The role of the PC in the connected home

Over the next few years homes will become increasingly "connected", both internally and to the outside world. We expect to see a variety of broadband access networks appear to deliver digital content to the home, both Internet based and broadcast. At the same time, an increasing number of homes have multiple PCs and are beginning to connect them. As other consumer devices also become digital, those will also become connected. Just as the role of the PC and its software changed significantly in business when PCs moved from stand-alone to connected, we expect new roles and capabilities to appear for the PC at home as it develops continuous connections to other devices. This paper discusses the technologies we see appearing and how they will impact the function and role of the PC.