Surf the Web with Internet appliances

To a lot of people, the word "computer" always invokes in their mind an image of a machine that requires rocket science to operate.

Whether it is "a personal computer" or just "a computer", they will perceive it as a box that contains a lot of trouble, ready to be unleashed at a single press of the wrong button.

Not surprisingly, when the Internet became an indispensable tool in our lives, a number of companies raced to design computers that would be so simple to use that even Grandma would be able to use them.

This new breed of specialized computers were intended mainly to be used to access and browse the Internet, compose e-mail messages, send and receive them.

If Grandma has no problem using her kitchen appliances such as the toaster, blender and coffeemaker, then she should be able to use these specialized computers as well. To convince Grandma that these computers are that easy to operate, the industry called them "Internet appliances".

Many of these Internet appliances, intended to be placed on the kitchen counter, were offered bundled with a whole variety of services. All Grandma would have to do is plug in the power and phone cables and turn it on. The rest would be straightforward.

Unfortunately, though, the industry found out very quickly that it did not cost them much more to build a fully fledged personal computer than to build an Internet appliance. Both still require a display monitor, a keyboard, a modem, a processor and a lot of memory.

After a while, the price difference between a fairly capable PC and a decent Internet appliance remained very small, while the PC was able to do so much more than the more limited appliance.

Understandably, the market for Internet appliances disappeared almost as quickly as the cash from IMF loans does in Indonesia.

That is not to say that there has never been a good Internet appliance, though. 3Com, for example, had its pretty-looking, US$499 Audrey. Gateway jointly developed its $599 Connected Touch Pad with AOL. Sony joined the foray by launching its $499 eVilla. Earlier, Netpliance started marketing its $99 I-opener, which carried one of the lowest price tags on the market. All four were good enough to receive an initial warm response from media reviewers.

Too bad, all four companies have called it quits. Despite all the fanfare and rave reviews, Audrey stopped shipping six months after its launch, and 3Com offered a full refund to anyone who had already bought one. Sony's eVilla lived for less than two months, and the company followed 3Com step in offering full refunds. Netpliance threw in the towel in November 2000. Gateway and AOL announced that they were officially abandoning their Internet appliance venture last October.

These four are by no means the only companies that have come up with short-lived Internet appliances. There were other less well-known companies that made Internet appliances and then had to close their doors for good.

On the other hand, there are still several of them offering Internet appliances, including Compaq. Compaq offers two models of iPaq Home Internet Appliance, the sleek IA-1 and IA-2. Both are bundled with MSN services.

And, amidst the gloomy outlook of the Internet appliance market comes the boldest effort to keep it alive. The salvo came from a new company that is backed by the bold CEO of Oracle, Larry Ellison. The company, New Internet Computer Company (www.thinknic.com/thinknic/), is now offering its Linux-based Internet access device called New Internet Computer (NIC) for $199.

Is the Internet appliance really dead? Not necessarily. There are still places where affordable, simple-to-use and trouble-free Internet appliances will remain useful.

Travelers can use them while flying in an airplane. Sailors could use them in their cabins. Students could have them on their desks in class. Bed-constrained patients in hospital could have a better way to kill the time than to watch TV.

Backpackers would not need more than the capabilities of an Internet appliance as long as they were able to use one at a roadside Internet cafe. The list could go on and on. The keywords are affordability and minimum maintenance requirements.

-- Zatni Arbi