Found this link on Matt Goyer's Media Center BLOG. Seems like the Media Center Operating Systems are becoming a House Hold name (no pun intended). This link shows a possible future concept.
From the Post: http://mediacenter.mattgoyer.com/archives/2006/07/19/1147
This would be great for apartment buildings where you have to share a laundry room. From The washer goes wireless:
Are you ready for this? Microsoft, Whirlpool, Hewlett-Packard and other members of the Internet Home Alliance are about to start testing a system that connects a washer and dryer to a home network to deliver notifications to TV screens, PC monitors or cell phones about the status of a laundry load.
The “Laundry Time” system also goes further, to let people control the washer and dryer from a distance — pressing a button on a cell phone, for example, to keep the dryer going a few extra minutes until you get home. Microsoft created the Laundry Time software, which works in conjunction with the company’s Media Center PC and mobile-phone technology.
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