Java-enabled air conditioners readied
WITH THE SKYROCKETING costs of electricity dominating the news during the last several months, a deal announced this week between Carrier, makers of air conditioners, and IBM will come as a breath of fresh air to utility-bill-weary consumers.
Carrier, in Farmington, Conn., is one of the leading consumer and commercial providers of heating, ventilating, and refrigeration systems. The company inked a deal this week with IBM that will put Java-enabled microchips inside carrier air conditioners to allow air conditioner owners to remotely set the temperature or to switch on or off their air conditioners. The system will also send fault code and diagnostic alerts in real time to a service technician's cell phones or PDAs. Alerts can also be sent via e-mail or fax.
WITH THE SKYROCKETING costs of electricity dominating the news during the last several months, a deal announced this week between Carrier, makers of air conditioners, and IBM will come as a breath of fresh air to utility-bill-weary consumers.
Carrier, in Farmington, Conn., is one of the leading consumer and commercial providers of heating, ventilating, and refrigeration systems. The company inked a deal this week with IBM that will put Java-enabled microchips inside carrier air conditioners to allow air conditioner owners to remotely set the temperature or to switch on or off their air conditioners. The system will also send fault code and diagnostic alerts in real time to a service technician's cell phones or PDAs. Alerts can also be sent via e-mail or fax.