The ability to control the user end of all media pipelines creates such financial opportunity that businesses will not stop until they have created attractive all-in-one solutions. (Monthly and specific fees for upload and download of different content. Primary portal control for advertising up to only allowing propriety services.)
The consumer will bite because they will want the simplified interface that only an uberdevice can provide, and the loss-leading price point that corporations will offer to win the all-in-one set-top-box war. (Directivo and cell-phones are both free or deeply discounted with a one or more year contracts.)
The ability to have broad control over real configuration and feature set is the domain of hobbyists (read slashdotters.)
The fear of losing all functions for increased periods when one function fails, can be addressed by quick replacement and data transfer policies.
The uberdevice is not hype, it's inevitable.
Visual consistency doesn't need a governing body, it can be systematized. If a dominant app is created that handles the presentation side of other apps, consistency, and user configurability will come with it. This seems to be too efficient not to happen: one less component that needs to be created or modified uniquely for every new and existing app that gets created.
Slashdot Mirror
The ability to control the user end of all media pipelines creates such financial opportunity that businesses will not stop until they have created attractive all-in-one solutions. (Monthly and specific fees for upload and download of different content. Primary portal control for advertising up to only allowing propriety services.) The consumer will bite because they will want the simplified interface that only an uberdevice can provide, and the loss-leading price point that corporations will offer to win the all-in-one set-top-box war. (Directivo and cell-phones are both free or deeply discounted with a one or more year contracts.) The ability to have broad control over real configuration and feature set is the domain of hobbyists (read slashdotters.) The fear of losing all functions for increased periods when one function fails, can be addressed by quick replacement and data transfer policies. The uberdevice is not hype, it's inevitable.
Visual consistency doesn't need a governing body, it can be systematized. If a dominant app is created that handles the presentation side of other apps, consistency, and user configurability will come with it. This seems to be too efficient not to happen: one less component that needs to be created or modified uniquely for every new and existing app that gets created.