yA few years ago, people were talking about how home appliances would have built-in IP addresses so that you could turn on your oven over the Internet and check your thermostat from hundreds of miles away.

As is often the case, predictions are often close but not exact. We're seeing addressable appliances, but they're often new ones (Tivo, for example, can be programmed over the Internet as long as it's connected to your WiFi network at home).

An iPhone app, i.TV, allows you to control your Tivo DVR with your iPhone or iPod touch; it uses geolocation to show you what's playing in local theaters as well as what you can find on iTunes and Netflix. You can find it at the iTunes Apps store (free).

This turns the iPhone/iPod touch into a remote control, but there's a big difference. We're used to remotes using line-of-site infrared. You sometimes have to fiddle a bit to hit the right spot for the receiver so you can turn the TV on or off. With the iPhone, you're not using infrared--you're using the local WiFi network. It's actually very hard to break the habit of pointing the iPhone towards the TV. You can point it anywhere within WiFi range. 

The days of infrared remote controls may well be numbered.