8. The Problem with Personal Computing Today

Will any of the foregoing efforts achieve the broad-based ease of use that cus­tomers are looking for? We are in an era that resembles the early days of videocassette recorders, before VHS finally triumphed over Betamax as the standard for VCRs. What is needed, as Bill Gates observes, is computer soft­ware "designed to take everyday tasks and make them automatic, and to take complex tasks and make them easier."

Today personal computing is complicated because of conflicting standards. Could it be different tomorrow as more and more people join the trend toward networked computers and access to the World Wide Web?

As we've seen, there are different hardware and software standards, or "platforms." Platform means the particular hardware or software standard on which a computer system is based. Examples are the Macintosh platform ver­sus the IBM-compatible platform, or Unix versus Windows NT. Developers of applications software, such as word processors or database managers, need to make different versions to run on all the platforms.

Networking complicates things even further. "Text, photos, sound files, video, and other kinds of data come in so many different formats that it's nearly impossible to maintain the software needed to use them," points out one writer. "Users must steer their own way through the complex, upgrade-crazy world of computing."

Today microcomputer users who wish to access online data sources must provide not only their own computer, modem, and communications software but also their own operating system software and applications software. Could this change in the future?

Personal Computing Tomorrow

Today you must take responsibility for making sure your computer system will be compatible with others you have to deal with. (For instance, if a Mac­intosh user sends you a file to run on your IBM PC, it's up to you to take the trouble to use special software that will translate the file so it will work on your system.) What if the responsibility for ensuring compatibility between different systems were left to online service providers?

In this future model, you would use your Web browser to access the World Wide Web and take advantage of applications software anywhere on the network. It would not matter what oper­ating system you used. Applications software would become nearly dispos­able. You would download applications software and pay a few cents or a few dollars for each use. You would store frequently used software on your own computer. You would not need to worry about buying the right software, since it could be provided online whenever you needed to accomplish a task.

Bloatware or the Network Computer?

A new concept has entered the language, that of "bloatware." Bloatware is a colloquial name for software that is so crowded ("bloated") with features that it requires a powerful microprocessor and enormous amounts of main memory and hard-disk storage capacity to run efficiently. Bloatware, of course, fuels the movement toward upgrading, in which users must buy more and more powerful hardware to support the software. Windows 95 and the various kinds of software suites, or "officeware," are examples of this kind of software.

Against this, engineers have proposed the idea of the "network computer" or "hollow PC." This view—which not everyone accepts—is that the expen­sive PCs with muscular microprocessors and operating systems would be replaced by network computers costing perhaps $500 or so. Also known as the Internet PC, the network computer (NC) would theoretically be a "hol­lowed out" computer, perhaps without even a hard disk, serving as a mere terminal or entry point to the online universe. The computer thus becomes a peripheral to the Internet.

A number of companies are touting the $500 network computer: Sun Microsystems, Netscape Communications, Oracle, IBM, Apple Computer, Hewlett-Packard, AT&T, Silicon Graphics, Toshiba, and several others. Why would companies like these, some of them hardware manufacturers, support the notion of selling an inexpensive box? The answer is: to keep Microsoft from further dominating the world of computing.

The concept of the "hollow PC" raises some questions:

* Would a Web browser become the operating system? Or will existing operating systems expand, as in the past, taking over browser functions?

* would functions become the entire computer, as proponents of the network PC contend? Or would they simply become part of the personal computer's existing repertoire of skills?

*Would a network computer really be user friendly? At present, features such as graphical user interfaces require lots of hardware and software.

* Aren't high-speed connections required"? Even users equipped with the fastest modems would find downloading even small programs ("applets") time-consuming. Doesn't the network computer ultimately depend on faster connections than arc possible with the standard telephone lines and modems now in place?

* Most trends in computing have moved toward personal control and access, as from the main­frame to the microcomputer. Wouldn't a network computer that leaves most functions with online sources run counter to that trend?

* Would users go for if? Would computer users really prefer scaled-down generic software that must be retrieved from the Internet each time it is used? Would a pay-per-use system tied to the Internet really be cheaper in the long run.