Disney Takes Another Stab at the House of the Future 277
Disney has announced that they are going to take another stab at showing us the "House of the Future". The 5000-square-foot house will appear normal from the outside but will house gadgets like lights and thermostats that automatically adjust when someone enters the room and countertops that can identify food placed on it and suggest recipes. "Millions of Disneyland visitors lined up a half-century ago to catch a glimpse of the future: a home teeming with mind-blowing gadgets such as handsfree phones, wall-sized televisions, plastic chairs, and electric razors and toothbrushes. [...] The $15 million home is a collaboration of The Walt Disney Co., Microsoft Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., software maker LifeWare and homebuilder Taylor Morrison. Visitors will experience the look of tomorrow by watching Disney actors playing a family of four preparing for a trip to China."
Soft Rains (Score:1, Insightful)
Home of the future... (Score:5, Insightful)
So, technology that's been around for decades but not popular in homes, and technology that is a solution looking for a problem (if I've chosen to buy food, bring it home, and set it one the counter [or take it out of the fridge and set it on the counter] chances are I already had a use in mind—countertops that suggest recipes for food placed on them seem about as useful as as a closet that suggest where I might want to go based on the clothes I take out.)
For $15 million, I'm not impressed.
Great. A house that nags (Score:5, Insightful)
I know! (Score:3, Insightful)
House of the future compatible with today? (Score:5, Insightful)
Trip to China? (Score:4, Insightful)
Probably just their normal daily commute to work.
Clippy, Home Edition (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, an entire house programmed to second guess your every move...to "help" you. How could that not be terrific?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB03aRifPLU [youtube.com]
Re:our own little worlds (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Trip to china (Score:4, Insightful)
atleast they will get one thing right... in 50 years we will be headed to China to find work to pay for our crazy expensive crap over here.
They can do better than this... (Score:3, Insightful)
In the "future", I'd really prefer a house that -
1) helps me keep it clean. I've always envisioned a carpet that has a vacuum system beneath it, and will suck up all the dirt and grim and little bits from below.
2) an in-sink dishwasher, where I can simply pile my dirty dishes into the sink, slide the top closed, and let it do it's thing without me having to clean by hand or pre-scrub and load them into a separate unit.
3) has an embedded software system that will help me track my chores and tasks for that day, wake me in the morning, remind me of events on certain dates... basically calendar software that can be accessed from any wall in the house. (probably the closest scenario to what they have in the article).
4) runs energy efficient! uses energy recycling tech to generate as much of it's own power supply as possible - i.e. solar power, walking around generates kinetic energy picked up through the floor, running tap and shower catch access energy as they drain, etc.
I don't know, I just made this up off the top of my head by looking around my apartment (you can guess what shape it's in), but I think Disney's little inventors are looking too much in the direction of luxury, and not enough in the direction of practicality and things that people would really want to help them live their lives more comfortably.
normal (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I would like to see... (Score:5, Insightful)
After all, it is highly unlikely that the volume of sensory input people have to endure outside the home is going to decrease anytime soon.
Hell, people are already patenting devices to track your eyes so their adverts can talk to you if they think they have your attention.
My home of the future might well resemble a faraday cage.
Re:Frosty Piss dispenser (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Don't forget the most important feature! (Score:2, Insightful)
How about a normal size house of the future? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:What about urinalysis? (Score:5, Insightful)
No thanks. I have no interest in this "smart house" crap at all. In the future, I want a house that's extremely eco-friendly (and consequently has no utility bills), but all this intrusive technology connected to mega-corporations I have no interest in.