Cheap electricity brought electric knives, vacuum cleaners, automatic washing machines, and even icemakers! She inherited her mother's slick Teflon and electric fry pan.

Anyone who wants to study the successes of technology can start in the broom closet, or at least by watching TV reruns. The design and engineering of home appliances and consumer electronic goods express the compelling eloquence of technical innovation.

Let's take a look at how packaging, programmability, and power have changed our homes.

Packaging Modernity

Electrification brought the first major change in appliance design. Wood gave way to cast metal and later, plastics. The first electric washing machines (1916), dishwashers (1913), home refrigerators (1918), and gas stoves (1928) were made of heavy cast iron. Thick metal valves controlled speed, power, and temperature.

Iron gives way to Science Fiction

By the 1940s and '50s, manufacturers replaced the valves with enamel or plastic knobs (actually rheostats) and molded plastic pushbuttons. Control panels with aneroid meters and dials mimicked laboratory test equipment from sci-fi films of the day. A touch of chrome ushered the Miltown-popping homemaker into the Age of Modernity.

Man, look at the colors

The 1960s and '70s gave rise to molded resin, such as fiberglass. Color busted out, too. No more enamel white, thank you. 1960s Pastel-colored toasters gave way to the Disco Era's orange shag rags and harvest gold dishwashers.

Industrial efficiency dominates

Today, we've replaced rheostats and pushbuttons with soft-touch buttons and digital readouts. Nothing conveys the high-tech lifestyle better than a liquid crystal display. If you don't believe me, look at the Sharper Image catalog. Control panels on late-model dishwashers now give European luxury car dashboards a run for their money. Forget colored casings, too. Brushed metal exteriors made of steel, aluminum, zinc, and titanium have driven color back into the 1970s. You just can't get an efficient, industrial look out of avocado green or coppertone. Better Control Through Programmability

Home appliances have become a showcase for automation. Rinse and spin cycles have replaced washing machine wringers. Toasters pop when the bread browns. Refrigerators "self-defrost," and ovens "self-clean."

IF x=dirty THEN y=keep washing

The current generation of appliances takes automation one step further with programmability. The electric has become electronic. Many appliances now have built-in sensors, and temperature and speed controls that the user can program to perform a sequence of tasks with precision. Better still, some have remote controls.

I'm sorry Dave, your laundry is unbalanced

And then there's fuzzy logic. With "smart" chips, not only are new washing machines able to dispense bleach and fabric softener at the right cycle, they can also detect if the correct water level has been reached for a given wash load. My washing machine gives off a shrill squawk to warn me when the load's become unbalanced.

My rice cooker, a $60 R2D2-looking appliance from Japan, can tell the difference between the cooking time for white rice and brown. And the business of appliance automation keeps growing. I've seen prototypes of robotics-driven vacuum cleaners and lawnmowers, and of microwave ovens that include screens for surfing the Web at various tradeshows. Power to the People Into the Future

Today's technology has made it possible to deliver industrial-strength features to consumer-grade products. Think about it.

• Vacuum cleaners so powerful they can pick up a bowling ball

• Refrigerators that can generate an Arctic blast

• Kitchen ranges better suited for smelting iron than stir-frying

• Microwave ovens that can turn your Tupperware into a molten mess of PVC in a matter of minutes.

Best of all, most of the prices have dropped in the past several years.

What next?

Smarter home appliances with touch and thermo-sensitive sensors, and machines you can talk to loom on the horizon. Jini and Bluetooth-enabled appliances promise wireless inter-appliance control and communication.

Will they remain a promise, or have they arrived? Will your vacuum cleaner talk to my stereo? Will the dish run away with the spoon? One place to find out is the yearly Conusmer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. We'll be there to give you the scoop every step of the way.