Timesleader: In Japan, a tea kettle that whistles at home and on the Internet
TOKYO - (KRT) - Sliding open a lattice door to his traditional-style wooden home in the old part of Tokyo, Kazuo Kijima greets a visitor warmly. The wooden screens near his entry are decorated with Japanese brush painting, the kind fewer and fewer homes here display. But more and more Japanese these days are like Kijima: elderly and living alone. Still, Kijima, 83, a widower with no children, does have someone watching out for him via a bit of technology embedded in his kitchen. His electric kettle, an "i-pot" (for information pot), not only boils water for his instant miso soup and green tea but it also records the times he pushes a button and dispenses the water. A wireless communication device at the bottom of the i-pot sends a signal to a server. Members of the service can see recent records of i-pot usage on a Web site. In addition, twice a day the server e-mails the most recent three usage times to a designated recipient...more...
