Networking For Overconvenience

Roland Piquepaille writes "For several decades now, we've read that our homes will become smart and that we'll have many robotic slaves at our service. But it's never really worked. A recent European initiative called TEAHA (short for 'The European Application Home Alliance') wants to give another try, and it has enrolled some big industrial partners to make all our appliances interoperate seamlessly. Imagine a message on your TV telling you it's time to start the laundry! Read more for additional details and illustrations describing the concepts."

Wow

[Timesprout]

Imagine a message on your TV telling you it's time to start the laundry!

Talk about life changing technology!

I would wait...

[Mikachu]

It sounds like a great idea, but think of awkwardness it could come up with once it's fully implimented...

"BEEP BEEP! Time to walk the... oh, I see you're a little busy... I'll remind you in a couple minutes or so... (that IS all you'll need, right?)"

Re:Wow

[antoinjapan]

That's why it won't work this time around, because the tv should be really telling your laundry machine to do the laundry, and I don't mean your wife.

Re:Wow

[Anonymous Coward]

Imagine a message on your washing machine telling it's time to watch TV!

Re:Wow

[Anonymous Coward]

Absolutely, although mine's already way ahead of the game. It reads my mind. It knows when I've promised to do a chore and it observes me and drops hints. Like switching itself off during the match on Saturday afternoon when I'm on the sofa and halfway through a bag of ready salted. At this point I usually find the zapper's gone so I schlep off to do the laundry. And here's weird bit: when I get back, I find the zapper back on the armrest. This wasn't in the spec, dammit! Oddly enough, a friend of mine has exactly the same model TV but he says it doesn't have this feature. My wife, who's been unusually reticent on this, suggested that "well, it might have something to do with him being single". I mean, okay she may be a PhD, but really. Sheesh.

Re:Wow

[bazorg]

This washing machine/tv example is pure myth... As if it were possible to have the a computer controlling several devices and show its output on a TV screen... pfft.

Re:Wow

[Alsee]

I for one would aviod buying any microwave oven that needs a firewall.

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Re:Is this actually useful?

[soft_guy]

I can get my girlfriend (or wife or mom) to nag me about doing the laundry.

What is the point of having a girlfriend, wife, or mom if you still have to do laundry?

Re:Is this actually useful?

[QuantumFTL]

I can get my girlfriend (or wife or mom) to nag me about doing the laundry.

Make sure your girlfriend and your wife don't nag you at the same time, that could lead to some considerable akwardness...