Appliances!!

The word appliance has several different areas of meaning, all usually referring to a device with a narrow function:

One class of objects includes items that are custom-fitted to an individual for the purpose of correction of a physical or dental problem, such as prosthetic, orthotic appliances and dental braces. Another class of objects includes items that accomplish routine household tasks, using electricity or some other energy input. These are grouped into two categories: small appliances and major appliances. Such items as toilets and sinks are not appliances, but plumbing fixtures, because they operate only with water and not with energy input. A certain class of computer products, where the device has a specific function, and limited ability to configure. A fire engine or fire truck (British English).

 

There is an increasing trend to network home appliances together, and combine their controls and key functions. For instance, energy distribution can be managed more evenly so that when the washing machine is on, the oven can go into a delayed start mode, or vice versa. Or, a washing machine and dryer may share information about load characteristics (gentle/normal, light/full), and synchronize their finish times so the wet laundry does not have to wait before being put in the dryer.

Traditionally, all computing functions were written as software applications running on top of a general-purpose operating system. The consumer (whether home computer user or the IT department of a company) bought a computer, installed the operating system or configured a pre-installed operating system, and then installed one or more applications on top of the operating system. An e-mail server was just an e-mail application running on top of Linux, Unix, Microsoft Windows, or some other opearting system, on a computer that was not designed specifically for that application.