How much will I pay for my next computer? By that I mean, phone, tablet, PC or anything else that resembles technology for leisure or work. There is a movement around to "Bones" technology where you have only what you use on your hardware and pay accordingly. Sure Dell had the build your own method but like cable TV where you end up with the religious channel in your sports package, there were always redundant features and programs you never used. Why?
I don't know of anyone in my circle who has the ability or need to use every aspect of their computer. Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that 50% may not even be close to the use for capacity or programs loaded onto today's computers by their owners. So why are they so fully loaded? Is it to bring the price up? Is it for bragging rights among the few technobyte over achievers? Or is it just more is be better syndrome? After all everything from cereal packages to cars are now topped up with as much space or technology as possible to make them seem more appealing. I'm sure if my car had a couple of Saturn V booster rockets it has enough technology to orbit the earth and return home safely.
With cloud computing gaining speed today, surely hard drive will become redundant as we finally trust our information to hyper space. The gaming population aside, is it necessary to have the biggest most gigantic video and graphics program loaded? There are so many programs that only have appeal to a niche population of users and as such could easily be discarded for Joe Citizen.
So what do I really need? How about a computer that turns on when you push the button and you don't have to wait for all those redundant programs to load before you can look at the pictures your best friend sent you on Facebook? How about a processor powerful enough that it can send a man to Venus? How about a suite of programs or even better, applications I chose from, that make sense to me and that I can navigate through without a manual? I'm sure my laptop would weigh a whole lot less and be even more transportable?
Evidence shows people generally use whatever browser is loaded onto their purchase so how many choices do you need? Then they "Favourite" their 10 most used sites, never to change them unless there is a global groundswell for a better alternative. Think about the sites you use now and how long you have been using them? There have been better competitive sites but you haven't bothered to move because your choices work just fine.
Do you remember years ago, when the local education institutes had classes in computers to show you how to turn them on and use them? The so called intuitive nature of today's technology has supposedly made that thinking obsolete and everyone is left to their own devices or the neighbour's 15 year old to navigate their way through.
So my dream technology would be a range of boxes I could tick for programs and applications that work as advertised, with speed to spare, all carried in a tablet with the weight of my wallet. No I don't have a lot of money in my wallet, so it weighs very little.
What's your dream technology package look like? Do you think Apple is working on it?
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