PC's role is questioned - Emergence of Web devices sparks debate at conference.(Industry Trend or Event)

WHEN MICROSOFT last week demonstrated its Universal Plug and Play (UP&P) concept with a prototype Internet audio/visual set-top box built by Dallas-based Panja, Greg Sullivan, a product manager for Microsoft's Platform Group, called the PC-less demo proof that UP&P has successfully migrated from "slideware to hardware."

However, as the first physical UP&P device, the Panja system was not loaded with Microsoft's Windows Millennium (WinME) operating system, which will ship later this year as the primary vehicle for delivering installed UP&P software to consumers, Sullivan said.

Instead, Panja utilized a proprietary operating system designed specifically for …