“Net appliance offerings from Gateway and America Online
represent another step in the evolution of technology options for
consumers.”
“Three factors drive this phenomenon: complexity, usage and
cost. PCs in their current configurations are still too complex and
costly for many consumers, so adoption rates within homes are not
nearly as high as they are with other consumer electronic
appliances, such as televisions and stereos.’
“For many potential PC customers, the Internet is the only
application they want to use. These customers feel that a
full-blown PC comes with too much technology, and they would prefer
a simpler approach to getting on the Internet. The planned
appliances from Gateway and AOL solve the issues of complexity and
usage–all at anticipated lower costs.”
“Opting for a Transmeta/Linux approach does not mean the end
of Wintel, the Microsoft Windows-Intel duopoly, but it signifies a
growing market with more types of customers.“