Investment propertyThe Future is Now: the Internet Home is Here
For any of you who are old enough to admit that they remember Disneyland"s
"House of Tomorrow" from the 60"s Tomorrowland venue at the original southern
California theme park, hold onto your hats. Now there is the Internet Home,
brought to you by Cisco Systems.
In an announcement recently by the San Jose-based high-tech firm, Cisco
Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO) just unveiled its Internet Home, a 1,700 square
foot dwelling that showcases the benefits of a high-speed, always-on Internet
connection that enables an array of consumer devices and appliances in the
home. Cisco is teaming with developer Playa Vista to build Internet-equipped
"smart homes" in a major new residential and commercial community development
in West Los Angeles.
Collaborating with leading consumer companies, such as Digital Interiors, The
Great Indoors, Hewlett-Packard, Sears, and Whirlpool, the Cisco Internet home
demonstrates the power of the Internet in improving life for consumers, and
will serve as a beacon to light the way for homes and communities of the
future. The high-speed Internet connectivity throughout the home allows
homeowners to conduct daily activities online, such as shopping for
groceries, listening to music, sending family photos to grandparents, or
monitoring their kids in the pool by remote access from home or work.
"The Internet Home drives home the message that always-on, high-speed
Internet connections are available in today"s home, whether it"s an older
home or brand-new development," says Mike Moone, group vice president and
general manager. "It also demonstrates how it is as easy to use as turning
on a light or a water faucet," he adds.
Just how helpful can the Internet home be to the consumer? How about having
the ability to "talk" to your appliances from anywhere and have them talk
back? The refrigerator will know when the door is left ajar and notify you
via a web pad device. You"ll be able to turn on the oven for the roast to be
cooked by the time you get home, and if you"re late, to turn down the heat to
keep it warm. In another recent press release, Whirlpool has just announced
its Integrated Home Solutions Initiative, which includes a new generation of
appliances and KitchenAid brand appliances that can be linked to the Internet.
On vacation or away for a few days? Monitor your home"s security system, the
lights, and the sound system with the touch of a button. This is all
possible through a high-speed Internet link such as Digital Subscriber Line
(DSL) and a Cisco Internet Home Gateway, which will be available next year.
As for phone service, the Internet phone in the home office can retain its
number even in a remote location. Cisco, who makes these phones available to
its employees, is expanding on their own inter-office technology that
utilizes desk-sized units that ring whenever they are plugged into the Net at
any Cisco location, so workers never have to miss incoming calls.
The Internet Home displays a big-screen TV in the family room that has the
capability of simultaneously display two video windows, such as a DVD movie
and the nightly news broadcast. From the personal computer in the child"s
room, a Web cam enables voice-and-video calls to a traveling family member
for help with homework.
Within the Playa Vista Community, Paetec, a Cisco partner, provides the
Internet and network infrastructure to the new community, which, when built
out, will consist of 13,000 residential units and 6 million square feet of
commercial and retail space. According to the press release, every home,
office, kiosk and retail outlet will be pre-wired for broadband Internet
access to ensure future compatibility as Internet capabilities evolve.
It is perhaps a bit disconcerting to imagine how much untapped power the
awe-inspiring new medium of the Internet will offer in future decades. The
Internet Home is but an early example of what everyday life may be like for
our children, our grandchildren and ourselves in the 21st century, just as
the House of Tomorrow had many of us awe-struck by the electric toothbrush
way and the family of the future back when.