Living Room PCs are not going to Take Off, argues Ovum

Ovum has dismissed the living room PC, after watching the launch of new home entertainment systems at this month's International Consumer Electronics event in Las Vegas, USA.

The PC industry has, for the past couple of years, unsuccessfully tried to convince consumers that the next 'must-have' is in the living room, argues IT research firm Ovum's senior analyst Carl Gressum.

He argues that the big pink elephant that no one wants to see is high-end PCs in alternative form factors to make them more acceptable in the living room space, be connected to the television and be the center for digital media and TV viewing. 'Products were brought to market, and they flopped one after the other. Hardly any consumers bought them because the PC platform is a poor performer for TV purposes. It is complex, expensive and offers few advantages that single-function, discrete devices cannot offer.'

For instance, the new the AMD LIVE! Home Cinema system, launched at the show, perpetuates what Gressum suggests are the PC's two main drawbacks: the complexity of its underlying architecture and the fact that the market is not interested at all in letting the PC control the TV.

Gressum concludes: 'Even if the PC platform can handle TV and video applications, it does not mean, from a consumer perspective, it's the most appropriate platform to sit underneath the television. There is a market for a more advanced TV device than a dumb set-top box or DVD player, but this device will not be a PC.

Why 'The 10 Commandments of Web Design' are Complete Baloney
Source: SitePoint, 5 July 2008
 
Further to our earlier discussion...

Local Council Websites: Good, but no Cigar
Source: Webcredible, 4 July 2008
 
The 'Local Council Websites: Good, But No Cigar' report evaluates the top 20 Socitm council websites against 20 best practice usability guidelines.

Why does the OK Button say OK?
Source: Gerry McGovern, 3 July 2008
 
Most times I come across the OK button, something not-OK has happened.

The 10 Commandments of Web Design
Source: Business Week, 2 July 2008
 
To try and make sense of it all, BusinessWeek.com canvassed a broad range of Internet luminaries to discover the design rules they live by right now.

Bill Gates' email rant at the Usability Team
Source: Crunch Gear, 1 July 2008
 
The Seattle P-I has tracked down an old e-mail from 2003 that Bill Gates sent out to members of the Windows Usability team.

Can a better User Experience also be a Greener Experience?
Source: Catalyst Resources, 30 June 2008
 
By improving the user experience of its web collaboration software, Catalyst made it easier for clients to work in productive teams without travelling the globe.

The Spread of Telepresence Technology
Source: Tech News World, 28 June 2008
 
Rising energy costs and green concerns are fuelling a huge increase in demand for videoconferencing, collaborative software and virtual telepresence technology.

UK Usability market worth more than £200 million by end of 2008
Source: eConsultancy, 27 June 2008
 
The UK Usability market will grow by an estimated 20% in 2008 to a value of £214 million, according to research published this week by e-consultancy.

Research suggests growing importance of Usability to UK Businesses
Source: Business Strata, 26 June 2008
 
Integrated software for lead generation and marketing is valuable, but only as long as it's usable.

Web 2.0: Too Smart by a Half?
Source: Computer Technology Review, 25 June 2008
 
Will the Web 2.0 generation’s epitaph be, “They died with their options open?”