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| EMagazine Volume 5 Issue 2 April / May 2000 |
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I'm a worrier … ask my parents. As I continue to listen to the sniping and point/counterpoint between the major RF camps, I have to wonder where it's all going to lead. My greatest concern is that as mobile networking applications gain support in the corporate environment, more consumers will bring home laptops from the office and want to connect them to an RF network in the home. That alone shouldn't cause worry, but what if a consumer is using a corporate networking product that doesn't adhere to the same standard as the solution used in the home? |
Well, it wasn't much of a winter, was it? Unusually mild temperatures in most of the country made Old Man Winter's bark a lot worse than his bite. Perhaps the weather was taking a cue from home networking, which is providing heat, whether in the form of sizzling new announcements at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show or from the hot air that is being blown about by other players.
Regardless of whether your winter was hot or cold, it is an opportune time to assume some spring cleaning endeavors that all domiciles require at this time of year. And in this month's column, I've decided to air out a few issues concerning the home networking arena, which could use a spit-and-polish following the "muddy" confusion over standards battles and the "sweat-stained" chariot race to get actual products on store shelves in time for the 1999 Christmas shopping season. So, let's open up the windows, beat those rugs, and rent the steam cleaner, and hopefully I'll begin to "clear" up some issues.
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Question 1: If the RF efforts can't get
on the same page, where does this leave the market?
I'm a worrier … ask my parents. As I continue to listen to the sniping and
point/counterpoint between the major RF camps, I have to wonder where it's all
going to lead. My greatest concern is that as mobile networking applications
gain support in the corporate environment, more consumers will bring home
laptops from the office and want to connect them to an RF network in the home.
That alone shouldn't cause worry, but what if a consumer is using a corporate
networking product that doesn't adhere to the same standard as the solution used
in the home? You're going to see major headaches in terms of consumer complaints
and returns.
In the short term, the marketing war is on, and there's no way to avoid it. For the consumer, a war may not be so bad, given that it will invariably lead to significant price reductions in the hardware. But incompatible standards on the market will inevitably leave a group of consumers stranded in a dead-end technology alley much like the misled Betamax owners of yore. However, there may be hope for the various RF standards to come together as they address networking at higher bandwidths (particularly 5 GHz). At some point, providing consumers with a networking choice that is guaranteed to be interoperable with other connectivity solutions is the best means to drive this market forward.
Question 2: When will IEEE 1394 move
beyond the PC and camcorder?
Don't get me wrong…I think that the invention and proliferation of the
standard otherwise known as "FireWire" or "i.LINK" has been
great for folks who are into shooting their own videos and editing them from
their PC. But where does that leave the rest of us who are seeking easier ways
to connect and configure home entertainment equipment? I certainly hope that
we'll start to see the implementation of 1394 onto such devices as DVD players,
hi-fi VCRs, and the advanced televisions expected to flood the market soon.
January's CES does provide that hope. A multi-vendor demonstration of set-top
boxes, powered loudspeakers, and CD players was on full display at the Digital
Harmony Technologies Inc. booth.
On the other hand, will such "no-new-wires" efforts as HomePNA and Avio Digital Inc. render the idea of whole-house 1394 networking solutions obsolete? If reports are correct, networking over existing phonelines in the home will very shortly provide consumers with the same throughput that 1394 currently delivers (400 Mbps and more). If whole-house (and high-speed) networks can be enabled using the home's existing infrastructure, then "no-new-wires" has a clear advantage.
Question 3: How does Wiring Americas'
Homes plan to continue spreading its message?
The message to builders and consumers about the need to properly wire the home
for advanced future services began in earnest in late 1999 and early 2000.
Wiring Americas' Homes now has a Web site ( www.connectedhome.org
) and a toll-free number (1-888-NEW-WIRE) to handle information requests. With
press coverage in major publications (including CNN, The Chicago Tribune, The
San Francisco Chronicle, and Fortune), the message has reached many eyeballs.
We're now beginning to hear from dealers and installers about how they plan to
take the message to the home builder. This is great news!
Now the task at hand is how to leverage that early success and take the message to more consumers and home builders alike. Parks Associates is a member of the Wiring Americas' Homes organization, and a common message we're hearing from both installers and consumers is that there still exists a sizable percentage of home builders who are not yet on the structured wiring bandwagon. Although we expect this resistance to crumble down the road (boy, does this sound like war propaganda or what?), we'd prefer that:
- home builders adopt the wiring sooner rather than later; and
- they do it because they believe they are providing a better home for the consumer.
