1 Smart Home Concepts: Current Trends

Information Appliances Information appliances are consumer devices which offer Internet and/or network access without using the traditional operating system interface. That being said, the line dividing information appliances (“IAs”) and traditional PCs is not altogether clear. For instance, a device whose only user interface is a Web browser, but which runs on top of the Linux operating system, is considered an IA because of its simplified interface. However, operating systems, most notably Microsoft Windows, have grown increasingly simple and browser-like themselves. Just ten years ago, remember, the “c-prompt” was a daily fact of life for PC users. The evolution of Windows has pushed the PC ever closer to our information appliance definition, and seems likely to continue on this path toward usability. Thus, it may be useful to briefly consider some devices currently considered IAs (more discussion of particular devices can be found in Section 2 of this paper). Information appliances include PDAs, palmtops, and set-top boxes. However, as network capabilities are added to more familiar devices, “intelligent” car stereos, VCRs, and refrigerators start to come under the IA heading as well. The IA market is also likely to introduce more new devices, such as personal hand-held scanners and Web tablets, both of which are currently in some stage of development or introduction. In his article “How information appliances are winning over businesses”, Chris Edwards states that “there is no single definition of what an appliance should look like”. This statement in itself could be considered a useful description. Typically, an information appliance does not have a hard drive, or at least not a big one, and is only required to run smaller applications and use less processor speed than a traditional PC. In exchange for these, the typical IA is more portable, more versatile, and less expensive. In addition, because IA operating systems (OS’s) tend to be simpler than PC standard OS’s, information appliances are generally easier to use. Says Edwards, information appliances “appeal to users more familiar with Sony PlayStations than computers”. The information appliance can also be considered in terms of function. IA’s are expected to deliver the benefits of the Internet without the potential hassle of a PC. They are expected to be easily networked and intuitive in operation. Finally, the general term “information appliance” has a number of synonyms. These include “internet appliance”, “net terminal”, and “web appliance”. While the names used seem to be interchangeable, “information appliance” is most prevalent.