The, Soon To Be, Smartest Room in Your Home- Part Two

Some people I have spoken with believed that my last blog was cool but unlikely to ever happen. I have to respectfully disagree. I believe that the technology I spoke about will most likely start being massed produced for home bathrooms within the next 10 to 15 years. The technology in todays post might not happen at all, but we can always hope.

The Bathtub

The problem with predicting the future of the bathtub is that its simple design is hard to improve on. They date back over 5000 years and very little has changed about them. Their internal size and shape has varied little, and the exterior changes haven't effected functionality. 

It is unlikely that the tub will change very much, but here are a few things that might be altered. 

1. Collapsable tubs for small spaces. 

My house was built in 1956 and though it is a functional bathroom, it is very small. By being able to remove the tub when not in use, the floor space in my bathroom would almost double. This could be done like a murphy's bed, a collapsible cup for camping, or (my favorite) by have a motorized based that would become the floor (see video)

If that seems to far out, how about just covering the tub up to make it practical when not in use. The most practical idea is to cover it up and turn it into a bench . http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/tubs-toilets-showers-sinks/relax-lounger-for-conoduo-bath-tubs-080057

Looking Back to Look Forward

The Article that first got my attention about bathroom technology was the April edition of Popular Science 2004. They list a few concepts that make mine look practical, but there is one concept in that article that I would really love to see, radio frequency tag readers. I would love to see these things though out the house. Radio frequency tags can identify an item kind of like bar code, but with out the scanning. Popular Science believes that if radio tags, RFID's for short, are added to medicine, your computer could tell you which meds you have taken and when. I think that would be great, but why stop there. Put RFIDs on everything. When you through away that empty bottle of shampoo, your home network could add it to your shopping list, or even better order it for you. In the bathroom this could come in very handy because there are so many different products that you only use occasionally, such as medicines or first aid items. Your home network could tell you when a product is going out of date or has been used up. Now that is a bathroom I would like to have. 

The, Soon To Be, Smartest Room in Your Home- Part One

When it comes to technology in the home, most of the focus has centered on whatever room you keep your television in. I have to admit that I have been impressed with the improvements to this traditional technology. I have been even more impressed by how quickly the technology has made it into consumers’ homes.  The technology is going to get even better with more web interaction and 3D capabilities without the glasses.  The problem is that no matter how many improvements they make the television is primarily for entertainment and will stay that way.  

The bathroom in contrast currently has had very little technological improvements, but has the potential to be the smartest room in your home. A few years ago I read an article about the bathroom of the future, and it really got me thinking about how beneficial the john can be beyond its current purposes (Popular Science).  Ever since then, I have paid a lot more attention to articles that cover the water closet. These are just some of the things that I think will one day be in my lavatory.

Toilet

Until recently, making toilets use less water was the most significant breakthrough.  That has already started to change with multifunction toilet seats, dual flush, grey water, and even no water options.  

A function that has yet to reach the average consumer is the urine/fecal analysis feature. No more going to the doctor and having to pee in a cup. You use the restroom like normal, in the privacy of your own home, and the toilet will know if you are sick, or if you have a dietary deficiency.

Smart mirror

The mirror will look like any other mirror until you set up to it. Built-in cameras will have facial recognition, and personalized information will appear along side of your reflection. You will be able to interact with all the components in your bathroom, the rest of your house, as well as the internet. Once your wardrobe is entered into your home network, you can virtually try on clothes.  You then could use an online service like Facebook to know if any of your friends or coworkers are wearing the same outfit. If you need to see how you look from behind your mirror can show you by using a camera behind you. Your mirror will even let you know if what you are wearing is right based on the weather report.

3 Predictions for 2011

Every new year, many people like to make predictions about what will happen.
I tend to do this year round, but here are a few anyway.


1. A Decrease in Cable and Satellite Subscriptions
There are a slew of new or improved devices that bring online content to your television set. Things like Apple TV, Nintendo Wii, and Xbox 360 are in a good price range, easy to set up, and can access a lot of content.
I have not had a cable bill for over five years. I still watch TV, and I am really not that cheap.
What I have been doing is simple. I watch broadcast television for live shows and events, and use the internet and Netflix to watch the shows I don't get. When I first started, I really did miss out on some of the things I would have liked to watch, but the content that is now being offered on the internet and Netflix has really improved over the last few years. I think that more people are realizing this and will start to drop their paid services.


2.  Continued Debate about Net Neutrality 
The FCC recently pasted an internet fairness policy. Some of the issues of net neutrality where addressed, but  many still remain, and so does the fighting.







3. An Increase in Part-Time, Results Only, and Telecommuting Workers
Most of the headlines about employment is about how many people don't have jobs, but I think that misses the bigger picture. Many major companies have had the funds to hire workers, but they have invested in productivity instead. They are starting to understand that if they give a reliable worker the tools he needs to do his job, you don't need as many workers. The problem is that this keeps the unemployment rate, and a fear of a second recession high. Companies that continue to make huge profits will have a personal relations problem if they don't begin to hire. The result will be more alternative working options.

Part-Time employment could get people working, but in many industries part-time employment isn't beneficial to productivity.

Results-only-employment is great for jobs that are based on tasks. There is not a fixed schedule, so long as you are completing your tasks. In many cases, you can even work from home.

