I wonder if the team of Hanna-Barbera ever thought of themselves as visionaries. In the more than 50 years since the creation of the Jetsons, a space-age family living in a high-tech electronics world, much of what they envisioned home and work life to be in that futuristic, space-age world, has actually become a reality.

I’m not just talking about the treadmills for the office and home (even for dog walking). On display at the recent International 2012 CES in Las Vegas were smart TVs with voice and gesture control. And already on the market, Pella’s SmartSync allows shades or blinds to be controlled by remote control or by a home or building automation system through Web-enabled devices including smartphones.

In high-tech homes, smartphones and/or computers are being used remotely control lighting, alarms, heat, music and more. The list goes on, though primarily in the high-end residences, where it is no longer that uncommon to wire for these integrated technologies.

While I’m all for automation, can it go too far? (For an extreme example, check out the Pierce Brosnan home automation computer episode from the Simpson’s 12 annual Halloween trilogy.)

And what do you foresee is next on the horizon?

Read more of Karen's blogs.

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