Diverging paths

MARCH 2003 n W 3 he idea of impending “convergence”—a gleaming future in which our households (if not our lives) will be organized and streamlined by state-of-the-art digital technology—has been pushed by the computing and consumer electronic industries for so many years now, it’s come to be accepted as a fait accompli. But as anyone currently connected with the music industry can tell you, consumers don’t always do as they’re told. The results can be unpredictable—even chaotic. And when our digital future hangs in the balance, our economic well-being does too. In this issue’s cover story, frequent netWorker contributor Aaron Weiss identifies a trend (which he calls “divergence”) that complicates previously accepted notions of where the computing marketplace may be headed. Economic pressures and our unquenchable thirst for convenience may soon spell doom for the desktop PC, with single-purpose computing products filling the void. Would a diminished role for the general-purpose computer ultimately limit innovation in the digital realm or constitute a boon for weary consumers? Time will tell. And in our “Putting it Together” column, Win Treese offers news and analysis from the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show that further illuminate the current state of “convergence.” At CES, Microsoft and Sony offered their latest visions for a fully connected future. It’s no surprise that each vision benefits the corporation in question far more than it does consumers. But consumers will most likely rebel, leaving the field safe from single-company dominance and open to groundbreaking products and ideas. A little chaos can be a wonderful thing.