Linked by Jim Kirkley on Thu 12th Jun 2003 02:18 UTC
Back on June 9 2003, OSNews posted an article by Joshua Boyles entitled "The Edge Computing System". In that article Joshua lays out his vision, "of a new and very unique computing system". In this new article, an attempt will be made to further build on Jonathan's ideas through what can be termed, "Open Peripheral Hardware Connectivity".
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The only constant that exists in the universe is "change." The fact that the only way computer and computer peripheral hardware companies stay in business is to continually reinvent the mousetrap. Compatibility sounds great, but competition -- newer, bigger, better, faster -- is how these companies stay in business. We live in a market driven world. It's the way of the world. People buy what is hyped to them -- always have and always will.
A Corporation can decide to purchase a truckload of computers all built the same way with the same hardware and software. Ultimately, they can because one person or a group can say its so, and it is. Everybody in the same company can go anywhere in that company, get on a computer and have compatibility. Take it out side into the real world where competition dictates what is being pushed and sold to the masses and now you have a problem.
Everyone in the world would have to update. That is not likely. There are still people out there using Tandy HX1000 boxes, and happy to never change. I know, that's a real stretch, but that's reality, and that's my point.
The clincher will be to get all the companies who make billions of dollars a year to change the way they do things. In other words, they would all have to agree to throw out the baby with the bath water. No more newer, bigger, better, faster to drive there multi billion dollar money machines. Right? Like that is going to happen. Remember, those companies are the ones who pay for those cool TV commercials. If their stuff wasn't different (better, bigger, faster, "NEW") then how could they get Joe chump to buy a new computer every two years and give the old one to Goodwill. I don't know about your area, but here where I live, thousands of people who worked for these computer companies and got laid off a year ago are all losing their homes.
On the other hand, this could work as a grass roots movement, kind of like Linux. The problem is, you are talking about hardware. I for one am not able to produce a cdrom drive, or a sound card, or any other piece of hardware. Have you ever seen what it takes to produce a circuit board?
Who are these people who are going to throw away the status quo, break with competition, and risk building only one or no driver hardware.
On the file compatibility end, I can tell you right now, MS doesn't want their file types to work with anything but their software. There are some nice pieces of software out there come very close to opening a .doc file without losing format, but don't bet your two hundred page legal brief on it. It's hard to get off death row once you've been sentences.
Good Luck. It's a nice dream, but communism went down in the beginning of the nineties. Short of an all-powerful central governing body to enforce the guidelines it would take to make this all happen like they do in China - well? Huh!