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RE: RE:
I
think my favourite "scene" where "house kills people" is actually in a
book.
It's in The Neutronium Alchemist (book two of the Night's Dawn trilogy that
also
contains The Reality Disfunction, and The Naked God.)
OK -
the premise is actually that the habitat is controlled by a neural strata
based
around the personality of the founder, Rubbra, rather than a electronic
AI.
In
this case, Rubbra uses the central water/wastewater control to pump lots
of sewage to the top 20 stories of a 45ish story building, then opens
all
the zones and opens the toilet output in an apartment on one of the lowest
floors, and the resultant burst caused by 300 ft of hydrostatic pressure
flies
out of the loo and pummels the enemy team to bits on the opposite wall
;-)
The
use of the word "favourite" in the first paragraph may have been
ill-advised
;-)
Mark
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There was a scene at the
beginning
with the spiders tracking and capturing a mouse although they played little
role later on which was I guess a clue
to
the plot and demonstrating that the computer would actually hunt. To
be
honest the killer dishwasher was probably the worst item. The controller's
use
of static items to inflict damage - locking doors, messing with HVAC, the shower drowning, the
garage door etc was far more likely and believable than a dishwasher with
robot arm and carving knife playing Norman Bates.
But plot assassination aside, many things such as
the
Colour LCD touchpanels screens were very cool.
The "drinks
machines". Coffee or alcohol on demand in the study and kitchen!
And
I could live with having my house cook for me even if it was a little
insistent about making stuff that was good for me. Anything which removes
the
need for me to spend time doing something is a good thing. I assume had the
film not become about the killer dishwasher, the controller would have made
orders and accepted deliveries to keep the fridge stocked.
The tie
in
to the plumbing so that HELEN (the controller) cut could off water to any
part
of the house looked interesting. Could be very useful thing to have to
automate isolation of leaky pipes and to cut off the water to outside taps
when the temperature is likely to threaten the integrity of the plumbing.
The
shower automation is something I have actually considered trying but so far
have not come up with a system that would be useful and not just
a
pain. I guess only voice control could really work for that situation.
Now if I can just find a stockist for some of those robot spider
cleaning things...
Mark.
Just flicking through the channels and came across
a film called "Dream House" about a smart home that develops a mind of its
own.
Not too keen on that aspect but the Colour LCD Touchpanels
around the house look really cool :-)
Keith
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