So where does this leave the average dealer/installer? We hope that Wiring Americas' Homes can become a marketing partner with them and assist them in convincing the homebuyer and builder of the importance of properly wiring the home for the future. I believe that there exists an enormous opportunity for the installing dealer not only to install the network, but also to provide post-sales technical support to the consumer. This is an issue that started some interesting discussions at the EH Expo in Orlando (March 2-5). There are plenty of folks out there who believe that the time is ripe for someone with the wherewithal and motivation to make a very good living as a "digital gardener" (I borrow this term from Panja Inc.'s Tom Hite), who is available to provide home networking sales and service support to a neighborhood or community. I think it's an intriguing idea and one at which a few people undoubtedly will become quite successful.
Question 4: Can there be much more fun
than watching Sony and Microsoft duke it out?
I love the Sony PlayStation®2 concept. I don't know why the mainstream press
continues to write about the platform as a "Trojan Horse" because that
term conjures up negative connotations for me from Odysseus' subterfuge to
modern-day computer viruses. I don't think what Sony's doing is bad at all -
providing gaming, a DVD player, and the ability to connect to a broadband
Internet connection … I think there will be some inherent benefit to members
of the family beyond the teenage game aficionado. And now that Microsoft has
challenged Sony in the race to provide multi-purpose platforms to the home, the
fun has only just begun.
Question 5: How quickly can we deploy
"smart home" devices that will benefit the environment?
I am an unabashed tree hugger when it comes to certain aspects of environmental
awareness. I take the extra effort to drop my newspapers and magazines in a
special bin; I sort my metals from plastics; and I like to think that I drive a
fairly fuel efficient car. So, I would like to make a general plea to all the
companies who are developing the next-generation "gee-whiz"
technologies for the home:
Please, please, PLEASE start to address the ways that connectivity to the Internet can enable home and building control systems to ameliorate the waste that currently occurs with both electricity and water usage. Case in point: I drive past the same office complex every morning. Without fail, the lawn sprinklers are on at full blast every morning, rain or shine … even on days: a) preceding rainfall from the night before; b) when it is already raining; or c) if a better than 50-50 shot of rain is expected. This riles me all the more knowing that Texas is currently in the third year of an unusually dry period and we've been asked to voluntarily restrict our water usage. Think how much we could improve our use of this natural resource by installing a system that is "smart" enough to dial into the National Weather Service and find out if there is a chance for rain. Install some sensors that work with the system, and if Mother Nature fails to provide the needed moisture, then it can begin automatically.
Energy usage is already a critical issue in Europe, where the cost for electricity is abundantly higher than here in the US. And manufacturers are addressing the market by providing "smart" systems that can monitor the energy prices and consumption and help make usage far more efficient. Indeed, abundant resources are something that we often take for granted here, but I believe that resource preservation should be on or near the top of every consumer's list. The recent surge is gasoline prices, although likely a temporary blip, is probably a harbinger for higher energy costs to come. Let's face it … energy utilities aren't going to build many more generating plants (if at all), so we will probably see a two-pronged strategy aimed at reducing electricity usage overall and raising energy prices where feasible. In such a situation, even the one-time purchase of a programmable thermostat is going to make a significant difference in how the average home uses and monitors energy consumption. Therefore, my plea to the various technology developers and manufacturers is to continue to address solutions for homes and businesses that stress environmental protection and cost savings as key advantages. Hopefully, we'll all start to get the message.
As I stated earlier, this list was not meant to be exhaustive, but I hope it gives you some food for thought as we continue to work together to drive home networking to the masses. For those of you who will be attending CONNECTIONS™ (May 3-5 at the Sheraton Harbor Resort in San Diego, CA), we can continue this discussion in the open forum that CABA and Parks Associates will be providing. Otherwise, I'll continue to utilize the pages of Home Toys as my bully pulpit. I'll see you in the next issue.
Kurt Scherf is an in-home network analyst for Parks Associates, a Dallas-based market research and consulting firm that studies emerging residential technologies and services. Parks Associates publishes reports and journals, hosts industry gatherings annually, and provides custom information for Fortune 500 technology-based companies. Mr. Scherf is the author of Networks in the Home: Emerging Technologies and Standards and Analysis and Forecasts.
