The New Internet Computer, or NIC, has no hard drive and runs on Linux. And the price doesn't include the monthly ISP service. By Christmas, a half-dozen more Internet appliances will likely be on the market. Microsoft and America Online will vie for attention in our kitchens with devices that link you to their networks. That's because millions of tin cans need opening, and freezers around the world are stuffed with microwave dinners waiting to be nuked.
Net appliances are more like toasters before the advent of sliced bread.
Without picking up a phone, I could order from the pizzeria down the street. But that neighborhood infrastructure doesn't exist today. Virgin Entertainment may have hit on the right idea with an expensive experiment. Virgin hopes to recoup hardware costs through sales and on-screen advertising. As for the consumer market, systems like the I-opener and the NIC may be destined to struggle until they can take advantage of an existing infrastructure in a unique way.