The monitor in the kitchen announces that the microwave has finished cooking in the Microsoft Home, in Redmond, Wash., Monday, May 13, 2002.
The same message displays simultaneously on other monitors in the house, like the screen in the living room, in the background. The home has been the software corporation's showroom for consumer technology of the future since 1994.
The 2002 version of the impeccably designed "house" demonstrates the ways that technology can make a network of consumer electronics "enhance experiences" for the average family of the future, said Jonathan Cluts, director of consumer prototyping and strategy for Microsoft. (AP Photo/Cheryl Hatch)