In the future will the PC have a place in the average home?

[Demon Cleaner]

One main aspect of a PC is of course emulation, as you don't need the consoles to play the games, less nostalgic but not less fun.

[Harrison]

This is true, although as consoles continue to increase in power many more emulators do continue to be ported. PCs will always be the best platform for emulation though, but emulation is far from a mainstream area of PC use. I'm always surprised that hardly any average computer users don't even know what emulation is.

[Submeg]

They dont know what it is because they dont even think it would be possible to play such games anymore...

One thing that would be cool would be using the Wii to browse the net.....just pointing the remote at what you wished to select....and you could use one of those roll up keyboards that use USB...

[TiredOfLife]

I remember when I first started working, using dumb terminals.
Nothing stored locally, just connected to a central mainframe.
Later we got computers with the software installed on the drive.
We are now talking about going back to services being located centrally and accessing them through the web.
Strange how things go full circle.
In this case the idea behind it makes sense.
Some of our apps are licensed based.
We know that not all the licences are being used all the time.
Therefore if we used web based programs, a licence would only be given to a user when it was actually in use.
Means we can buy a lot less licenses.
As for the home computer dissapearing, I'm not so sure.
I can see them becoming more usefull as technology improves.
I can see them being used to control the whole household.
Eight point were listed with the quote "not much really"
I disagree, think about how much time you spend over the eight points.
Soon it will be easier to download TV content onto your computer.
Already have TV cards I know but that will be the tip of the iceberg.
I do my food shopping online.
I can see a time when the fridge tells your computer that is out of milk and the computer orders it over the web.
Heating, lighting, security systems and entertainment systems all controlled by a computer.
Access your computer from work and tell it record a broadcast you had forgotten to set the timer for.

[Harrison]

But a lot of what you mention TiredOfLife is how computer enthusists and long term computer users use a PC. The point I am trying to make is that the average family home isn't that computer literate compared to us. They have very basic needs compared to what we require a PC for, and given the option to simplify their computer life down to a console like system then has an easy to use OS that will not suddenly crash and stop booting without paying for someone to reinstall the OS for them is what they are looking for.

Plus many of the things you have mentioned can already be achived without the need for a computer.

Recording programs remotely is already possible with standalone TV boxes. Plus you can already access your Sky Digibox from the internet or a 3G remote control, access the complete TV listings in the Sky guide and set any of them up for recording to the Sky Plus or Sky HD harddrive.

Some fridges already exist that can reorder food directly from their built in touch screen computers.

Security, lighting, heating etc can also already be controlled remotely over the internet, but should such systems be tied into a PC or a small standalone computer connected the the house's network?

I think the future will not be a central PC, but a series of computer based systems networked together and all connected to a central rooter which in turn connects them all to the internet for remote access. Of course this is already all possible if you have the money. But again, I don't think the average home would want or need most of the things mentioned here. Most people are just not that bothered by technology, unless it is a mobile phone!

[TiredOfLife]

Ah but that's the vaerage family now.
Younger generations maybe be different.
What you say about set top boxes and the rest is right.
But I think this will lead to people thinking, why have so many devices that are capable of doing the same things.
One box, one connection to a power supply and one connection to the outside world.
Neater, lower power consumption.
As you say, alot of this is available now if you have a few quid.

[Stephen Coates]

Why would you want a computer to control everything though?

For example, the way I have everything now works very well for me:

A light switch to turn the light on and off
A burglar alarm which can be switched on by entering a code - I don't need to switch it on or off when I am not near it
TV for watching the TV, Videos etc.
And of course a computer for computery stuff.

For recording stuff off the TV, I don't have to do this often, and if I forget to set it up it won't have been of much importance and I could probably watch it again on another channel the next day anyway.

All this stuff about controlling stuff via computers is cool and fun to do, but it's practical use? None (in most situations).

[Stephen Coates]

This is true, although as consoles continue to increase in power many more emulators do continue to be ported. PCs will always be the best platform for emulation though, but emulation is far from a mainstream area of PC use. I'm always surprised that hardly any average computer users don't even know what emulation is.

Maybe they arn't interested in emulation.