Internet Fridge chills with Windows 98

You can judge the true value of a gadget by the crowd it attracts, especially here in the home of the hard-bitten, seen-it-all IT journalist. Which gives LG's Internet Fridge a very high value indeed -- from the moment it arrived it has been the centre of attention. Everyone from the reviews editor to the vice-president has gathered around, marvelling at the flat-panel LCD display, the integrated digital ice maker, the broadband access and the sheer stainless-steel hugeness of it all. We've already lost one member of staff to the icy wastes within.

You can see a photo of the Internet Fridge here.

It has to be said, there is something deeply surreal about having a fridge that runs Windows 98 and has two serial ports. There is something deeply worrying about a fridge door equipped with a Webcam -- who among us can truly say we're ready for our every snack to be broadcast to the world? And there's something deeply wrong about the way it stands empty. We're working on that.

So stand by for our first in-depth report on a kitchen appliance. We'll be answering the important questions: how tightly is Web access integrated with freezer compartment management? What does it do that you couldn't do by standing a PC on top of a second-hand Frigidiare? Does the icebox need a firewall? And, most importantly, does it make cold beer taste better?

Forget the turmoils in the IT industry and the financial world. Forget the sport, the weather, the travel. Summer 2002 will be the Summer Of The Internet Fridge -- and we're here to cover it in depth, as only ZDNet UK can.

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