Re: Re: MISC personal computers

[tim bobay <tyg@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Here are 3 links for small cpu projects that may be of interest.  

http://wearables.stanford.edu/
http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~pleb/
http://ryeham.ee.ryerson.ca/uClinux/simm/

tim


On 8 Feb 1999, Dan C. Rinnert wrote:

> dirnfir,dirnfir@usa.net writes:
> >    Does anyone think that a personal computer with a MISC CPU would
> >would popular?  That is, a machine designed for home use, with a GUI, a
> >Forth-based OS, and all.  I guess what I am asking is: could MISC one
> >day supplant the PC as the dominant computer in the home? :) I am very
> >interested in this subject.
> 
> 
> Yes, but only if done so within a relatively short span of time.  Electronic
> typewriters are now word processors that can perform functions that
> previously required a computer.  Telephones, pagers and other communication
> devices are gaining Internet functions, which previously required a computer.
>  I imagine one day your microwave may even have a built-in recipe database. 
> The result is that, in the not-so-distant future, the demand for what we now
> label a "personal computer" is going to be less than what it is today.  Many
> people that today have a computer for surfing the web will one day have
> dumped that computer in favor of their telephone/web browser or cable TV/web
> browser.
> 
> Of course, to completely reverse what I've just said, if there were a
> compelling reason for a personal computer, people would still buy them.  One
> compelling reason would be price.  If a computer can perform many functions
> and have a lower cost than purchasing these independent "modules" (i.e. web
> surfing TV, pager with eMail, microwave with database), then people would buy
> it.  This naturally leads us to the another compelling reason, software. 
> There needs to be quality software for a personal computer, and it needs to
> be easy to use.
> 
> I would suggest that a MISC PC needs to be available at under $250.  A
> sub-$500 MISC PC would likely not fly.  A used Mac or Windows-based PC can be
> purchased for that price, and with the rapid turnaround in technology, a
> sub-$500 used machine is still fast-enough for the average user.  Plus, there
> is widely available software for it.  People will gravitate to what they
> perceive to be better or more flexible rather than what is.  As proof of
> this, just compare the marketshare of Windows-based PC versus the Apple
> Macintosh.  All the software the average user will ever use or need is
> available for the Mac, but more people buy the Windows PCs because there are
> more programs available for it, even though they'll never use 99% of those
> programs.  Plus, their friends have PCs, they use them at work, etc.  We
> should learn this lesson, because MISC PCs will face the same prejudice.
> 
> An open source operating system for the MISC PC is unimportant.  This only
> attracts the computer geek population, and there are not enough of them to
> sustain a platform.  The average home user, the person that has no interest
> in compiling or writing modifications to the operating system, is the target
> audience.  That is, of course, if the goal is to become the dominant home
> computer.  If the interest is only in selling a few hundred or few thousand
> MISC PCs, then target only the geeks.  You'll be the next NeXT; geeks will
> love and adore you, and no one else will care.
> 
> But, on the other hand, you do need to target the computer geek market to get
> the momentum going.  But, you entice them with hardware, not software.  What
> is needed is an open hardware design for MISC, a MISC motherboard.  Something
> anyone can build.  Something the hardware geeks can build themselves, and
> something the software geeks can buy from the hardware geeks.  The objective
> of the open hardware design is to make available a completed motherboard to
> the software geeks, so that they can simply plug in RAM, hard drive,
> keyboard, mouse and monitor and start writing the software for it.
> 
> The MISC hardware design should be easily expandable.  Users should be able
> to add additional CPUs as easily as they can now add RAM.  Ideally, a MISC PC
> should be plug and play and hot-swappable.
> 
> Once the hardware is in the hand of the software geeks, sure, some can get
> together and write an open source operating system for it.  But, the ones
> that will get the momentum going are those that will write a commercial
> operating system for it, and the ones that will write the software for that
> commercial operating system.  If a MISC PC can be sold for $250 (and still
> have a good profit margin), you can bet that the people writing the
> commercial operating system and applications for it will market the heck out
> of it.
> 
> And, for those that want the open source operating system, they can buy the
> hardware, download LinuxMISC (or whatever) from the Internet and install it
> on their MISC PC.  Everyone else can use the commercial operating system(s).
> 
> Again, the most important factor in creating a MISC PC that will dominate the
> home market will be getting a functional MISC motherboard in the hands of the
> computer software geeks.  If you build it, they will come!!!
> 
> Anyway, that's my two cents.
> 
> Dan
> 
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