The End of the OS

I am a consumer (not the walrus) and I need to get my daily fix of PopSci. So of course I need to pop into the website and see the latest headlines...If only it was as simple as that, though, because the wish to consume media means I need to get to a lap- or desktop. I need to boot the device up, which is all ready a two- to three-minute plus exercise; I then add some seconds to find and open the relevant browser application. Then I need to actually type in an address and wait for some loading times.

So my media snack behavior has turned into a digital hard- and software buffet! And all I wanted to do was read the headlines! I might as well just grab a printed PopSci off the shelf. I reckon this is a clear case of the consumer behavior that electronic hard- and software vendors dread! I want to consume media, I am not really in the business of interacting with a clunky operating system just to consume 30 seconds of online media, I don't want to fiddle with a zillion and one buttons just to watch the same video clip. I just want my Web-TV.

Does anyone remember the TV....? Switch on, switch off, Daniel-san. That's the learning curve that everyone needs to aspire towards. That's the Google secret. Using any Google service is like taking candy from a child. But it's still not enough. Some creative guys have already (of course they have) come to the same conclusion, and slowly but surely products are rolling into the market that are bypassing all the electronic software and hardware fluff. They do not pass go and they do not collect 100 dollars, they just get you to the money moment with the shortest interruption. You can check them out at Good OS or Presto.

I believe the tipping point is reaching us now and the writing is on the wall. Netbooks (EASY HARDWARE) sales are skyrocketing.  When these products meet with the easy software mentioned above, we have to once again welcome ourselves to the future in a way we did not quite expect.