AC has a good point. I'm not sure how most of the technology changes enhance this "average" family's life.
Just as an example: A 42 inch plasma TV is certainly exciting, and I'm not a bit surprised the father in the family found it to be "Terrific!", but as a mother of two (who once were toddlers themselves,) I can sum up what that TV will be in just two words: "Handprint magnet." I definitely have better things to do with my time (like read Slashdot, for instance!) than to spend it endlessly wiping grimy peanut-butter and dirt laced handprints off 42 terrific inches of plasma scren.
Here's an idea: Fortune should look for geeks who are experienced both with technology and actual families. Their efforts should not focus solely on what's "really neat" in technology, but also on what's "really useful". For this family, half of which consists of small people with curious hands and no real judgement skills, I would have suggested quiet, super-efficient cooling systems in the computers that would allow them to be shut behind doors or cabinets, safely away from little fingers that love to poke the "reboot" buttons. A TV that mounts on the wall rather than a desktop model. (as the Panasonic specs indicated.) Plenty of children's software to install on the "kid" computer. (That separate system *is* an absolute necessity.)
FORTUNE said the purchases needed to meet the requirement of "practical", among others. I don't think the geek team gave the practical needs of the Burke family enough consideration.
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AC has a good point. I'm not sure how most of the technology changes enhance this "average" family's life.
Just as an example: A 42 inch plasma TV is certainly exciting, and I'm not a bit surprised the father in the family found it to be "Terrific!", but as a mother of two (who once were toddlers themselves,) I can sum up what that TV will be in just two words: "Handprint magnet." I definitely have better things to do with my time (like read Slashdot, for instance!) than to spend it endlessly wiping grimy peanut-butter and dirt laced handprints off 42 terrific inches of plasma scren.
Here's an idea: Fortune should look for geeks who are experienced both with technology and actual families. Their efforts should not focus solely on what's "really neat" in technology, but also on what's "really useful". For this family, half of which consists of small people with curious hands and no real judgement skills, I would have suggested quiet, super-efficient cooling systems in the computers that would allow them to be shut behind doors or cabinets, safely away from little fingers that love to poke the "reboot" buttons. A TV that mounts on the wall rather than a desktop model. (as the Panasonic specs indicated.) Plenty of children's software to install on the "kid" computer. (That separate system *is* an absolute necessity.)
FORTUNE said the purchases needed to meet the requirement of "practical", among others. I don't think the geek team gave the practical needs of the Burke family enough consideration.