In the past, when it lived a life of foolish, heedless waste and inefficiency, the Herald, when entering a dark room, would turn on a light. Incredible, readers, but true. Now, however, thanks to the enhanced functionality of a smartphone app, we know this is quite the wrong thing to do. The correct procedure when entering a dark room is to use the app to find which electricity is the cheapest right this minute, buy it, and only then turn on the light.
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We can't say doing things this way is easier, but it may well be cheaper. And if it isn't cheaper, it is certainly an example of enhanced functionality. Our experience of these things tells us that it is going to be wildly popular.
The enhanced functionality offered by the app gives us many other options. Perhaps lighting should not be our highest priority. Do we really need to be able to see in the dark? We should possibly take advantage of the temporary dip in the electricity price the app has told us about and do a load of washing instead (taking care to sort the whites and coloureds – not so easy with the light off). Or we could charge our electric car. Or our phone.
We're not sure exactly which one we should do first. We could ring someone and ask, but our phone's just died. If we could just turn the light on, we could list the pros and cons on a piece of paper.
Never mind, look on the bright side. We're pretty sure someone's functionality will be enhanced by all this, although possibly not ours.
