A House, A Community
So, I thought about this a while ago. You always hear about those houses stuffed full of computers, but I have my doubts on their usefulness. Even though that's the case, here's some ideas for one:
The user gets a touch-enabled screen, with a microphone and camera as inputs, speakers/headphone/haptics as output. It works as a terminal to the house. The house supplies wireless power and communicates the screens IO wirelessly. The house also interacts with the users passively through the general set of environment sensors and also monitors gestures and relative position of the user, and can interact directly with the user through wall-mounted screens/speakers/microphones, projectors, etc.
Another slightly less refined idea I thought up today involved a community network:
A group of neighbours, each with their own internet connection, get together and create a high-speed, distributed network between each of their houses. Each of them somehow shares their internet connection with the network, and a system is created to allow them to each get the most benefit from their multiple connections. The agree to fund the upkeep of the network, which gets split between the cost of the architecture and some small subsidies to the internet connection costs of each member (based on the quality of their individual supply, encouraging them (if they wish) to support good quality, high speed, low cost ISP's. Though it might be necessary to ensure that the selection of ISP's is even, to not draw attention to it, and for fault-tollerance. This also suggests the sharing mechanism shouldn't favour/swamp a particular connection due to its high quality/speed). It then is decided that new members be allowed entry, if they (help to) connect themselves; this may include members who have not got a direct internet connection (in which case they may pay more, or be encouraged to collaborate with other non-connected to jointly fund a connection, so as to discourage free-loading).
The community may evolve in such a way as to provide local 'cloud'-based services to its members, or public terminals (subsidised by the local council/government/etc).
Just remember, anything is possible.
