Buyer Beware GuideFlummoxed by a dizzying array of technology choices? Don't base your decisions only on price and functionality.

ABOUT 50 YEARS AGO, AT THE HEIGHT OF THE COLD WAR, THEN-VICE President Richard Nixon held his famous “kitchen debate” with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. The two leaders were visiting a model of a typical American home on display in Moscow, when their meeting turned into an argument over the merits of capitalism versus communism. Standing in the model kitchen, one of the capitalist excesses that Khrushchev ridiculed was the variety of appliance brands in the United States. In his view, only one model of each was necessary.

Well, we all know who won that debate. But as you page through the myriad choices in this DIGITAL HOME Buyer's Guide, you might feel a twinge of empathy for old Nikita, who probably saw the multiplicity of American brands as overwhelming clutter to sort through.

But sort you must, because even after you've narrowed selections by price and functionality, builders and installers still face a daunting array of home systems choices. Over the years—as journalist, amateur installer, and avid consumer—I've found there are basically three extra criteria I consider when choosing electronics. Call it the SIU matrix: simplicity, invisibility, and upgradeability.

I mean simplicity in terms of both installation and ease of use. I'm not usually deterred by tricky installs if there are benefits to be had, since that's a onetime thing. However, if you're installing 500 units in 500 homes, a simple process is key.

But I'm very sensitive to what happens once I start using a device day after day. The computer industry has always been clueless about ease of use. By association, complexity often creeps into digital home products.

IT managers who oversee thousands of computers are acutely aware that anything that adds 10 extra seconds to a repeated task can add up to weeks of lost productivity. In the digital home, the problem isn't productivity loss, it's frustration. When home buyers are confused over how something works, they'll either ignore the device or repeatedly pick up the phone to complain it's not working right. When you're evaluating anything with a user interface, look at it through the eyes of a novice.

The second piece of the SIU matrix is invisibility—or if that's not possible, unobtrusiveness. Few people actually design their home décor around technology. Tastes differ and change, and generally speaking, few design vocabularies age more poorly than that of technology.

When I think invisibility, I think of a quote from science fiction master Arthur Clarke. “Any sufficiently advanced technology,” he said, “is indistinguishable from magic.” The same goes for digital home systems: music that comes from nowhere; video screens that glide into view; lights that dim on command. In the home, technology should be like a well-trained servant: silent and unseen until the moment service is required.

Finally, there's upgradeability. If you build a device into a home's digital ecosystem, what happens when something better comes along? Consider what's happened with built-in navigation systems in new cars. The latest research shows that such systems actually reduce a vehicle's resale value because new technology quickly outstrips old. The same thing could befall digital homes unless builders and installers press manufacturers for clear, simple upgrade paths.

Part of the upgradeability problem harkens back to where we started: the Moscow kitchen debate. Along with lots of brands, Americans often must choose among competing methods (i.e. technical standards) of handling the same function. Some lead to dead ends, so it's important you pick technology with backing from manufacturers you trust. Even Nikita would agree with that.

Michael Rogers is MSNBC's “Practical Futurist” and “Futurist in Residence” at the New York Times. He is a leading expert on the impact of technology on business and society, as well as a journalist, novelist, and frequent speaker.