as iDot online evangelist Tom Beardmore puts it, "it's a screamer." Beardmore contrasts Be's speed and simplicity with the difficulties of Windows: "I would not want to give my mother a Windows-based computer as a first computer. She doesn't know how to install drivers, she doesn't know what a CD-ROM is. I'd rather give her something that was pretty bulletproof, like this Be operating system where everything is fully installed -- even if you crash an application the computer continues to run."
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