Like most people I've had to use PC and Microsoft software at work. I also used to buy PCs for personal use, till I got tired of my computer mysteriously getting buggy/slow/infected 6 months into use. Although I'd used Macs as a teenager at School, I only really switched over to using them as my primary personal computer about 3/4 years ago. On the whole I've been more than satisfied, I honestly can't see myself switching over to PC as my main personal computer any time soon, despite the recent launch of Windows 7 and the aggressive anti-apple marketing efforts of Microsoft.
That being said, I'm also an XBOX 360 owner, and for a Microsoft piece of hardware, I gotta say it's pretty damn impressive. Contrary to the inescapable DOS-MS vibe you get from Windows, the XBOX is very very smooth. Updating software, connecting to the internet, downloading games and movies is all done seemlessly without having to wade through any complicated setting menus. This seems to me what a PC should really feel like. I shouldn't have to spend my time fiddling with setting and manually upgrading drivers and installing software patches. This should all be done seamlessly though a smooth user interface. Would it be such a stretch to imagine an
XBOX inspired PC?
Of course some will say that you need to be able to micro-manage all those settings to get the best out of your computer, but I don't think they represent the majority of PC users. We mostly just want things to work. If you're a PC geek that want's to hack and uber-costomise their computer, you're probably running Linux anyhows.
Microsoft or Mac, Windows or OSX, it seems that personal computers have a long way to go to catch up with the ease of use we've come to expect from many other gadgets and gizmos we use. For a smooth, seamless and fresh user experience both Apple and Windows should look to the XBOX (or any of the other main consoles). This is what using a computer should feel like. Microsoft should stop trying to beat Apple with more of the same and genuinely release a product that takes the whole personal computer market to a new paradigm. They've got a solid blueprint for this in the XBOX.
