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3-4-2 Consumer Appliances
p. 187
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DLNA home LAN1p. 187 · PDF 191
3-4-2 Consumer Appliances
A consumer appliance is a household electrical appliance or computer-associated equipment for the general consumer. It may also include job-oriented equipment (e.g., POS register) used by individuals. In modern society, computers (or embedded systems) are incorporated into a wide range of products. These computers cooperate mutually to achieve ubiquitous computing that supports our daily lives. In addition, consumer appliances are being made smaller and lighter, and privately owned (i.e., personalized) information devices and wearable computers that can be worn on the body and carried around are becoming the norm. Wearable computers have become the basic technology of ubiquitous computing by being combined with a sensor network, which is a wireless network for extracting data by connecting together several terminals equipped with a sensor. In such a situation, interactivity (i.e., bidirectionality) over the network is now being required more than ever before.
p. 188 · PDF 192
(1) AV (Audio and Visual) system
AV system is a collective term for devices that handle video images and music. Most AV systems are loaded with a large volume storage optical disc, such as CD, DVD, or Blu-ray disc.
- • Stereo
The majority of current stereos can handle digital data. Optical discs such as CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs are used as content storage media. - • Portable headphone stereo
From the initial cassette tapes through CDs and DVDs, currently mainstream headphone stereos use semiconductor memory, such as flash memory. Products that are linked with the Internet, such as the Apple iPod that enables music contents to be acquired through the Internet, are also available in the market in large numbers. - • Television
While conventional televisions made use of a computer in part of the control circuit, televisions that support digital broadcasting include products in which bidirectional communication and the Internet can be used, and computers are now playing the main role of a TV. Moreover, the screen also has moved on from a cathode ray tube to liquid crystal and plasma types. - • Picture recorder
The use of video tapes (i.e., a type of magnetic tape) for recording pictures was prevalent in the past, but recently, recording data is being digitalized so that it can be handled in computers as well, and products in which recording can be performed on a hard disk drive or an optical disc are becoming popular. Recording picture data in a digital format (e.g., MPEG) has the advantage that the recorded data does not deteriorate, but problems relating to copyright and reproduction are becoming an issue.
(2) Household electrical appliances
p. 189 · PDF 193
(3) Personal information equipment
Personal information equipment is a collective term for PCs and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), smartphones and cellphones, or tablet terminals. Among these, devices that possess a communication function are also referred to as consumer communications terminals. In particular, products that significantly improve the performance and the functions of cellphones and smartphones, and support the music playback function and digital terrestrial broadcasting (ISDB-T (Integrated Service Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial)) called one seg (whose formal name is one segment reception service for cellphones and mobile terminals) are also available.
(4) Education and entertainment devices
Computers have long been used as education and entertainment devices. For instance, the gaming machine known as the “Family Computer” that was launched by Nintendo in 1983 is a representative example. The most recent gaming machines surpass computers in their performance, and some recent gaming machines even use high-performance processors. Moreover, these machines are used not only for entertainment, but can be purchased with software for other purposes including dictionaries and learning, cooking recipes, and health management.
(5) Computer peripherals / OA equipment
Computer peripherals is a collective term for equipment, such as displays, printers, and image scanners. On the other hand, OA equipment is the collective term for the copiers and facsimile machines used in offices, which are now also commonly being used in households. These devices include an increasing number of products that can be connected to the network, and the construction of a home network (i.e., home LAN) is also becoming common.
(6) Job-oriented terminal devices
A job-oriented terminal device is a terminal device connected to a system like a POS terminal of a convenience store, or a credit card reader used in shops.
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