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BusinessWeek Online has a special report on Digital Homes -- what we used to call "home automation".
Great article from Business Week:
What distinguishes today's digital homes from "smart homes" of the past is the modular nature of the technology. Because so many products are designed with Internet standards in mind, consumers can start out with just a few devices and build up slowly. It helps that PCs such as Dell Computer (DELL ) Corp.'s XPS gaming machine and Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Media Center PC are becoming entertainment-oriented, while consumer electronics are becoming more PC-like -- with hard drives, screen-based menus, and built-in Net access. Piece by piece, the technology also is getting more user-friendly. That goes a long way toward explaining the explosive popularity of Wi-Fi networks, now in 11 million U.S. households.
Absolutely. I cannot afford to get everything I want either but the modular nature of the equipment is a superb factor in allowing consumers to go for it. more importantly is the understanding that these items really have to be plug and play. Carrying out some extensive configuration in techie level language just won't cut the mustard. Remember most people can't even programme a VCR.
the ultimate goal for almost every room is to deliver what Dutch giant Philips Electronics (PHG ) calls "ambient intelligence." As devices get smarter, they can identify and adapt to individual users in a household, potentially making suggestions on everything from what to eat to how to dress. "Think of it as the electronic equivalent of an English butler," says Emile Aarts, vice-president and scientific program director at Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven. Those concepts may seem pie-in-the-sky now, but many are being tested in corporate labs -- and some are nearing commercialization.
I keep telling people abut this concept, some joke, some sneer, some even accept this is around the corner. The question is how soon is it going to get to a place wher eveyone wants one? My current thinking is 2 years before this stuff becomes easy enough and cheap enough for mainstream families to adopt. And that's when it becomes big money.
The last word goes to the Business Week article:
Not surprisingly, we found consumers who say they crave technology, but only if it's no-muss-no-fuss. They should control the technology, not have it control them. It should "just work," make life easier, and even help free up time to do something else.
Posted by Paul Goodison at July 21, 2003 10:06 AM | TrackBack