I was having dinner with a friend and we started talking about the idea of a home server. Imagine a box that sits in your basement, right next to your boiler. This home server stores your photos and music your home movies and files. It stores your email, your settings and all your other PC related files. It's reliable and runs for 10-15 years with no maintenance and no IT.
Your PC on the other hand becomes more of a thin client. It still runs Windows, Linux or MacOS but all your files and settings are stored on the home server. No hard drive = silent computing. If your PC crashes, no big deal it's all on your server anyway. Want to buy a new PC? Go for it. Plug it in, load it up and all your settings, applications and preferences are instantly back up and running.
Sounds great. Here's the problem. It's in few people's best interest to build such a device. Microsoft makes money off regular upgrades. Intel, Dell, Sony and HP also make their money on upgrades. A server that lasts for 10-15 years could put them out of business, or least bump them to the level of a repair man. Then again, the Maytag guy doesn't have it so bad.