Nicholas Deleon Calls ‘No Clothes’ on Google TV

Nicholas Deleon at AOL/TechCrunch:

So we’ve established that Google TV will bring the Internet to your TV. Great. But you know what? I already “have” the Internet. You do, too.

It’s called a computer — and to a lesser extent, a smartphone.

If it works, it’ll be because Google has figured out a new interaction model for computing that doesn’t require a mouse pointer or touchscreen. But even if the interaction model works, is a computer what people want in the living room? Count me in with Deleon — I don’t see it.

Update: This tweet from “mpjoyn” nails why I’m skeptical:

Living room PCs will be big, but only as touchscreens for each family member. Hell is watching someone else control a GUI.

It’s not that there isn’t demand for living room computing. It’s whether the TV should be a computer display. Who wants to watch someone else surf the web?

Put another way: How is Google TV not WebTV 2.0?

★ Thursday, 7 October 2010