It’s increasingly possible to connect every appliance in your home to the Internet, so you can start thetoaster from the office or let the dog into the backyard while driving around town. Is this theprescription for the home of the future? It’s a place Dave is already living, but Rick would rather stay ina mud hut.
Rick: Jiggy? Stop making up words. Look, you just go ahead and put your entire life in your phone. Butdon’t come crying to me when it gets lost or stolen, or its battery dies, or your door-lock app crashesseconds before the zombies catch up to you. I’ve never understood the whole home-automationmentality, where you’ve got an X10 control pad or a tablet or a smartphone just so you can turn lightson and off. Stand up and flip a switch, you lazy bum! Also, get off my lawn! I’m trying to water it withmy non-automated sprinkler system. (Actually, the timer-powered sprinkler is man’s greatestinvention. That, I’ll keep.)
Rick: Bah! Humbug! It shouldn’t surprise me you’re the one guy who wants the Internet-connectedrefrigerator and coffee pot and mop bucket. But it’s just silly. All these things require power, Wi-Fi,Internet, and user interfaces (each one different, of course), which just overcomplicates the bejeezus outof things that can and should remain simple. And let’s not forget the inevitable day when your homeachieves sentience and decides you’re too messy and imperfect to reside there anymore. “Open the frontdoor, Hal.” “I’m sorry, Dave, I can’t do that.”
"In my house here, we had an 18-year-old girl who got a new boyfriend, a new car and a driver's licenseall in the same month—danger with a capital D," Miller said with a laugh. "We had the house set up sothat anytime she came home after curfew, the house will call me on my phone and let me know."
Speakers hidden inside the walls so music can follow visitors wherever they go.
Smart homes can right away squeeze out most, if not all, wastage by automatically controlling yourdevices.
Can You Sell Power Back to the Grid in California?
Mikel Chavers has been writing and editing since 2006, specializing in health, business, governmentand technology topics. She got her start as a reporter at “The Business Journal” in Greensboro, N.C.,and later covered state government for a national magazine. Chavers holds a Bachelor of Arts in mediastudies/journalism.
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