Telecommuting is a great solution for jobs where the employee needs to have a fixed schedule. Companies get the benefit of a full time worker, but don't have to pay for the office space to house them.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

I like the gift swap game. (That’s the game where you can open a gift or steel a gift that someone else has already opened). When I am looking for a gift for this game I try to pick a gift that I really like. If I am lucky I can leave with the same gift I came with. Last night I was lucky.

I had to bring a gift that a guy would like that was under $20. Normally I would head straight to Radio Shack or Best Buy, but since most of my friends aren’t as into techno junk as I am, I went to Home Depot. I looked at a stubby ratchet set, and some grilling paraphernalia, but I kept finding myself on the lighting isle. I was shocked at the price and variety of the LED bulbs. Just last year I would have been lucky to find one brand on the shelf and I wouldn’t be able to afford it. This year I found a 40-watt equivalent bulb in a warm white color for about $17. I bought it for the game and wound up winning it back.

LED bulbs could really change the way that we light everything. They are very efficient, they give off a great quality of light, they are dimmable, and they last a really long time. If the bulb I have last half as long as it is expected to, I will be retired before it needs to be replaced. Think of what will happen as the technology is perfected. I imagine my girls (currently 4 years old) moving into their first home as an adult and after replacing the lights with LEDs, never having to do it again.

For those of you that think that CFLs are a better choice, let me say that I would have agreed with you just a year ago. Since 2002 every time an incandescent bulb would go out, I would replace it with a CFL. Currently almost all of my interior bulbs are CFLs. Now, when they start to go out I will replace them with the LEDs. LEDs are not that much more efficient than the CFLs, but they light up instantly, I find the light to be a better quality, they have no mercury, they are dimmable, and they should last a really long time.

If you are thinking about changing your lighting from incandescent, consider skipping CFL’s and going straight to LEDs. A word of warning though, do your homework. Not all bulbs are the same quality. Look for bulbs that have a low wattage, the correct lumens (amount of light) you are currently using, and the same color. Some blubs give a deep orange light while others give an almost blue light. Most people prefer a color that is in the middle. You should expect it to take a few years to replace all your bulbs, unless you want to spend a lot all at once. As for me, one bulb replaced, about 55 to go.

The Luddites

Thursday I had a chance to meet up with the instructional technology coaches from across South Carolina and I was surprised to find out that not many of them knew what the word Luddite meant. Urbandictionary.com defines a Luddite as, “one who fears technology (or new technology, as they seem pleased with how things currently are...why can't everything just be the same?),” but this is not a new fad word. Originally the Luddites where a group of workers in England that believed that the machines of the early industrial revolution would take their jobs or force them to take lower wages. In rebellion they would sabotage the machines or burn the factories down. So it seems, no matter how far you go back in time there has always been a group apposed to technological change.

This week the Beatles finally made it to iTunes. Unsurprisingly the fans are going wild, unfortunately so are the Luddites. Below are just a few things that are disturbing me

1. The Beatles are milking their fans for every penny. Most of their diehard fans just bought the entire collection when it was remastered last year. If their fans knew a little more about technology, maybe they would rip the CD’s they already have and save themselves $150 and the quality would be better.

2. The Beatles haven’t really come around. The word is that the Beatles are not a permanent fixture on iTunes. This could be all marketing driven, but I have my doubts.

3. There are still bands that don’t want to “sell out.” It way cooler to sell out to

Wal-Mart than iTunes. See the huffingtonpost.com for a list of 8 artists. Notice that most of them had their heyday before the age of the Internet. That says Luddite to me.

4. Most of the talk on the internet about this is being done by obvious Luddites. I read a short blurb about the Beatles on Savings.com that starts off “For those of you that get your music on iTunes.” I couldn’t help but think, “Who doesn’t?” My question was answered at hometheaterspot.com. The guys on this forum aren’t real big fans of iTunes. I will not disagree that there are some quality issues. But to the causal listener, it is not noticeable.

All of this points to one larger issue which is that there are still people that will not embrace new technology. I don't know if it is because they are afraid, or because the are stubborn. I don't guess it matters. As long as they fight technological change, they will continue to hold the rest of us back as well.

From the Experts

I was fortunate enough to go to South Carolina's Ed Tech last week, and I really enjoyed the chance to speak with the vendors about new technology they have to offer. I can't say that to much blew me away, but I was dumbfounded by the attitudes that some of the "experts" I met.

In one conversation I mentioned that I was learning to type on a DVORAK keyboard, and yes I am that much of a geek. I made a joke that by the time I mastered it, voice recognition would be perfected. At this the guy became very defensive, "That is never going to happen. Voice recognition is just to unreliable. Plus, you couldn't use it in the classroom, or in an office." He went on, but I couldn't help but think that here is a guy that is on the cutting edge of technology,Could he be right?

I doubt it. The keyboard is not going away anytime soon, and I know I have high expectations for the future, but these old-timers of technology seem to be missing the potential that is still in front of us.I believe that my daughters will not have jobs in which they will have to do extensive typing. Technology will do it for them. If we embrace new and reliable technology as it is developed, then there might be hope that I will no longer have to type. So long DVORAK.

But I could be wrong. After all I am not an expert.