Ready to manage your household online?

By Anne B. McDonald

(IDG) -- Easy installation and a low price still rule consumers' interest in home networks, say analysts at Connections 2001, an international home networking conference in Seattle last week.

Digital entertainment is certainly one reason consumers warm up to the idea of connected devices in the home, but more mundane reasons such as controlling your home's security, lighting, heating, and cooling systems are also high on consumers' lists, researchers find. The findings come from a survey by conference sponsor Parks Associates.

The price of home networking is important to 77 percent of those surveyed, according to the report. Also, 81 percent of the respondents say a do-it-yourself home networking option that is easy to install is important. The survey, Broadband Networked Households: Profiles of an Emerging Market questioned 787 customers who have both home broadband service and networked PCs.

The annual Connections 2001 conference drew about 700 attendees who came to see the wares of some 65 vendors.

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Such customer interest is good news for vendor Xanboo, maker of a wireless home-management system that you can use to monitor your home via the Internet.

It requires installation of a base unit, a Web cam, and as many optional sensors that you care to install, says Mike Noble, Xanboo's director of business development. The system can immediately notify you by e-mail, pager, or text messaging on a cell phone or personal digital assistant when these sensors detect a disturbance -- such as power interruption, motion, presence of water from leaks, or doors or windows opening. The notification service carries a monthly charge.

You can also see your property in real time, check on a child, or even see the view from your vacation home while you are at work. List price for the Xanboo System Controller is $179.95, with additional cameras priced at $79.95 and sensors costing $24.95.

Consumer interest in low-priced networks delights John M. Knab, president and chief executive officer of Phonex Broadband. His company makes a $99 device that simply plugs into your existing home or business wiring via an outlet, and converts that wiring into a network that lets you share broadband Internet access, whether it is delivered by cable or DSL.

The PX-801 Neverwire 14 has a 14-mbps maximum bit rate, supports USB and Ethernet interfaces, and has capacity for 12 devices. It has only 56-bit DES encryption/decryption, which meets current standards, but Knab admits isn't the most secure available.

Windows Offers Remote Access

Security needs for wireless networks became immediately apparent during a presentation by John Frederiksen, general manager of Microsoft's PC Experience Solution Group. Frederiksen, the conference's keynote speaker, displayed some of the home networking and remote access features of Microsoft's next operating system, Windows XP. Microsoft announced this week that Windows XP is expected to ship on October 25.

Windows XP is based on the Windows NT/2000 kernel but is touted as offering the compatibility and user-friendliness of the more consumer-oriented 95/98/Me line. The new OS will come in two flavors: a consumer edition and a business edition with additional features.

Frederiksen offered a remote access demonstration, set up between two laptops running Windows XP. Not only was Frederiksen's associate able to easily access Frederiksen's laptop remotely, but unexpectedly, the networks of a clutch of vendors in a nearby conference hall also popped into the Windows XP display. The demo expanded to show how easily wireless network information can shared -- whether you chose to or not.