SEATTLE - In the new age of gadgets, where devices have their own processing power and connectivity, there is an increasing sense that the personal computer is losing its relevance.

Once upon a time, it was the centre of the technology universe. Indeed, the consumer technology revolution was born on the personal computer.

But in today's world, devices rely less on the PC.

Digital cameras can send images straight to a printer via a Compact Flash card slot.

Set-top boxes and Web terminals can provide Internet access without a personal computer in sight.

And Bluetooth wireless technology let device talk to each other with the need for a computer as an intermeiary.

Those examples are only the beginning of what is to come in the burgeoning gadget era.

So it stands to reason that if the personal computer is less central to our technology, so is Microsoft Windows, the operating system that runs the majority of the world's PCs.

That could spell problems for the Seattle-based software giant, because Windows is the lifeblood that keeps the heart of the cash-rich company pumping.

As you would expect, Microsoft doesn't see Windows fading away. In fact, the company believes that the operating system is more relevant than ever and it aims to prove that with Windows XP, the next version of their highly successful operating system which will hit retail shelves Oct. 25, 2001.

At the unveiling of the product here, Bill Gates, Microsoft's chief software architect, called Windows XP, "the most significant operating system upgrade since Windows 95."

Just as Windows 95 was engineered to harness the nascent Internet revolution, XP - short for "Experience" - is being positioned to be the centre of the gadget world. Gates said it is designed to support an "always-on" experience where the computer never needs to be switched off. To facilitate this, XP is built around Windows NT technology, a more stable version of Windows designed to run business computers and servers.

This is crucial if a personal computer is to be transformed from a stand-alone device to a home server of sorts.

Microsoft's vision of that central hub reminded me of the earth-centric position held by the Roman Catholic church. The Vatican ostracized Galileo Galilei when his work gave further credence to the theory by Nicolaus Copernicus: the universe did not revolve around the earth and perhaps the planets revolved around the sun.

The new operating system goes a long way toward forcing its way to the centre of the home universe.

"The PC is no longer for single-purpose usage," said Greg Sullivan, lead product manager of Microsoft's Windows division, in an interview. "XP is the place where devices come together."

Sullivan said an XP-powered computer would be a hub for personal digital assistants, consumer electronics, and even dishwashers, televisions and other kinds of smart devices on the retail horizon.

"In the long term, anything with an on/off switch can plug into this home environment," Sullivan explained.

There is an argument to be made for a distributed networking model, where each device speaks to other devices without an intermediary computer. This is the foundation for Bluetooth, a short-range wireless technology. Each Bluetooth-enabled device initiates a wireless connection with any other Bluetooth wireless device within range.

The reality is that a combination of the two models will evolve in parallel, with a Windows-powered computer eventually moving into the furnace room to handle heavy-duty computing tasks. While the computer would be hidden away, Windows would be evident on multiple screens and control panels around the home. Of course, this future Microsoft digital furnace is going to face some competition. Other companies want their own gear to run the household. For example, Honeywell has already developed a $7,000 device that controls temperature, lighting, security and appliances in the home.

Meanwhile, XP's device-friendly nature will be facilitated by the inclusion of many of the new networking technologies built into it. It will support Wi-Fi, the new name for the 802.11 standard, a home wireless network technology. It will also support HomeRF, a competing wireless network technology.

XP will also support Bluetooth. Sullivan said if Bluetooth finds its legs in the market this year, support will be built-in when the operating system ships in the second half of the year. Failing that, it will be added as a free upgrade after release. What is most striking about XP are the lengths to which Microsoft has gone to make adding and working with devices simpler.

At the XP unveiling, held at Seattle's Experience Music Project not far from the Seattle Space Needle, Jim Allchin, Microsoft's Group VP of Platforms, demonstrated how much easier digital cameras and music players are to use with the new operating system. XP integrates built-in tools that make manipulating music and images easy and moving them to and from these devices quick and painless.

Allchin connected a digital camera and selected images on the devices, named and rotated some of them, and imported them onto a laptop with apparent ease. There was also an option to publish them to the Web. A one-click system shrinks the file size and resolution to make images more portable. Images can also be burned to a CD without initiating a third party program. Of course, the demonstration was all carefully choreographed and scripted. We can only hope that XP performs as well for the consumer.

The other notable gadget feature in XP is further implementation of Universal-Plug-and-Play. Using this technology, compliant devices tell a computer what they are and what capabilities they have when they are plugged in. This was first introduced in Windows Me, launched last fall, though it is not installed by default.

After the show-and-tell, a doubtful journalist from ZDNet's Anchor Desk quipped during the Q&A session with Gates and Allchin. "To me, it looks like this a Windows version for the inexperienced."

It was phrased a criticism. I see it as praise. Windows needs to be easier to use and friendlier. In a gadget world, computer experience need not be a prerequisite.

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