Home networking will play a central role in the future of technology.
Just like the Internet connected the world together in the 1990s so home networking will connect all our devices in the home, many wirelessly. Here are just a few ways in which wireless technologies can be used in the home.
- An increasing number of household goods, for example, TVs, speakers, fridges, lights, and vacuum cleaners will contain wireless-equipped devices enabling them to talk to your PC, Internet connection, or each other.
- Nanny or baby cams: hook up a webcam to monitor your baby or even your nanny! With networking technology you can view what's going on from another room or indeed from anywhere in the world.
- Home security: using the same technology as a baby cam you can keep tabs on your home, monitor what's going on in the street, or check out who's arriving at the front door.
- Use your PC to store your music or play Internet radio and then stream it through to your speakers elsewhere in the house. There is already a wide range of hardware available on the market with this purpose in mind.
- Download TV or movies to your PC and then watch them on any screen in the house. However, don't expect perfect performance yet in this area - networks are getting ever more powerful, but smooth wireless video streaming is, at present, difficult to achieve.
- Manage your air-conditioning from one place and even away from home.
- Use your Broadband connection to make phone calls.
- Control the lighting in your house from one place, or access the system when you are away from home to fool burglars into believing there is someone in.
- Programme your personal video recorder (PVR) when you are away from home.
- Advanced washing machines and other domestic goods with sophisticated electronic components will be wireless-equipped so that they can be maintained or have new features automatically installed.
