The other day I was setting up the “Internet” channel on my Nintendo Wii – basically the Opera Browser. I was messing around my with Wii – seeing all it could do – and I’d heard that I could stream media using the browser. I suddenly realized having this browser on the Wii significantly alters the capability of the product. While it’s primarily a gaming machine (great for families) the browser changes the capabilities of the device. What can I do with a browser now?
- Browse simple web pages on my TV
- Watch YouTube videos on my TV (such as TWIT)
- Stream music, videos, etc. from my Computer (Orb)
- Check my e-mail, Facebook, etc.
- Look at just about anything on the net
Do you know what the best thing about this is – it was free. The addition on one piece of software fundamentally changes the nature of the box – from just a game machine to more of a computer. There is no one telling me what I can and can’t do – the browser opens up a world of choice and power. I wonder sometimes if the browser has become one of the most powerful applications on any modern device. Can you imagine a world without it?
Or does the browser really show us the power of connections – of communication? I remember when computers weren’t connected – when everything was local. There’s so much more information and effectiveness to be found in the network – in connections. This is formally referred to as the “Network Effect” – in that as more and more people are connected the value of those connections grows. Years ago (when I was a teenager) there were BBS – Bulletin Board Systems – that allowed my lone PC to connect to a shared computer to download new software – which was cool at the time. Then the early internet started (when I was in college) which I though was really neat – but the information shared was small and limited in terms of users. Then the Internet went mainstream and continues to grow and change at an astounding rate – bring us new opportunities every day (how old is Facebook?).
Now today the Internet has a profound influence in our lives – as many of use spend a lot of time online doing many things. We shop, we communicate, we learn – we live online in many ways now. And that browser facilitates so much of that – one piece of software with so much potential…
