Slashdot Mirror
Five PC Innovations the Industry Should Get To
An anonymous reader writes "Flexbeta.net has an article which describes 5 great technological advancements in computing that just about every PC user wants." From the article: "Why has there been such a sudden lack in innovation as of late? Are we in a technological drought? I like to stick to my own diagnosis of the industry as being too concerned with keeping a steady cash flow over social experimentation with new products but then again that's just an opinion from a little guy."
Okay, some things like the USB key to function as a verifier (to avoid needing to plug a disc in for games) are a good idea, but I really think that he's asking a bit too much, too fast. I'm not fully versed in the development of today's hardware, but I do know for a fact that miniaturization costs money. That's the big reason why laptops still cost much more than desktops. Additionally, the wireless data transfer standards are still not sufficiently fast to support purely wireless connections. Sure, there are certain examples, but these are specific (like building 802.11b/g cards into printers?), but in general, stuff like Bluetooth can't handle the kind of speeds that consumers demand these days. And wireless monitors for near-consumer prices? Forget it!
I don't fault this guy for dreaming -- that's the stuff innovation is made of -- but I do fault him for thinking that companies seem to owe him this technology for some reason...
(Note: Slashdotted already?)
That's a pretty broad claim to make. I liked this recent piece, a post by an anonymous high-schooler about how useless he thought floppies were, described as an "editorial". And there have been some completely false stories published without apparently anyone bothering to read the linked articles through. But, yes, the vapidity index for this one is pretty high.
"Most likely, Google is going to release their own operating system."
No they won't. I think when people say this they haven't really thought about what's involved in marketing a new OS. Google isn't stupid enough to get involved with pushing an OS to compete with Windows, and there is much more money to be made in managing data then putting out an OS that Dell and every other OEM won't touch with a ten foot pole. I know people love to guess on what Google will do next, but trust me it won't be a Free OS that compete with Windows and OSX.
btw everything you described already happened. Recently someone developed and put out a Commercial OS for Free that was kinda like a Mac, had less features than Windows, was more stable, and had a somewhat Unix-ish core. It was BEos. It was a total failure.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
How about a few of relevance....
1) P ?= NP
2) Memory protection through typesafety alone. Would give all computers a 30+% boost to performance if the security was handled by the compiler, and not the hardware.
3) IPv6, static IPs for everyone...
4) Diamond semiconductors. Smaller features than silicon (the carbon atoms are physically smaller), able to withstand immense temperatures, higher performance, more efficent...pretty much just better in every way.
5) Non volatile ram that doesn't burn out. Instant on computers, and more...
How's that for a top 5 list of things to do before 2025?
I don't think just about everybody wants those things. I think, for the most part, "just about everybody" don't realize options in computers.
The average user doesn't realize that fans can be quieter, or that a computer even needs to run cooler.
The average user just says, "That's the computer." when looking at the case. They don't think of a way that it could be better in any way. Sure, slashdotters do, but "just about everybody" isn't one of us.
The average user doesn't know how to plug things in (I just tell people plug things into the hole that it fits in and then plug the speaker in the hole with a picture of a speaker next to it and then they get it on their own), but they don't think of wireless everything. I tell (middle age adult) coworkers that my computer has a wireless mouse and keyboard and they're very impressed. They don't think of extrapolating like that.
The average user doesn't know what a USB key is.
The average user doesn't know much about hardware inside the computer at all (my website, ChristianNerds.com has a question and answer section, where they email me questions about computers and I try to answer them, and I get at least one person every week asking what a printer is... A Printer! "Um, it's the thing that prints out your stuff onto paper."). The average user doesn't know enough to know what else to want. They like faster and they like flashier graphics. That's about it. Oh, and music.
Luke