Sure glad I don't have all this crap, just the printer.

I think I'll get a spread somewhere in the next universe. This is getting ridiculous. 

here's the thing.. whose network are those appliances using?

That's just crazy, internet enabled household appliances.  For what purpose? 

The only thing I can think of is allowing folks to get even lazier: "We don't have to worry about going shopping this week, honey, so we can sit here and get fat in front of the TV.  I got the fridge to email the grocery store with a list of what we need.  The store will then debit our account, deliver it and put it away for us.?

Seriously, our lives are becoming more and more like the Jetsons' every day.  I mean, we already have robotic vacuum cleaners that come along behind and clean up after you... and garage doors that open automatically when you press an app on your phone just as you enter your driveway. 

It's madness, as in use it or lose it. 

I'm buggered up with arthritis and other ailments, but I still prefer to do things the manual way because it helps to keep me mobile to some extent.  Somebody recently saw me hobbling while mowing the lawns and suggested I get a ride-on mower, but I said: "Bugger that, I'm not entirely crippled.", and kept on going.  I figure that while I still can I will, and when I no longer can I'll pay somebody else to mow the lawns.

Hehe, all this technology talk reminds me of this....

"You have reached 555 666393, Fridge speaking.  The answering machine is whispering sweet nothings to the iPad at present, but if you leave your message slowly after the tone I will rearrange my fridge magnets accordingly and someone will get back to you".... beep, beep, beep.

Having grown up in the 50's this isn't quite what was shown to us as the future or maybe it was and we all laughed.   Come to think about it I find myself still laughing.  I wonder if this is the best we can do with our intelligence and technology.    

I grew up in the 50's and 60's and was amazed to see B&W television, much less coloured screens.  I was about 5 when my parents bought a B&W set, and that was like all my Christmases had come at once, watching things like: The Woodentops; Andy Pandy and the Flowerpot Men.  It was all amazing stuff, but kids of today take it all for granted and 'expect' entertainment to be laid on for them like it's a right rather than a privelege.

Shoot, we never had as much as a calculator when I was going to school, much less anything else, but today's kids are often loaded up with a smart phone, a tablet, a notebook AND a frickin' calculator which not only does math, physics equations and tell time, but tells them when their next toilet break is.  I'm all for kids getting an education, but frankly, I don't know that that's what they're getting anymore.

Same here!  I mean, I'm all for technology improving our quality of life, but when it replaces so much of what we once considered 'life', then it has become too prevelant/invasive and the race to find the next effort saving gizmo needs to end.  Shoot, I like new [PC] toys as much as the next guy, but at the end of the day, I just want a fridge that keeps my food and drink cool, nothing more.

However, If I could get my PC [downstairs] to communicate with the coffee machine [upstairs] to make me a nice cappucino and bring it to me... well I wouldn't say no to that.

I'm all for technology. I'm hoping someday soon we will have replicators, transporters, holodecks, and all of the medical technology you see in Star Trek.

Hehe, WG, I'd be happy if'n I could just download one of those 3d printer images of Dolly parton... or of Christina Hendricks.

Either one would make me happy.

Visions of the future:

Year 2016......Location...home.

Wake up in morning. Place feet on floor, bedroom light comes on, touch sensitive button on floor. Stagger to living room. Put hand on wall to steady self. Living room light comes, touch sensitive button on wall. Stagger across living room, stub toe on chair, curse up a storm. Stub sensitive button on chair leg turns on kitchen light and coffee machine. Female robot voice on coffee machine says...rrrrr...click...coffee...ready...click...rrr. Cabinet door opens where coffee cups live. Coffee cup floats out, has tiny drone props. Sets down. Coffee pot floats on tiny drone props, pours coffee but overfills, glitch in programming. Cleanup bot activates and sops it up then burps, goes back into hiding. Fridge says milk is low, sends order out for more. Amazon drone makes delivery, breaks bottle, goes for more. Takes too long, milk is sour. Resident shoots drone. Frying pan flies to stove already lit. Fridge opens and eggs fly out on ting drone props. Eggs break but miss frying pan, another glitch in programming. Cleanup bot takes care of mess. Eggs skipped, fridge orders more. Amazon drone delivers more but they're turtle eggs. Resident shoots drone. Microwave activates, screams then self destructs. Fridge orders another. Amazon drone delivers another but can't lift it to fourth floor. Resident shoots this one too. Then whole house goes bonkers. Windows open and close, doors open then slam shut. Fridge does a two step in kitchen. Resident shoots fridge then turns on computer. Computer blows up and little balloons float out saying....You have been hacked. have a nice day.

Wow, even the lawn mowers are going to attack now?  (Stephen King reference).  I grew up in the 50s/60s.  I remember when fax machines were like a totally new thing.  Cell phones not invented - land lines only.  You do remember what a land line was, don't you?  Well, before you knew it, people used robo callers to call every number in a listing, and, upon getting an answer, playing a taped message (real tape, not a digital recording).  With this new fanged Fax machine came, yes, robo fax.  Spammers would set their fax up to dial every number in a list. When the line answering gave the hand shake sounds (like dial up modems... lol), it would send an unsolicited fax to the machine.  The receivers machine would happily print hard copies.  Expensive spam for the receiver.  One interesting story.  When the Russian standoff (post Gorbachev) between the legislature, and a faction of the military was happening, the military shut the phones down.  LOL, the other side used faxs with impunity .. on a separate set of lines, apparently. 

@uval  2016, home, almost sounds like a song!

@Kona I would love to see all the tech in Next gen created. But for me, even more important is to see the positive changes in human nature and prevailing cultural norms presented in that show.  Lets hope.

If we had all of the Star Trek tech I'm pretty sure we could get rid of wars, hunger, famine, and disease.

I really hope you are correct.  But what about those seeking power?

Complete with coffee related spam?  (yum)

How can anyone seek power when everyone in the world has their basic needs meet everyday for free?