Jake at 8bitjoystick offers a 3XThursday:
Hypothetically speaking imagine if some one really important like Bill Gates, The Pope or Adam West put you in charge of improving the personal computer.
1. What is the biggest problem with the current personal computer that you would address first?
Computers are turned off. They are turned off for several reasons, Noise, power usage, heat, etc. Your computer should always be available to you, always on. There should be no waiting to boot.
In close second is voice operation. You shoudl be able to speak to your computer and say ‘Check email’, ‘Launch Winamp’ or ‘Check blogroll’ and the computer should be able to execute these things for you.
2. Who would you pick to help you improve the PC? Who would you like to have in your corner to help you make the decisions
I would choose scientists and engineers that have never worke don PC design before. I would choose people from other cultures besides the US. Richard Feynman, always suggested the alternate points of view from differing disciplines was the optimal way to solve problems.
That being said, I’d choose Jean Paul Gaultier, Stephen Hawking, Andrew Goldsworthy, Dean Kamen, and Gene Spafford.
3. How would you change the hardware? What would the PC of the future look like and how would people use it?
The computer of the future will be hidden in a closet somewhere and people will access the computer via a variety of interface. The traditional desktop will exist, the tablet style for document reading will exist, the mini interface via the cell phone, the TV interface for notification will exist.
Device in the home will signal you when you have messages waiting. Just as you come home and see a number flashing on your answering machine, you will see a light flashing telling you there are emails & IMs waiting. Different colors will denote if they are messages from specific friends and family. Integration of the computer into household appliances will be everywhere.
Bonus Question for Comments: Should I get a notebook for my next Computer or a desktop with a LCD flat screen?
If you are going to play games, CRTs are still better than LCD panels. That being said, it is tons of fun to have a laptop you can use on the couch, at the coffee shop, and when traveling. Get the laptop and do minimal upgrades to your existing desktop to keep it usable.
3 thoughts on “3XThursday”
Comments are closed.
I think he’s a bit behind the times on item #1. I shut down / restart my computer maybe once a month now. People running Linux go months if not years without rebooting. The inconvenience of booting a computer is a moot point as far as I’m concerned.
Speaking for myself here, but I have no desire to talk to my computer. Voice recognition is something that is always thrown out there as being this great desireable thing for the average PC user, but I don’t see it.
This is not to say that it doesn’t have very definite uses in the house (“Lights on!”, “Buy More Milk”) or for handicapped users.
I just don’t want to have to say “Check Email”, “Browse Crufts”, etc. The utility is
way overblown.
My “dream computer” setup would basically be the same as #3 – a super-powered server located in a climate controlled closet in my house. It’d have so much memory in it that every app would be cached and launched, available and running in less than a second.
At various places in my house I’d have CRTs and LCDs with keyboards and mice to access the computer. They’d pull information via a high-speed wireless link.
For the final piece of the puzzle, I’d have a laptop (or tablet) that would also connect the the home PC. I’d have it allow true roaming – connecting back to the home PC wirelessly wherever I am (even in another city.)
Other than the true-roaming, this is all possible for relatively little expense today.
Concerning voice control of computers, there aint nuthin good about someone strafing your cube yelling ‘Shutdown Now!’