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Digital Hub
More devices is better
By: David K. Every
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2002-11-27
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 pple has been promoting the concept of the Digital Hub. I do generally agree with concept that more and more people are using the computer not only as a computing device, but also as a controlling and management device for many digital appliances. As these appliances like MP3 players, cameras, recorders, phones, storage devices all become cheaper and more powerful, I expect this trend to continue.
Once again, Apple is pioneering, and on the cutting edge. But also Apple is being themselves, and not being quite versatile enough and sitting on their laurels while the competition starts passing them by. Don't get me wrong, I love my Macs; and I use them for iPods, cameras, synching with a PDA/CellPhone. I know many others that use the digital video capabilities. And there are many areas where it is best of breed in quality. But the PC's are still beating them in quantity and versatility.
PDA's and phones are one area. I think iSync has a ton of potential. However, much of that potential isn't yet fully realized; and iSync is still beta. And while iSynch is almost here, it is definitely late to the party, and it does not work with a large variety of devices - yet. Even today there are a few issues with my phone (the Kyocera SmartPhone); and working with Entourage is flakey, and what about connecting WinCE devices? If I want a handheld computer, or specialty PDA, Windows is just more compatible and works better for now. If I connect the right devices, then the Mac experience is better. So there are tradeoffs, which is not a compelling advantage Ð yet. I think over time, Apple will add more and more devices and they'll end up better, but for now Macs have to settle for less, and sometimes not better.
The same issues for digital phones, and various software programs. A few phones work well, assuming that you like Apple's calendar and address book. Personally, I'm not enamored yet with features or interface of either. But they are easy enough for users and many like them. Apple is creating standards by bundling all these things into their Operating System and making the computer more usable. But while the PC has less standards, that also may mean more choice. Again, tradeoffs. And again, I think that over time, there will be more polish on the Apple. For now, there's still a few worms.
Apple does FireWire well; they should, they invented it. I'm not a fan of the over-hype about USB2; but the industry is going there. PC's are already there; Macs are not. Macs are slightly better with FireWire; but for now, I'd give a slight advantage to PC's in better I/O. That's not good, I want my platform to lead. That may change soon, but it hasn't been true for the last 6 months to a year at least.
Another important area is little plug in memory cards and things like that. Some desktop PC's can handle PCMCIA (PC-CARD) slots, or all the different memory card formats. Again, versatility. I never understood why Apple didn't add a PC-Card or other slots to Macs; the Macs controller supports it, and it is a few dollar (max) to bring it to the outside world. This made especially good sense on the Cube and iMacs to offer some limited expandability, customizability and make the computer more versatile for users and break the perception of closed box and unexpandable. All and all, a cheap way to add value; but Apple hasn't.
Now I know that you can add cheap (under $100) external devices that work with many memory cards on either platform. But that is never as painless and cleanly integrated as if they come with the computer. With PC's you can definitely get those things built in, the Macs can not. The Macs drivers work slightly better, so overall, it is a bit of wash; but I can't help feel like Macs are throwing away a potential competitive advantage.
          
In fact, that brings me to the future of digital hubs. The HP media center PC's are a good attempt to beat Apple at their own game; or the concept. You want to connect many devices up to your PC and play? Well these these media PC will do it, and arguably better than Macs.
I've always thought that TV make sense in something that is supposed to do and manage video editing. Not because they are used that often; I had both capabilities long ago as extras on my Macs, and a rarely used them. But they did come in handy occasionally. But the point is that Macs used to have it and now they don't. The HP makes has the TV part of that, and while the quality isn't great, and the software might have something to be desired; the remote control was convenient and in many markets, this is a lot of value. College kids, mobile homers, space restricted areas, people doing reports on cable or TV shows, or people that need to keep up with the news where they work and so on. This adds some value; PC's have it, Macs don't.
There were attempts at adding FM radio, but computers and FM don't always get along well. I think radio tuners make some sense too, especially when we're not connected to the internet, or for news junkies. But for now, most don't have that as an integrated solution; so neither Macs or PC's are ahead on that one. But sadly, I suspect that even though Macs have advantages like iTunes, the PC's will soon catch up, add in FM tuners as well as Internet radio, and once again surpass Macs in versatility.
Now I don't mind paying more to get more features. I will pay more to get more quality. But when the competition keeps offering more and more features and versatility for less, it is a much harder sell. I went and compared a Mac with a DVD-RW capabilities and a second optical drive (source and destination). And the results were mixed, at best. The HP was a lot less money; around 40% less. Apple didn't offer certain options that make sense, like a second optical drive that was only a CD and DVD reader (not CD-RW); if I can write CD's on the first drive, I shouldn't have to pay for the capability on the second. If the second drive was sold at a cost competitive range (say $50), then no shakes, but at $150, I felt I was throwing money away. On the other hand, the HP offered a second CD, but what about DVD? I want to burn a DVD from another DVD. Neither option was great. The 2.6Ghz P4, is certainly going to be better for most users, or most of the time, as compared to the dual 1Ghz G4's; though not by nearly as much as some might think. Still, the PC seemed like a good value. The PC drivers can get funky, and you have to run WindowsXP; with it's invasions in my privacy and draconian licensing policies; but it runs with more software; and the interface is actually getting quite good. But then it got to the digital hub part; and while the Macs have elegant hardware and good designs, they fall short with no front mounted ports or analog ports like the HP has, let alone memory card slots, compatibility and so on.
    
I expect Apple to fix this in the future; but the future is just that, the future, we live in the moment. For the moment, and for the last few moments, PC's may be doing it better. Sure we know Apple plays the quality and reliability card with the switch campaign; but many of the problems are becoming over stated, PC's are getting lots better. Most of all, most customers won't know about the pain of driver-hell until it is too late and they already bought the wrong product. They are buying based on features and what seems better, and Apple is losing out.
And in the end, the Macs have advantages and the PC have advantages; but the Macs can't be seen as different and "as good", they have to better to draw people into switching. They certainly can't draw new customers with the campaign of "almost as versatile".
The point of all this is if you're going to say you're the digital hub, then be the best digital hub. I like my Macs, and realize that there's a lot of smoke and mirrors with the PC's, in that the delivery and reliability is sometimes lacking. But the PC's have gotten much better. And I can't help being left with the feeling that if I wanted a real digital hub that can connect to more devices, and more analog devices, cheaper and faster, then the HP's media centers might be superior to the Macs.
It is one thing to be beaten at someone else's game; but never, ever, let them beat you at your own. 
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