Wolfgang Glatthaar International Business Machines (IBM), Gennany The rapid developments in infonnation technology (IT) will continue through the coming years. New application areas will be added. Whereas the use of infonnation technology in the past decade has been concentrated primarily on business and public administration, in future the suppliers of infonnation technology will develop an increasing number of applications for the private household (see fig. 1). Traditional perspective: New perspective: 'IT-solutions for the "IT-solutions for the company' private household" ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fig. 1. New perspective on information technology This development has already generated considerable market dynamics. Latest forecasts for the USA suggest that by 1996 at the latest the private household will present greater sales potential for home computers than business and public administration. VI Preface Up to now the use of infonnation technology in the private household has not been regarded as highly significant by either business or science, even though PCs have become widespread in the private sphere. In the ESPRIT framework there have been individual projects dealing with home networks, and in a number of Asian and European countries, as well as America, experiments with interactive television are taking place. Internet and commercial online services are experiencing rapid growth. This application area for infonnation technology in the private household, which is generating increasing business attention, must also be the subject of appropriate research activities.

The use of information technology in the private household for consumers gains in importance. A whole new world of computerized home applications is already in place or under development. The market potential for the future will arise from the fact that information technology influences all parts of our private life as the discussion on Information Superhighways, Video-on-Demand, Interactive TV, etc. shows.

One: Introduction.- Computerized Information Processing of the Private Household: A Framework.- Two: Infrastructures.- In-home Infrastructures.- Microsoft Brings Personal Computing Home.- Digital Devices and Advanced Technology for the Consumer Market.- Bang & Olufsen's Integrated Home-Networking with Beolink.- Out-of-home Infrastructures.- Oracle Media - Enabling the Information Age.- SmartCards as Carrier of Personal Data and Documents.- Deutsche Telekom's Network Platform for Interactive Video Services.- Three: Applications.- The Citizen's Information System "Dresden and the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady)" - Realization, Experiences, Prospects.- Books of the Next Generation - Reading on the Electronic Frontier.- Electronic Agents and the Market Place: New Generations of Electronic Services for Consumers.- Home Systems - The Vision.- Teleshopping: Today's Solutions and Future Trends.- Private Household Shopping Behavior.- Interactive Multimedia and In-Home Marketing.- New Media: A Growth Market in Erotica and Pornography for Beate Uhse.- SEGA Game Applications: Consoles, Games and Development Possibilities.- TV of the Future - The Future of TV.- Interactive Video-Services for the Residential Customer.- Information Technology and Applications for Elderly and Disabled People.- Four: Current Projects.- The Information Society - Developments in the Triad of Europe, North America and Japan.- Home Automation - Recent Developments in the Genesis and Diffusion of Intelligent Home Technology in Europe, Japan, and the USA.- Multimedia Application Services.- Time Warner Cable Full Service Network - Silicon Graphics Technology and Architecture Overview.- Burda New Media's Multimedia Activities for Private Customers.- Agent Based Communication inTraffic Telematics.- Five: Impacts and Implications.- Business Impacts.- New Products and Services for Private Households on the Information Highway: Facts and Obstacles.- New Visions of Information Technology and Postmodernism: Implications for Advertising and Marketing Communications.- Seven Theses on Successful Market Development for Home Management Systems.- Stand-alone Multimedia in the Private Household.- Strategic Management and Transformation in Converging Industries - Towards the Information Society.- The Multimedia Marketplace in the Private Household - Some Observations and Comments.- Information Technologies in the Home: Policies and Markets.- Social Implications.- Computer Use at Home - A Cultural Challenge to Technology Development.- The Home in Transition: Social Implications of Home Information Technologies.- Author Profiles.