Imagine being paged with word that the milk in the refrigerator has spoiled. Imagine turning off the porch light at home while vacationing at the beach.
In the future, when the words "home computer" take on new meaning, it might be possible. That future is on display now at an IBM Corp lab, where researchers are testing new technology in a fully furnished living room, kitchen and garage.
In the kitchen, a screen on the refrigerator tells what's inside -- without opening the door. Digital stoves and microwaves cook automatically, following recipes downloaded from the Internet.
Set two prescription bottles on the bathroom counter, and a computer activated voice announces whether the medications are an unsafe mix. In the living room, a mini, mobile wireless touch screen replaces remote controls.
Servers that are built into the decor will allow wireless devices, appliances, thermostats, security systems and computers to be networked, or "talk" with one another from anywhere.
Parents could monitor the baby sitter anywhere on a secure Internet site. The thermostat could be linked to a weather Web site, firing up the furnace if the forecast calls for snow. And the digital peek into the fridge -- that too, could be done away from home.
"Everything, absolutely everything is connected," said Bill Bodin, an IBM researcher, as he showed off the lab Thursday.
For now, the "smart house" is home to constantly evolving ideas.
But as IBM's Michael Rhodin tells it, the technology being developed and tested at the Austin lab is the next big thing.
It could be only two years away.
"It's almost a threshold of where the computer is going to change completely," said Rhodin, vice president of the Pervasive Computing Division's development department.
"People need to feel connected 24 hours a day."
That means the next era of home computing will be integrating computing in the home, "making technology real for people," Rhodin said.
IBM, based in Armonk, New York, wants to create a stable infrastructure and simplify wireless technology.
"That's the kind of stuff that IBM is known for," Rhodin said.
The payoff could be huge.
As with most PC companies, IBM has seen its PC sales and market share decline. According to market research firm Gartner Dataquest, IBM's shipment of PCs in the US dropped 10.7 percent in the second quarter. Worldwide shipments fell 6.5 percent.
Wireless and network technology has endless consumer possibilities, Rhodin said. Just this week, a Coke machine complete with Internet access and a movie-ticket dispenser was shipped out of the lab.
But constant connection also "raises a lot of interesting questions," Rhodin acknowledged. "There are going to be a lot of interesting debates over the issue of privacy."
Privacy is something businesses, consumers and government should carefully discuss, said Philip Doty, an associate professor at the University of Texas who studies technology and privacy.
"This kind of scrutiny of an individual or a family might be extremely oppressive," he said.
For example, businesses could use data to customize advertising or offer discounts if consumers agree to allow personal information to be accessed by companies, Doty said.
"That tends to commoditize privacy."
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