Home Life the High-Tech Way

Imagine a time when you will be able to put a gallon of milk in your refrigerator with a bar code that lets the refrigerator know when the container is almost empty and needs to be reordered. And imagine that refrigerator being able to then notify the grocery store, which automatically delivers the order.

That time is not far off, according to Hillary Rettig, founder of Home Automation Times (https://www.homeautomationtimes.com), a technology Web site for the homeowner.

“Computers need to be part of our everyday conversation,” Rettig says. “They are too important to be left to the nerds.”

Although we like to refer to the computer “revolution” of the last decade, as PCs and the Internet increasingly affect our lives, Rettig believes we haven’t seen anything yet. The fact that about 60 million people now own personal computers, and 30 million own more than one, she says, is just a hint of what’s to come.

“As computers move off the desks and into the rest of our lives, the real revolution will begin,” says Rettig, a veteran technology writer who founded her Web site in January. From her home base in Duxbury, Mass., she works with three editors and contributors to provide an insightful look at how technology is transforming our home lives.

“Right now,” she notes, “we have lots of computers in our homes, including a lot of hidden ones.” In fact, a room-by-room inventory would turn up automation in every room, from the toaster and microwave in the kitchen to the VCR and television cable box in the living area.

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The big leap, she says, is coming via the Internet, which will be able to link all these appliances and devices and let you talk to them, wherever you are.

“You might put a packaged meal into the refrigerator,” she says, “and the bar code could tell you it has some preservatives or nitrates you are allergic to.”

Maybe you don’t want that service, but you do need to know it is available, Rettig believes. The Web site, she says, is aimed at helping consumers become informed about what’s coming down the high-tech road, so they can make better choices.

Users logging on to the site can go in two directions. The site’s trade portion provides data on marketing, building and other home-automation issues. The consumer section provides information about exploring and purchasing household technologies. Among the topics covered are alternative energy, cyber medicine, home entertainment, security and telecommuting.

“We are getting more than 8,000 hits a month, and people are visiting from more than 40 countries,” she says. “We’re getting both ordinary consumers and also people in the business, such as contractors who are starting to build ‘smart’ houses.”

Rettig, who is a published science-fiction writer, is upbeat about future technology.

“I think the hallmark of personal computer technology is that it’s a tremendously liberating force. It has made us healthier, wealthier and more empowered for the future. I see the benefits multiplied.”