Switched On: Towards telepresence's tipping point

To steal a line from Las Vegas' tourism board, what happens in the custom install channel has stayed in the custom install channel. While technologies routinely filter down from the enterprise to consumers, products and services that are the province of professional system integrators rarely become something the average consumer can manage, despite their perceived coolness, convenience and, in the case of some electrical and thermostat control, cost benefits. Examples include automated lighting, heating and air conditioning, multi-room video, and surveillance.

But this is starting to change. One capability that has somewhat filtered through recently has been multi-room audio, which had to go wireless with the Sonos music system. While a Sonos system is still a relatively expensive product, but it is a drop in the bucket when compared with systems such as those from Russound. And telepresence may be getting next in line. The recent release of the Avaak Vue lives up to its promise of being a relatively simple and affordable product that extends webcams to walls, allowing consumers to peek in at will at what is going on at their home. Access is from a simple Web site that allows you to view up to 50 cameras around the home by dragging and dropping them onto a Web page.

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