Those wild and crazy Japanese computer makers!
In a move that could potentially turn the kitchen appliance world on its head, last week Japan's V Sync Technology announced its new refrigerator/computer combo.That's right, a computer combined with a fridge. Cool idea, isn't it?
Puns aside, I find the idea intriguing. Take a powerful computer--their prototype has a 333-MHz Pentium II with 128 megabytes of memory and a 3.2 gig hard drive--combine it with the second most popular household fixture (well, maybe third), and you've got my curiosity piqued.
I can imagine it now. I'm back at my house and hungry after a long day at work. I walk to the fridge, and I can check my email OR open the door for the spam I want.Why stop at fridges, though? I foresee an entire kitchen lineup of computer/appliance combos.
Great for college students would be the computer/toaster. You could surf the Web while you wait for your bagels to pop up, and then you could keep surfing when you get to the fridge for your cream cheese. The continuous surfing between appliances would be courtesy of another innovation: Firewire. Firewire is a technology enabling all household appliances to "talk" to each other. Just what we need—stoves, fridges and bread-makers all conspiring against us.
Back to the appliance PCs, imagine this: a microwave oven with Minesweeper. Combine the timers. If you got really good at the game you'd never burn the popcorn again.
Different skill levels could become different cooking levels.However, when I think about this "innovation" a little bit more, I start to have my doubts. Remembering the last computer/appliance combo, WebTV (now unfortunately owned by Microsoft), I can only wonder what effect this fridge could have. WebTV combines (obviously) a TV and Web browser, keeping couch potatoes on their couches longer. I can only guess what a fridge/computer could do. Sitting in front of a TV all day is one thing; sitting all day in front of a nearly limitless supply of food (or ice cubes and cheese in the case of my fridge) is something completely different.
It's probably a good thing the screen's on the outside of the door.
Internet Freezer homepage
Speaking of WebTV, check this out.
back to the other columns