A 15-year perspective
I often cite writings by Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal because he approaches technical subjects from the point of view of the average person and gives balanced, informed articles. In a recent article at SmartMoney, Mossberg looks back at 15 years of writing about personal technology. He isn’t happy about the current state of computer security and writes:
Today, warding off the myriad threats online takes more and more time, money and effort than ever before. You have to run multiple security programs, interpret all their warnings and alerts, tell them what to do when they detect suspicious activity, and consistently update them. It’s a real hassle, one that seriously interferes with the productivity, and the pleasure, computers can and should provide.
In fact, the burden of using a Windows computer is higher now than it was in 2001. By contrast, Apple’s Macintosh is easier to use than ever, partly because it has so far remained free from viruses, spyware and adware — except for a few minor cases. After stagnating in the mid-’90s, Apple’s software and hardware are once again markedly superior to those of Windows PCs.
But even Mac users have to contend with spam and must learn to avoid fake Web sites designed to steal sensitive financial information. And users of both platforms must also contend with a welter of restrictions on the use of digital content such as music and videos.
I think that these observations are right on target and I have said much the same thing (for example in this article listed in the sidebar). The average home PC user has neither the training nor the inclination to do all the security measures that Windows demands.
Mossberg thinks, and I agree, that the PC as we know it may well be replaced. I have often thought that the all-powerful, all-purpose (and often unsafe) PC is not really the best way for the average person to watch TV, play DVDs, listen to music and make phone calls. Instead of a concentration of all these functions into one complex and hard to maintain box (the so-called “convergence”), the trend looks to be that these functions are going to be done by a variety of smaller, specialized gadgets and appliances. Easy-to-use appliances are what the consumer wants, not a complicated device that requires a lot of technical upkeep. Looking forward, Mossberg says:
I believe that in the future the Internet will become more like the electrical grid, a behind-the-scenes platform to which all manner of gadgets will be directly connected, each taking some power and intelligence from the network to perform its task. While personal computers won’t go away, they won’t be the main way to get online, or even needed as intermediaries by many devices. Whenever you watch TV or make a phone call, you’ll be on the Internet, though you won’t be browsing the Web in the manner you do on a PC. This will open up all sorts of new features and interactivity.
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