Home Networking Easy as Pie

The company known as Pie wants to let end users create a home network -- the product (a device) self-discovers all the devices on a network and automatically configures, repairs and updates machines when required.

The company showed a relatively humorous video about the different types of home network users (technophobe mother of two, cyber-teen and a home network installer who charges $150 per hour). The Pie people gave them five tasks to complete and then showed the results (obviously, the first two fail and the third guy does it, but it takes him an hour for a cost of $150).

The interesting part about the Pie device and service is that it will likely end up lowering the number of phone calls that IT managers and other networking experts receive from their friends, family and co-workers.

That's one reason why I'm torn about whether to root for Pie as a company/device/service. On the one hand, anything that makes home network installation and configuration easier should be applauded from the top of a mountaintop. On the other hand, I'll get fewer support calls from my friends, relatives and neighbors asking them for help in configuring their networks. Hey, it's a badge of honor for a lot of us that we know how to install and configure home networks.

I suppose having less to do in terms of setting up the home networks will allow us to spend time on the more advanced stuff, like hooking up NAS boxes, network cameras and/or VoIP boxes. Pie probably has all of that covered as well.

• DEMO
• DEMOFall05