Increasingly, home and office appliances
(including televisions, VCRs, stereo
equipment, refrigerators, washing
machines, thermostats, light switches,
telephones, copiers, and factory equipment)
have embedded computers and come with
remote controls. However, as
appliances become more computerized
with more features,
their user interfaces tend to
become harder to use.1 The
Wall Street Journal reports that “the result is a
new epidemic of man-machine alienation.”2