Domestic appliance maker Whirlpool is testing some smart appliances with networking capability that show what we can expect to see around the home soon:

[…] The pilot project, called “Laundry Time,” is designed to making doing laundry easier by sending alerts to consumers via televisions, computers and cell phones. In a recent demonstration of the project at a Whirlpool studio in Atlanta, messages from a specially equipped front-loading washer popped up in real time on a television screen in a different room. Consumers can also get instant messages from computers or cell phones telling them, for instance, that a wash cycle is completed or that a
dryer has not been turned on. At the press of a button on a cell phone, families participating in the test can extend a drying cycle and perform other laundry tasks while running errands.

My musing about my kettle a few months ago is looking quite realistic.