Wolfgang Gruener: Land of Confusion

Has there ever been a better time in history for people to enjoy technology and to look forward to even greater things that make our live styles more convenient, pleasurable, desireable ? How about technology that actually is understandable ? While we have faster and power-saving super computers that manage all our household needs, loads of gadgets filling our pockets, wireless everywhere, and eye-popping television that tricks us into believing we are actually part of that baseball team that is winning the World Series - what is missing is that we can’t figure all this stuff out.

I’d claim that we have never been less informed about the technology we purchase and about the content that is accessed with these tools.

It isn’t just the latest dust-up with Sony BMG inserting spyware on their music CDs. It isn’t because things are getting more complex, more pervasive, and more widely used. It is because the vendors themselves are doing everything they can to obscure things, and I for one am not a happy camper.

Don’t believe me ? Let me give you three examples - HDTV, the latest CPU platforms, and the upcoming release of Windows Vista.

While we have had extensive reporting on the battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD groups, the real issue is the battle between the content and tech providers. What is going on here is the same deal as Sony BMG, only instead of protecting music the vendors are vying to figure out a technology to protect their video content. At the heart of this debate is how this content will be made available, and whether a purchase is really a purchase or just renting a movie for a specific period of time and to run on a particular player. "Available" is the keyword here, as it is not certain what "available" really means. "Restricted availability" or "controlled availability" would be more appropriate terms, as content owners and infrastructure providers demand the final word in how we use their content - how often we view and listen and where this fine new content is streamed to within a home. The sad reality is that the consumer is locked out from the debate how content will be able to be used. Content firms typically decline to talk about "digital rights management." Guess why.

Intel next month will reveal a rebranded global presence that aims to spark more emotion, just like "Apple" and "AMD" does. The next mobile processor is rumored to be named "Core Solo" and "Core Duo," but that’s about it what Intel will tell you. Comparing features and speed will be almost impossible for the average customer - even within processor product families. Instead, you will have to trust system builders that they build the chip you may want into a computer and you will have to trust your sales associate at Best Buy to know the details about the chip, just in case you are interested. I don’t know about you, but I have my doubts that sales associates will be taken trough appropriate education programs that enable them to guide consumers to the computers they need and want. Intel told its employees in the company newsletter that marketing has made tremendous strides in recent years and will play an increasingly important role in the firm’s success. No doubt, this is true. But Intel’s processor marketing strategy already is beyond my comfort level.

Windows Vista. This is my personal favorite. Every time Microsoft comes around with a new operating system, we see a flood of certifications, "designed for" labels and enough marketing propaganda to make us believe it’s snowing in July. The problem is when this new version of Windows is released sometime next year, the certification "Windows Vista Ready" will be almost meaningless.

Already we have seen several vendors who promise that their entry-level graphics cards will be "Vista Ready" but we know better. The label does not mean that you will be able to run the new operating system with all its bells and whistles. In terms of these chipsets, you most likely will be able to run Vista in a mode that looks very much like XP today. We hear that there may be more than just one Windows Vista sticker - a "Ready" may be joined by a "Compliant" and possibly even more. I hardly can wait for the answers from hardware manufacturers and system builders when their hardware isn’t able to deliver what the consumer believes he has purchased.

No, guys. This is the wrong route. We are in a trend in which the consumer becomes insignificant, as long as he can be convinced to fork over his cash. More and more we tend to take everything as fact what we are told in advertising and are not really curious, if there is more to the story than what we are told. A glossy flyer in the mailbox or a flashy commercial is much easier and more convenient to consume than to take some effort to inquire about products and services and then decide if that is so great what’s coming down the line.

We need more transparency, not less, especially as tech gets more difficult to figure out. The vendors aren’t helping themselves here at all.