Are Hi-Tech Hotel Rooms, Our Living Rooms Of The Future

The New York Times reports on the innovation employed at the Mandarinn Oriental Hotel in New York which "knows" exactly how warm a regular guest wants the room, welcomes him with a personal message on his television and even loads
his most frequently dialed numbers onto the phone.

New computer systems which
connect individual rooms to network servers can now keep track of
guests’ preferences and change the room conditions automaticaly. Much of the underlying technology is not new, the Times says, but it is still rare in
private homes because the cost of the equipment is relatively
expensive. As a consequence, luxury hotels are the first to embrace it - but by incorporating such technology into their guest rooms, these
hotels are starting to provide a glimpse of the networked homes of the
future.

As the price of this technology declines, homes could start to look
like these smart rooms, too. Already, more than 35 percent of U.S.
households have broadband, or high-speed, lines and developers are
integrating home servers and high-speed cables into new homes.

In time, appliances connected to such home networks could be programmed
to adjust to a homeowner’s likes and dislikes. Companies like Crestron
Electronics in Rockleigh, New Jersey, already sell an array of
controllers that automate and centralize control of electronics and
appliances.

NY Times