Windows May Get Warm And Fuzzy

T he tone at this year Windows Hardware engineering Conference (WHEC) is a bit different than that of previous conferences, according to a new article in Wired News. This yearis conference is not so much about what new high-powered hardware may be in Intelis development queue, but more about how people might use that hardware. The article says that this yearis emphasis seems to be the concept of the digital hub, as well as, of all things, the people that actually use their products. From the article:

WinHEC is a sort of four-day sermon in which the software giant tells hardware makers what itis up to -- and what it expects of them. Allchin kicked off the conference Tuesday with an odd speech and video clips that were not your typical Microsoft testimonials. In one, Burns talked about his emotional attachment to a copy of a Civil War letter heis carried around in his wallet for years.

Itis a feeling that drives what Allchin called todayis "experience economy." Preteen girls, he said, are emptying stores of the Hello Kitty speakers simply because they love them.

Translation: Emotion creates attachment. And attachment creates sales.

Though Allchin never stated it in so many words, itis time the PC industry created its own Hello Kitties. Hardware developers, he said, must stop thinking in feeds and speeds and start thinking about end users, what they do, and how to appeal to them.

After a lifetime of telling people how they will use computers, it was as if Microsoft had suddenly discovered the consumer.

Thereis more in the full article, and we recommend it as a very interesting read.