I definitely agree on this one -- the integrated one- piece platforms of the past just aren't practical in today's market and the design overhead and maintenance requirements would likely be significant.
Eyetech has indicated that their reduced form factor boards will appeal to both the embedded and consumer markets - a shrewd decision.
Quite a few companies are jumping on the home appliance bandwagon. Take a look at the XPC and MegaPC for some interesting design ideas.
P.S. "Gosh, you've... really got some nice toys here."
