The Home Of The Future

CitizenC writes, "C|Net is currently running a story about the home of the future! Excerpt: First the Net went portable. Now it's going practical. Forget about plug-and-surf Web computers such as the iMac; we're talking about stoves that store recipes, and toilets that e-mail personal information to your doctor. It sounds like just so much new-millennium hype, but Net-enabled appliances are the first wave of a complete revolution in home design--a revolution that's happening right now. "

Comments

Wow. Thats... Uh, great... I guess.

[dominion]

If all the future of technology holds is the promise of toilets that can email, I'm gonna grab an old 386 with linux on it, move out to the boonies, and live out my life in peace and sensibility.

Technology could be used to start a real revolution, but instead we call networked toasters a "revolution" and leave it at that.

I love technology, I really do. But the way these IPO hungry corporations treat it, I'm starting to think John Zerzan may have a point.

Michael Chisari
mchisari@usa.net

I can't help myself...

[jimhill]

As much as I would like to think I'm a person with a certain amount of sophistication and a sense of humor well superior to the Farrelly Brothers', I can't help noticing (and getting a grin from) the fact that the smart toilet is from Matsushita.

I hope that security is important

[octover]

Just think what a stalker could find out about you if they could easily hack your house. It would be bad if someone could turn your stove on high, disable your fire alarms remotely (or even from the side of the house). The possibilities are endless. I am reminded of the adage "Whenever there is power to do great good, it can also be used for great evil."

Call me a luddite, but...

[swordgeek]

I don't like it. Not one little bit!

Seriously, is there anyone who gives a rat's ass about this stuff, except for the companies who (will) make it? I don't want a 'web-enabled' fridge, I don't want a 'web-enabled' toaster, and I sure as hell don't want a 'web-enabled' coffee maker!

And yet, make no mistake--in five years, whether we want it or not, we'll not be able to buy a non-net appliance. Utility doesn't matter. Customer wants don't matter. Safety doesn't matter, as long as the government doesn't complain. Profit matters, and these things will make tons of profit for Sunbeam et al, on the backs of the consumer, at the expense of utility, desire, and safety.

It's stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid; and I won't have any part in promoting it. I hope most other people won't either, but that's not how the world tends to go.

To be fair, I spend most of my day living and breathing computers, and thoroughly enjoy getting _away_ from them in the kitchen. Maybe it just feels like an invasion of my 'low-tech' space, amongst the knives and pots and pans.