I recently ran into an industry contact and we got to reminiscing about an old technology called the IceBox, a computer designed specifically for the kitchen that mounted under the cabinets and featured a flip down screen like a TV.

The IceBox got a lot of attention in its day, way back in 2005, but once the hype wore off, the product simply faded away. There wasn’t even a press release announcing its demise.

Since then, we've seen computer screens integrated into refrigerators and a lot of hype about networked appliances, none of which have yet caught on. Instead, people are bringing actual computers into the kitchen. More than 25 percent of notebook computer owners are using them in the kitchen, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. This can have a hugely positive impact on your quality of life, and not just for looking up recipes, although that's nice too.

So much of what we do—work, homework, correspondence, game playing, newsgathering—is conducted on a computer, and leaving the most favored room in the house doesn't exactly foster togetherness. The notebook computer may be the new, successful, IceBox.