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InformIT
Digital Lifestyles
Newsletter
Sep 21, 2004
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Digital Lifestyles
Reference Guide
Your Host Jake Ludington
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E-home, connected home, wired home; these terms all refer to the so-called convergence of more mundane household gadgets and the programmable world of
computers. This may call to mind Rube Goldberg devices designed to remove eggs from the fridge, crack them in a pan, and fry them to an over-easy perfection without any human intervention. The lights turn on when the room
senses you in a certain part of the house. The temperature adjusts with a voice command. Or maybe the underwear drawer sends a warning signal when it's time to do laundry. These are visions of a sci-fi future promised for years but never realized.
The practical advantages of an e-home are never really promised. Instead we get refrigerators designed to automatically re-order milk when it gets low; that won't make my life any better. We already have the ability to schedule television recordings over the Internet, which is great if you forgot to record something in advance, but how much TV is truly Must See? I want an e-home that can do things that really matter. When too much moisture hits
the windowsill, I want the windows to automatically close, preventing damage to the carpeting. I want my car to start when my morning alarm goes off, so the engine is warm and the windshield defrosts before I make it outside to head to the office during the cold Iowa winter.
More important than what does or doesn't constitute the perfect e-home is the user experience. For the e-home to truly make life easier, home automation needs to be bulletproof. As a self-proclaimed geek, I'm willing to deal with the occasional reboot for the PC that records my favorite TV shows. My wife isn't so patient. When I was experiencing driver issues with a PC remote, she just wanted the cable box to be directly connected to the
TV. Keith Kozak details the issues faced in creating an e-home that works in this recent article.
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![]() This Week's Special Offer
Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life is a unique book that gives readers an entertaining and authoritative look at the indelible influence the video gaming, particularly, Japanese gaming, has had on the world. It the first English-language work of its kind to examine the reasons behind the success of Japanese video games, rather than focusing on the history of video games. Buy from InformIT and save 30% with Free Shipping when you use Coupon Code ED-10168-2K4 at checkout.
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![]() Weblog of the Week: JPEG Security Threat Not So Big
Media outlets are spreading doom about the latest vulnerability in IE, even though it's not been exploited yet. Should you download the patch? Sure. Should you lose sleep? Probably not, as Jake explains.
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Do-It-Yourself Home Networking Have you been wanting to set up your own home network but phrases like "Wi-Fi infrastructure mode" make your head hurt? Fear not. We can save you 30% on a terrific new home networking book by Cisco Press, and you can read a sample chapter before you buy.
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