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WinHEC 2004: Microsoft remodeling PCs so users feel more at home

By Kim Peterson
Seattle Times technology reporter

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As a result, computers are becoming quieter and more attractive, adapting sleek, geometric designs. They will begin to blend in with the flow of a home, hanging on the walls, perhaps, and staying out of the way.

At least that's the thinking of members of Microsoft's hardware division, who presented their findings yesterday at the company's annual Windows Hardware Engineering Conference this week in Seattle.

The conference also included a discussion of the battle between Hollywood and computer makers over how to protect movies, songs and other digital media from piracy. Some experts said the situation is not going well.

Home-computer usage is moving from a solitary experience to a shared one, particularly as the computer is used more for communication and entertainment, said Edie Adams, ergonomics manager with Microsoft's hardware-innovation team.

People want their computer data to be available anytime and from anywhere, she said. They also want a computer to act as a home message center, an "electronic mom" that can keep track of a family's daily activities.

They want computers to be untethered and mobile, but to blend into the background when not in use.

"Technology is drawing too much attention to itself to really be a good citizen in the family," she said. "Rather than having technology fit in to what people want to do, it demands attention for its own sake."

There are still some roadblocks on computing's path from the home office to the living room, said Dale Crosier, a lead product manager at Microsoft. The machines are generally too noisy and take too long to start up, he said.

Microsoft demonstrated ways to solve those problems. The solutions are in testing, but Crosier said the technology that's developed will be the main enabler that allows PCs to move into new rooms in the house.

People don't want to see technology overpower their home space, said Carl Ledbetter, a product manager at Microsoft. That's why the design of computers and other devices is becoming more restrained, discreet and easier to integrate into a home.
 
Elegant, geometric designs are in style, Ledbetter said. Machines are being made out of more sophisticated materials and can have a translucent or metallic finish.

"If we look at the living room and home, it's a refuge for the family," he said. "Design is tending to be more serene. It's not going to be in your face or loud."

At another part of the conference, the discussion moved from what computers look like on the outside to what they do on the inside — specifically, how they allow users to listen to digital music and watch TV or movies.

The issue of digital-rights management, as it is called, is getting significant attention from federal lawmakers these days, said Mike Godwin, senior technology counsel with Public Knowledge, a public-interest advocacy group in Washington, D.C.

The film, television and music industries want to have more regulatory controls over the way digital-media products are designed and may have different ideas about what's important than the companies that make those products, he said.

Hollywood sees technology on the whole as frightening and worries that opening up computers and integrating them with other devices might lead to more piracy, he said. The industry's lobbyists are talking to federal regulators every day on this and other issues, and he cautioned computer and device makers in the audience to be just as involved.

"You just can't ignore this stuff anymore," he said. "I want to leave you with a sense of nervousness, maybe a little terror, and certainly concern. You need to put this on your agenda, and you need to be watching it."

Another panelist who used to work in the music industry took a more conciliatory view.

Digital-rights management offers the prospect of solving some problems that copyright laws are struggling to address, said Nic Garnett, a lawyer with The Simkins Partnership, a media-and-entertainment law firm in London.

Garnett previously headed the International Federation for Phonographic Industries, a group that represents the international recording industry. He described a case he worked on in Hong Kong in which authorities seized 20 million pirated DVDs from a warehouse. The DVDs were made in China, but proving that they violated Chinese copyright law was not easy, he said. There was also the problem of where to store 20 million DVDs during the case.

Digital-rights-management technology could help to avoid those situations, he said.

"We also have to recognize that without content, a lot of the hardware and software becomes a meaningless proposition," he said.

Andy Moss, a director of technical policy at Microsoft, said the company is good at building digital-rights management but wants to be even better in three to five years.

"Our concern is that regulations and technical mandates constrain our ability to innovate and improve," he said. "If you overregulate, it could preclude that from the marketplace."

This week, Microsoft unveiled copyright-protection software designed to make songs and videos available for handheld movie players and other portable devices. Code-named Janus, the technology assigns an expiration date to files, making them useless after that point. The software would work with rented movies or songs, for example.

Kim Peterson: 206-464-2360 or kpeterson@seattletimes.com