When Apple announced their iPhone would run the complete OSX operating system the first three words that came to mind were “perfect pocket computer.” Then Mark Cuban blogged this on Digital Media Wire:

“Gaming consoles are already serving as hosts for DVD, HD DVD and Blu Ray players, along with hard drive and USB support for video and pictures. Which leads to the question. Will gaming consoles replace PCs in the home, not just for gaming as they have done already, but also as the primary home device for all things graphical?

If the gaming consoles get real keyboards and better web browsers they will. Which is exactly what could make the future of home computing very, very interesting and upset the MicroSoft and Applecart :), and give a huge edge to Google and maybe Yahoo and even Sony.

Spreadsheets, Word Processors, Powerpoint, Email, Personal Database, Personal Finance ? They are all so limited in their resource utilization, a very strong case could be made that its smarter to do these things online from a gaming console or any inexpensive PC. The inherit benefits of distributed computing could outway some of the limits of not having the biggest box on the block. Things like less power consumption, lower software costs, full backups and much more.

It all comes down to platforms. Why can’t a small console, much like today’s gaming consoles handle local multimedia and gaming and have a browser , keyboard and broadband connection to do everything else online? If this happens, what happens to windows? MicroSoft? Apple?
Its hard to say, but the big winner could be Google. In looking at Google’s public technology discussions, it appears that a thin client, distributed computing future is exactly what they are expecting.” Story continues here…