ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on new information and communication technology and its possibilities in relation to what old people want and need. It deals with the pre-requisites for conducting research on technological development in relation to the needs of the elderly. Appliances, machines, tools and systems are transformed into artefacts that have lost their previous functional meaning. Research is needed on individuals' courses of life where individuals' and the artefacts' 'biographies' are woven together. Technological development on a broad basis, directly oriented towards the elderly's special needs is naturally of importance. 'Intelligent homes' can mean that difficulties increase because the home contains more complex technological systems, but can also facilitate the running and maintenance of the home. A large number of actors develop a new generation of appliances, machines and systems that together can change the fundamental structures in the technological landscape. New technology can define both a period of time, social conditions and a generation.
