Who will decide the direction of the PC of the future? As the technology regarding music, DVD, other forms of digital information and connectivity converges, which way will it go? The customer in the end will decide with some direction from manufacturers.

Devices in the house like the TV, Video, DVD players, Games consoles are very acceptable in the family, reception or sitting room. But the idea of a standard personal computer with it's now better looking flat screen does not have the same status or league of its counterparts offering 1 dimensional entertainment.

With the computer, you can program it , you can play games, you can chat, email, play music, download music, burn music, watch DVD's , download DVD's , burn DVD's, do your accounts, online buying the shopping, research, write letters, synchronise information with your phone and much more. But maybe even today, it is still looked upon as a work horse, a servant and does not get the praise and positioning it deserves. It would be good to get some feedback from computer users on this subject. It has always been placed in a bedroom or a study.

But today, there are not may households , who could do without their PC or Laptop. Children seem the first to get the best of out it , by figuring how to chat and send email, pictures and sort out their camera so they can see each other. But as the innovation and technology becomes more sophisticated and boundaries are not clear, the future of the PC could have many outcomes.

The PC for program use is only Nerds like myself who like to develop software. But there are many hobbyists and professionals alike who use their computer for these purposes. But for the general public in question, the PC will have a Entertainment , Internet and Home Housekeeping functions as part of its requirements.

Sony is pioneering technology that will be totally wireless, integrate with several devices in your home and will serve and provide you with the required consumption of Entertainment, Internet and Home Housekeeping you need. With the smooth integration of digital cameras and camcorders, we now have a greater appetite for cutting, pasting and putting our images either online or burned onto a CD or DVD. With these devices around the home and available on a network, it will be easy for information to travel and the TV will be used as a monitor to communicate with others either within the home or online. If you look at the price of PC's today, they are cheap in price and can offer you a digital world of possibilities and interest. At the same time it can be very addictive.

The home business and pure home market is still very widely untapped in terms of connectivity and knowledge. The rate of Broadband connections are excellent , but are people making the most of their computer or internet service ? Like the Sky keyboard, you will have a keyboard/remote unit which will control not only your TV, but other parts of the house , including all the electrical devices in a wireless way.

With images on a camera, you would be able to download them to your home device and remotely make them available to family and friends. You could program your system to download music with remote access, so it is available when you get home.

With the convergence in technology between home entertainment requirements, home automation , general communications and wireless , home networks and user needs, will lead to a new device that does all these tasks. I know that these new Multi-Media centres and the taste for TV Computer screens are leading towards these new systems being a reality and the costs coming down as it takes to the mass markets in the future. What are your comments and feedbacks on a new PC for your requirements?

Gene da Rocha