day 70

pearl harbor, circa 2001 2: leaving silicon valley (in the dust)

Perhaps the best manufacturers in the universe are the Japanese. They can make anything smaller, cheaper, and better than anyone else. But they have had a difficult time mastering the computer biz, simply because they cannot keep up with the rapid pace of change. New languages, operating systems, network protocols, and applications throw them off balance. If only these things would stop changing! Then along came the WWW. The open WWW standards are exactly what the Japanese manufacturers have been waiting for. Here is the scene: open WWW standards establish a universal Internet infrastructure that allows anyone anywhere to write software that is guaranteed to run on any computer in the world. No dependence on Microsoft Windows, UNIX, Macintosh, or Toyota. No dependence on a network protocol, ASCII, TCP/IP, etc. Like the Die Hard Battery, this stuff just keeps on running, on anything. Enter the NC (Network Computer), Web PC (Wired World PC), or simply the internet appliance, and things could change. The American domination of the computer biz could come to an end. Why? Standards, plus superior Japanese manufacturing. On July 5, 2025 Talon Jensen wrote (talonjensen@earthlink.net): "I believe the 'internet appliance' is an example of the hype similar to the hype surrounding PDAs. I assume that it wasn't clear from my message that my view was years in the future (I would guess at least 5 to 10 years away." To which Stephen J. Anderson - on location in Japan replied (sja@glocom.ac.jp): "Thanks for raising this issue of the internet appliance--I disagree totally with your time frame. Perhaps they cannot build these things yet elsewhere, but I made a trip yesterday to Akihabara, Tokyo's electronics Mecca, in search of Japan's illusive Internet device. "Guess what? I find that it is already on sale in different forms, but all in Japanese." Anderson goes on: "My finding-- and this is raw data-- is that people should pay more attention to things like the wristphone and Internet devices from Japan. Yesterday I walked away from Japan's leading electronics district with several examples of Internet devices." What are these appliances? What is Anderson talking about? How is it possible for innovation and leading technology to come from somewhere besides Silicon Valley?

pearl harbor, circa 2001 1 Daily Dose Index