IBM Corp was due to demonstrate a new feature for controlling home appliances on its Aptiva home computers at the HabiTech trade show in Orlando, Florida yesterday. Home Director, to be available in the next generation Aptivas due in late August, is easy to program for all the devices the user wants to run from the Aptica, IBM insists; each appliance on the network has to be plugged into its own module, which in turn plugs into the mains socket. The modules create a low-voltage, two way network in the home, and technology, called X-10, was developed by a UK company, X-10 Ltd. The modules cost about $12 each and will be sold at Tandy Corp’s Radio Shack to start with. Users can write routine sequences to order it to turn on the coffee pot and unlock the cat door at 6.30, turn on the lights and the television at 7.00. IBM also said it was cutting prices on 133MHz Pentium Aptivas by $200 to $300.
