Future looks automated for homes

A quick tap on the e-Man main control panel allows you to dim the lights, play a CD, change television channels or adjust a security camera to see who's at the door.

"Maybe you don't want to hook up the curtains because people will be afraid you have ghosts in your house. But if you want to, you can," said Jack Kao, project leader of IBM's Professional Services division, which deals in home automation.

e-Man's applications, however, are not limited to the home. Parents can access security cameras to see what the kids are doing in the living room through their browsers at work -- something that before had only seemed possible in an Orwell novel.

The master control panel, which Kao calls "the window," can also hook into the Internet and local area networks (LANs), allowing users to order pizzas or do their banking, provided that local businesses are also connected.

"You can even play Sega Rally Racing with the guy next door," Kao said.

Kao and IBM were displaying the technology at a small exhibition called e-Taipei, which is showing how online services will change homes and businesses in the near future.

The show, which began yesterday and runs through Thursday, is being held in the first floor atrium of the Taipei City Government Building. IBM and the Taipei City Government are the exhibition's two main sponsors.

e-Taipei's theme is more related to the present than the future, as most of the products displayed are already on the market or will become available soon.

Kao said that IBM's e-Man home automation system could be installed in a two room apartment for roughly NT$100,000. However, he is careful to point out that IBM's main target is not consumers, on account of the support networks necessary to bring the system to full fruition.

Instead, IBM is looking to increase public consciousness about its products and also find interested developers.

"We've already talked to a couple of builders who are interested," Kao said.

e-Taipei's other exhibitors are showing products for the business-to-consumer, business-to-business and application service provider markets.

Some of the most concrete changes will come in banking.

"Pretty soon, your PC will be able to do everything that an ATM can, except give you money," said Greg Ko of Hua Nan Commercial Bank's (華銀) e-commerce task force.

After Fubon Commercial Bank (富邦), Hua Nan was Taiwan's second bank to receive approval from the Ministry of Finance (財政部) to conduct online transactions, said Ko, who also declared that Hua Nan, unlike Fubon, had completed the technical development of its services.

"In about a month it will be ready," he said.

Hua Nan's new online offerings will allow depositors to monitor accounts, check rates of interest and exchange and transfer money online. "You could use it to pay all your bills or even buy something through e-commerce," he said.

The service will require Hua Nan depositors to register at a branch office, where they will receive a special online password. Internal transactions will be free, while transfers to other Taiwan banks will cost users NT$18, which is the same fee that is levied for cross-bank transfers from ATMs.

TaipeiBank also exhibited a system with identical services, which bank representatives said would be up and running in June.

For small businesses, ASP eCorpServ was promoting its first product -- accounting and financial management software. In August, the software will be available to businesses for a monthly charge of between NT$ 5,000 and NT$10,000.