I used to hear that a lot back in the 60's and 70's. Not only would every home have a computer, but it would be doing things like controlling our appliances, lights, and security systems.
Well, some of us have managed to accomplish that scenario. But the rest of us simply have computers that are used for things like eBay and playing games while our houses continue to be run by good old humans.
But what are the ramifications of the fact that non-computer people are buying computers in droves?
Sadly, with Microsoft dominating the operating system market, it means that there are millions and millions of computers out there that are doomed to eventual takeover by malware to the degree that the Storm bot will continue to get larger and larger. Want to spam? Rent the Storm bot. It's available for hire.
It's just a shame that computers must be sold with Windows, unless you want to jump through some hoops. The thought of supporting Linux is a scary one for PC manufacturers. It shouldn't be. Sure, it's different, but once a system is up and running, keeping it going under Linux is a snap. I personally like living on the "bleeding edge" and running Ubuntu, but there are many more stable releases out there for those who aren't into upgrading so often.
What's even more sad is that Dell will sell you a PC with Ubuntu on it, but it costs more than a Windows-equipped one. Why? Because of the lack of crapware kickbacks.
The PC manufacturers get a boatload of bucks from the AOLs, Nortons, and McAffees of the world by pre-loading their dreck on brand-new pc's. Many noobs are unconcerned that the stuff they're running will die after three months unless they pony up cash, so they let it go. The now unprotected computers are soon part of the zombie network.
I don't think futurists saw this coming when they were making their predictions about a computer in every home.
It's a wretched mess, and will likely stay so as long as Microsoft is allowed control over the number of new pc's that are manufactured.
Vista demonstrates how impossible it is to create a secure operating system in a closed-source world. Sure, you can run Vista in protected mode and avoid many bad guys, but how many people do? Asking home users to answer yes or no a hundred times a day to whether or not they want potentially risky actions performed is idiotic beyond belief.
Linux has this right. You can only do so much as a user. You have to be system root to be able to break things.
Unfortunately, it IS possible through social engineering to cause Ubuntu users to harm their systems. Many Ubuntu forum moderators now carry signatures that warn users against EVER running "rm -fr" type commands. It's a shame that this is the case, but scum will always be with us.
But I would feel a lot better about all of the millions of computers flying off of store shelves if I wasn't sure that the majority of them will someday be sending me spam.
