So the makers of PG Tips and Orange in the UK have JUST come up with a KETTLE that can be turned on if you send it a text message.
See the story here: PUT KTTLE ON, MUVR - www.mirror.co.uk
I’m trying to tell myself that it is just a weird coincidence. (if you have NO idea what the hell I’m talking about, read this post dated Wednesday, September 28, 2005.
I was doing some reading today on current trends in Ubiquitous Computing a.k.a. Ubicomp - which integrates computation into the environment, rather than having computers which are actual objects.
“The promoters of ubicomp hope that embedding computation into the environment would enable people to move around and interact with computers more naturally. One of the goals of ubiquitous computing is to enable devices to sense changes in their environment and to automatically adapt and act based on these changes based on user needs and preferences. Some simple examples of this type of behavior include GPS-equipped automobiles that give interactive driving directions.” Source: www.wikipedia.org
Well, after reading a few more journal articles on ubicomp, many of which were stating the benefits of using PDA type technologies in learning environments etc., I started thinking about my own environment. The first thing that came to mind was how much I would love a Remote Control Kettle. To be honest though, I really wouldn’t want a kettle that would “decide” when to boil, a life of its own really (scarey!)… but that’s not really the point of ubicomp… it’s not to give technology a life of it’s own, it is to make technology more accessible to us, work harder for us, and interact continuously with it’s technological counterparts.
So, my Remote Control Kettle idea… when I really thought about it I realised what I wanted was a Kettle that would boil if you sent a text message to a sim-card inside the kettle. I doubt this would be a very difficult product to manufacture, and with the lowering costs in mobile phone technologies, it wouldn’t be that expensive either.
I know what you’re thinking… but yes, I googled “remote control kettle” but, none exist. But dear god I wish it did.