Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Boston Families Test a “Networked Home”

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 15:13:19 -0500

Boston Families Test a “Networked Home”

The Internet Home Alliance is wiring the homes of 20 Boston-area families for a
test of a “networked home.” Backed by Whirlpool, Sears, Cisco Systems, IBM
and Hewlett-Packard, the Alliance will install smart machines and Web and
wireless connections so families can remotely control home appliances. The
project will focus on whether the system benefits the lives of the participating
families. Some analysts are skeptical of “networked home” technologies
because of the massive renovations and resulting costs. However, there are a
number of cost-effective networked home offerings including remote controlled
thermostats, security systems, central air conditioning and more.
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Net alliance testing a range of possibilities

By Peter J. Howe, Globe Staff, 3/31/2003

consortium of technology and home appliance companies is enrolling 20
Boston-area families for a test of a new wireless- and Internet-connected
kitchen, in a move toward the ''networked home'' that has generated enormous
publicity but few real sales in recent years. The Internet Home Alliance, backed by
Whirlpool, Sears, Cisco Systems, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard, is working through
Stop & Shop and online grocer Peapod.com to line up local families to participate
in four-month tests of a system allowing for wireless- and Internet-based ways to
deliver a freshly cooked meal for dinnertime.

Companies dreaming of
tech-enabling homes have
long looked to the kitchen
as a potential family
''command center,'' given
its role as a place where
key decisions about
shopping and family
schedules are often made
and recorded.

The concept the alliance
will test in Boston starting
in May is a limited step
toward that big vision. It
would use a new $1,900 range oven Whirlpool began selling two months ago,
called the Polara, which has a built-in refrigerator. It is designed to let people
assemble a casserole or one-dish meal the morning or the night before they want to
eat it, then program in the time by which they want it to be cooked, and keep it
refrigerated until cooking begins.

The home alliance test would add in Web and wireless connections, so a family
having to juggle a parent's late night at work, or an unexpected late school or
sports commitment for the kids, could remotely reset when they wanted dinner
done or cancel cooking altogether and keep the meal chilled for the next night.

''We've done a lot of research ahead of time to try to find pain points in family life,''
said Tim Woods, vice president of the alliance. ''What people are looking for is
help with everyday problems.''

The Boston project would focus more on issues of how easy volunteers found the
system to use and how much it helped improve their life. It would not address,
however, what has been one of the biggest obstacles to wider adoption of
home-networking technology: whether anyone would find it worth the higher cost.

The Polara oven, for example, costs about $900 more than most conventional
ovens. If wireless and Internet connections added another $100 or so in overall
costs, the $1,000 premium would pay for about 40 nights' worth of takeout
Chinese food or home-delivered pizza -- an alternative solution to the problem of
getting back from work too late to cook dinner. Honeywell, 3Com, Intel, and
others have all faced consumer skepticism about the price and value of Internet
''appliances'' designed for the kitchen with features like waterproof keyboards and
refrigerator-door mounts.

Charles Golvin, a Forrester Research analyst who tracks the Internet Home
Alliance and ''networked home'' technologies, said: ''Nobody's going to do massive
renovations so they can control their oven from the office. I would say, generally, a
lot of this home automation stuff is a number of years out from reality. A lot of them
are very high-end, very early adopter scenarios.''

But Golvin credits the home alliance with ''offering some thought leadership and
trying to build a sense of reality'' about the possibilities.

If using the Internet and a cellphone to have your lasagna done at 7:30 p.m. instead
of 6:30 p.m. sounds far-fetched, analysts say there are a number of other
networked-home offerings that may prove cost-effective for some affluent tech
lovers, including remote control of thermostats, central air conditioning, hot water
heaters, lawn sprinklers, home security systems, and Web cams monitoring a baby
sitter or the front door.

One small but important beachhead for home networking, according to Forrester
studies, is that currently about 45 percent of the 7.5 million US homes that have
both a broadband Internet connection and multiple personal computers also have
some kind of rudimentary home network to share the Net link among PCs or link
them to a printer.

Jurgen Heuer, director of connected home projects for Whirlpool, said: ''What
we're experiencing is a phase I feel like we've seen several times with technology:
exuberance in the beginning, then disillusionment as the reality doesn't live up to the
hype, and then the real work begins. We're at the stage of really trying to offer
products and services that bring value to the consumer instead of just being for
techno-geeks.''

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/090/business/Net_alliance_testing_a_range_of_possibilities+.shtml

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