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Get interested because this is a glimpse of the future. If you thought the advent of the PC changed the world ... look out for this Home Networking stuff as it will finally put the power of the microprocessor into the hands of the consumer without them having to plug their brains into a keyboard. Be skeptical if you wish ... but be sure that it will happen ... and it will influence your lifestyle in a major way. |
Let me start by thanking the folks at CABA and Parks Associates for inviting me to attend the Connections99 Conference in Vancouver. This was an exceptional conference not only for the quality of it's content and the presenters of that content, but it the fact that it all ran like clockwork. Kudos to the organization and technical staff. Click here for a rundown of what went on at the conference.
Who was there?
Who wasn't. I think every corporation in the Home Networking Industry was represented ... AMX, IBM, Cisco, Echelon, Intel, Lucent, Microsoft, Radio Shack, Sony, Sun, to name only a few. As you can see ... many of the players from the PC world have entered the fray as well as major Utilities and Service Providers.
What was it about?
The theme of the conference was "Enabling the Networked Home". It was an opportunity for the companies involved in the industry to share their knowledge and opinions about the future. Presentations ranged from market projections to technical standards to customer satisfaction and beyond.
Why should you be interested in this stuff?
Get interested because this is a glimpse of the future. If you thought the advent of the PC changed the world ... look out for this Home Networking stuff as it will finally put the power of the microprocessor into the hands of the consumer without them having to plug their brains into a keyboard. Be skeptical if you wish ... but be sure that it will happen ... and it will influence your lifestyle in a major way.
What is a Home Network?
Many presenters had pictures of houses full of devices all connected together and to the outside world. What will make Home Networking a reality is the latter connections ... that is ... "connected to the outside world". While many people don't understand why you would need your dishwasher to talk to your VCR ... they will understand why the dishwasher should talk to the repairman or why the VCR should talk to the Movie Listing Guide or why their telephone should talk to the Yellow Pages. Now that we understand that concept ... wouldn't it be nice if the dishwasher could ask the telephone to call a repairman because the pump is showing signs of failure? That's the kind of thing that Home Networking is all about.
There are many networks already in your home whether you know it or not.
- Data - PC's, PDA's, Filing cabinets, junk drawers, lists of stuff etc.
- Entertainment - TV, Radio, Satellite Dish, Books, Toys and funny relatives.
- Communication - Telephone, Fax, Modem, Mouth, Eyes, Ears and if you have teenagers ... megaphone.
- Environmental Control - Heating and AC, lighting, sprinklers and whoever holds the remote at the time.
- Security - Alarms, monitors, mousetraps, dogs etc.
Many companies are spending their resources to make new and exciting products that will take advantage of this ability to communicate with each other and the world. The consumer will be the big winner if all goes according to plan. There are several articles in this issue and others that discuss the topic. Here are a few of note:
Networking Hits the
Shelves
Jini Will Grant You Three Wishes
Obstacles Ahead for Wireless Home Networking
Home
API : Innovations in Home Automation Integration.
HomeRF
Wireless
How
Do I Watch DSS from the Bedroom
and some interviews as well:
HomeRF Group -
Wayne Caswell
HomeAPI Group Interview
Is there a market for this stuff?
Unless a lot of knowledgeable people are wrong ... the market for Home Networking devices and equipment is going to grow at an ever increasing pace. And the eventual size of the market is Huge. How long it will take to establish itself is under debate but judging by the energy and cash that are being committed by major corporations ... universally ... it probably will happen pretty fast now. The technology is available today and improving as we speak. Standards and protocols are a bit of a muddle but in the end all agree that the consumer doesn't care about the details ... just give them devices and systems that work first time ... every time. Is that possible? We'll see. Again ... there is a lot of time and energy going into the solutions of this puzzle.
The technologies and standards.
Here's where it gets a bit confusing but remember ... you don't need to memorize this ... you will be able to use the instruction manual during the final exam :-)
To network things together you need a wire or something ... duh! There are already wires etc. in your home and the idea is to use them to connect devices together so they can communicate with each other and the outside world. The confusion arises when you try to decide the language that they should speak ... hence the need for standard protocols etc. Have a look at the "Standards" library at Home Toys to see a growing list.
Connections99 featured presenters from each sector discussing their technologies and how they fit into the home network scheme. Bottom line here is that there will be lots of selections of devices and systems using all of the available media in the home now ... "No New Wires" ... as well as devices and systems for new installations of "Structured Cabling". The good news is that it is recognized that these individual networks and their devices must be able to work together to give the consumer a "Solution". So whether you buy a wireless web pad from manufacturer A or a computer that plugs into the phone extension line from manufacturer B ... these devices must be compatible with each other. No small task and we hope an achievable goal. Enter the "Residential Gateway".
What the heck is a Residential Gateway?
I must admit that I for one have a hard time understanding what this new bit of hardware and software is. And by the way ... I'm not the only one. Many attendees of Connections99 were in the same boat. So here's my metaphor ... like it or not.
The Residential Gateway is like the Security Guard at the entrance to the United Nations. He can direct everyone to where they want to go in whatever language they speak and he knows who everyone in the building is and what they like for lunch. Oh ... and he can stop illegal traffic from entering or leaving.
One side of the gateway is where you plug in the outside world ... telephone line, satellite feed, cable connection, electricity etc. The other side is where you plug in the Home Networks ... data network, entertainment system, security network, wireless transceiver, telephone system etc. Bottom line ... when the homeowner asks via his refrigerator panel for a recipe to make a Dagwood sandwich ... that command is directed by the gateway to the applicable outside information source and returns the answer to the appropriate device(s) in the home. In this case of course ... the refrigerator door locks and a commanding voice comes over the speakers and says ... "That meal would be 1600 calories ... please make another selection."
In fact ... the gateway can be one or several devices and may be part of another device. A black box in the utility closet, a set-top box, a PC like device ... there are many options and theories.
So ... who's going to make all this stuff work?
Let's not kid ourselves here. It becomes evident very quickly that the average homeowner is not capable of understanding or installing most of this equipment. We're going to need a whole slew of guys in white panel trucks to make this vision of the future become reality. And we'll need another slew of sales folks to demonstrate and educate us about it. Who is it going to be? It was encouraging indeed to hear the presentation by Radio Shack near the end of the conference. They plan to have in store product demonstrations and 10,000 service trucks on the road in the very near future. Also ... the utility companies and service providers are keen to offer their expertise and services for low monthly payments. The residential gateways and network interfaces will be like the cell phone. Sign up for the services and have the hardware installed for very low cost.
When will we have these new toys to play with?
Well the quick answer is ... now. There are wireless data networks available today from Intel and others. Many manufacturers offer Home Automation systems that will do many of the tasks mentioned here. New internet access devices are being offered daily from telephones to PDA's to MP3 recorders etc. It appears that the market will start to expand rapidly in the year 2000 and overcome the PC market within a few years. Focus is moving past the PC concept to Smart Connected Appliances and beyond. I had the opportunity to see a few of these products in action.
- Intel AnyPoint will connect computers over the existing phone lines.
- A Wireless Web Pad (under development by Intel and others) can be carried around the house and provides instant access via touch screen to focused content from the internet.
- The MediaWire Home Network from Avio Digital allows multiple entertainment, data and communication devices to be connected via the phone lines in the home.
- CMOS sensors ... a camera on a chip from Mitsubishi. Called the artificial retina this tiny device may be installed in your next TV. To raise the volume ... just raise your hand etc. It may even recognize you and turn on your favorite show.
Stay tuned for a lot of fun down the road.
