Phew, AmbitiousLemon, that is alot of want's in that post, but you are far from alone.
What you want is called ubiquitous computing or pervasive if you are IBM.
There are companies looking at this, as usual, it started at Xerox PARC and continues their, albeit slower as that company faces financial woes.
HP is also looking at it in their cooltown program and IBM has their pervasive computing and UI labs. Of course, Microsoft has a hand in it under the Microsoft Research group, having just brought in some big name academics to add to their work.
Notice who is not in that list? yea, Apple.
In my opinion, this truely is the third revolution in computing. First were main frames, one computer -> many users, next PCs as on one computer -> one user and now with networking added, esp. internetworking and wireless you have many computers -> one user. Alot of us get hung up on converging everything on one DEVICE when it's actually the NETWORK that is converging in that all the INFORMATION is converged in one resource, the net, and therefore accessibe from ANY device.
Granted this third revolution in computing has been gradually happening, where more and more embedded processors surronding us everyday, microwave ovens, frig, auto, heating and cooling. But up to this point most embedded systems are not networked. And most desktops, like 90% in the WORLD, still use dial-up for internetworking.
Your iNewt is important not so much in the device itself but in what it needs to do.
Think about it, what would one device that did all that cost?? Alot, and would you be willing to risk sitting on it and breaking it or leaving in the car in the sun or give it to a 5 year old to play with? Probably not if it costs what I suspect it would. That's one of the problems I have with PocketPCs. I have two iPaqs, they are great as in screen display, battery life is so so but they allow me to access the info I needed and that to paraphrase MasterCard is priceless.
So we need to take a step back and look at the whole picture. What do we do and need.
Computers are mainly communication devices now - think e-mail, IM, netMeeting, online games.
We do create some content now with still cameras and video with camcorders but spend more time watching pro media (movies) or listening to pro audio (songs).
There is an ocean of content to access, so much we need a computer to organize it.
So this is what I envision,
your home is your personal domain, with a domain controller ie server in a closet some where just like hVAC or a cable box. It is the input point of your broadband connection to the Internet and the gateway to secure that connection. Mainly through wireless and some wired connection, all communication runs thgough it. It represents the major storage bucket for your pictures, movies, documents etc., your content for the home domain. This next part is important. How you access that content depends on the content and where you are. For simple e-mail, sms or lists and tasks, a 3x5 light CHEAP slate for access is all you need. Notice, first light and small, fits in any pocket so you always have it with you. Since it's all screen and that screen is completely programable it can also control any device that needs controlling in the house. It uses bluetooth to connect and I find HP's argument of Web type protocols to communicate given their standard nature.
Notice it's also cheap so you have more than one and don't break the bank when it breaks. And with a nice list UI you can choose songs, movies or documents you want on the nearest system to play or watch the media.
Now reading is still fun and sometimes a movies for one only needs a 12-14 inch screen. That's you next level of device. A table pc as they are evolving from laptops. This is more expensive but also less handy to carry. It has a camera for netMeeting and photographs or video and some storage locally as a buffer but still keeps most stuff on your server(s). It too has bluetooth but also wireless LAN 802.11 dujour. The screen is large enough to do real work on and via bluetooth and with a stylus in place of a mouse, allows you to do desktop work anywhere. Notice most of it's storage is accessed over a network on a server. With that server connected all the time and in broadband to the Internet, your media and work, i.e. ANY data, is available anywhere at any time.
Also, you have the media room, large wall display with killer audio. Everyone gathers there to watch movies as they were meant to be experienced and you can netMeeting there in a conference, look as all the latest family pics, etc.
This is at home, one the road you have two devices to connect you. Your cell phone has morphed into a link device that can do audio only but also through bluetooth lets you use the better display on you 3x5 cheap pad. The pad or the link keeps the 30 to 40 most contacted names organized for one touch connecting. You can exchange graphics or whiteboard type info. The auto itself has a mobile server in the trunk with storage for your media, syncing wirelessly with the home server while at home and tied into a large WAN same as the linking device (cell phone). Anything not in it's storage bucket can be retrieved from the home or any one on the Internet.
I apologize for the long post, this is easier done with graphics. But I urge you to look at HP's
www.cooltown.com site and IBM's pervasive computing and Microsoft's Research sites. Oh, I also left out MIT's Oxygen project. They had a big splash in Scientific American a few years ago but not much press since. What they are developing there is what we will have to use. And given the faith I have had in Apple since 1980, I don't want them to miss the boat and become some research or design arm of another company as I think this non-convergant digital hub strategy will lead too. Few companies are more creative than Apple and we need them to apply themselves to this effort too.
Just as Apple brought the idea of Xerox PARC's graphical user interface to the world, I hope they can do the same with Ubiquitous computing.
