If this were the case, then would it be possible to ‘read’ a room, such as the lounge, and make judgements about how the occupants relate to technology? Maybe a huge television surrounded by massive speaker stacks and power amplifiers would suggest a young single man wishing to make a strong statement about his love of technology? Perhaps a discrete set of satellite speakers hanging from the walls and surrounding a screen hidden, when not in use, behind the wooden veneer of a ‘fake’ cabinet might indicate a middle-aged couple without a desire to have technology crowding out their living space?

But such vague hand waving is next to useless. Maybe the owners of the massive speaker stacks bought them because they were cheaper, not because they are happy to fill their room with kit? These days it might be more realistic to think that discrete is better- who brags about how big their mobile phone is? Perhaps smaller is better for those most comfortable with technology? But then again, perhaps the owners of the ‘discrete’ set-up are parents of young children who simply wish to keep things away from prying fingers?

It seems quite feasible that...