The kitchen computer – an untapped opportunity?

Recently, there was a Gizmodo post about a kitchen computer from Honeywell from 1969. At the time, execution was over the top and expensive, but with all of the time people spend in their kitchen, why hasn’t the concept survived for the right decade?

An example: My parents-in-law installed a Sony Vaio TV/Computer in their kitchen and it is constantly being used. Besides the obvious uses of watching TV while cooking or looking up recipes, people are always passing through the kitchen, stopping to chat, checking the weather or news, responding to email, sharing photos, or watching videos. Even the screensaver displays family photos that spark stories and conversations. In many ways, it’s become a key social component of the room. It’s also a great way to fill a few minutes when waiting for something to cook.

I realize that I’m hypothesizing based on one data point, but I wonder to what degree this has been studied by the large computer manufacturers. There were a small group of underpowered internet appliances that didn’t seem to survive the tech bubble crash in 2000/2001. But that was also in a time before people’s lives revolved around the internet – Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter didn’t exist yet. Also, while Asus has recently released the Eee Top that seems to be intended for the kitchen, is not specifically marketed as such.

As one Gizmodo commenter noted, the kitchen environment is still very harsh. In the case of my parents-in-law, their computer is located safely away from stove heat or running water. However, kitchen TVs have existed for a long time so I wonder if there was a way to make the computer robust enough to handle most conditions – water and heat resistant, a keyboard that can be wiped down, etc. At the very least, it could come with a temp/humidity sensor that could test an area before set-up to make sure the conditions are acceptable when the oven is on and water is boiling. Also, while a mouse may be a messy thing to introduce into a kitchen and a touchscreen probably isn’t the answer either (imagine having a monitor with smudges on it all of the time), maybe a cleanable touchpad is.

This may not for every kitchen set-up, but it could be another way for manufacturers to show they understand customers’ busy lives and drive incremental revenue.