In the information age—the frenetic era of the networked computer, the Internet-surfing consumer, and the digital commodity—there have been rapid advancements in information technology (IT). These advancements have increasingly affected the way people interact in their daily living spaces, including the workplace, public areas such as libraries and shopping centers, and the private dwelling known as the home.

While specific definitions depend on the area of research or interest level, IT can loosely be described as any device or service that has an electronic origin and is used by people to process data. This data can be the music from a home stereo system, the picture from a television, the bit stream of a personal computer, a voice from a telephone, or virtually any other thing found in the home. A synonym often used for IT based in the home...