Corning's Glass House

We developed a 'Home of the Future' back in  '00 .... and have always been interested how the home would evolve to integrate internet technologies. 

We saw Phillips efforts in this area, which used mirrors to display online information.  A mirror in our bathroom displayed makeup options.  A medicine cabinet showed the status of your prescriptions.  A talk with a office furniture company showed how the sides of an office could be used as displays. In the den your grandchildren's pictures are displayed in picture frames and continually updated. In the kitchen a refrigerator display shows the latest scores and tells you whats in the frig via RFID tags and cameras.

A friend sends me this recent video which shows Corning's view of a complete home of the future, using glass displays and surfaces.  It is very sexy, lots of clear glass displays that can be anywhere.  In the walls,  tables, anywhere.   They can also be pulled out, adjusted placed anywhere for your convenience. Check out the video above for their view.

Very nice, very impressive, very flexible.  But to actually integrate all of this in the walls and infrastructure of a home is expensive and complex.  Do I want to embed a technology into a home that has a lifetime of 18 months to two years, and then soon replace it?  Probably makes more sense to have a number of wireless iPad style displays throughout the home that I can move and update as needed.  Corning's view is not for the ordinary house for some time.