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User interfaces to control networked household appliances are often inadequate. Either they are too simplistic or they are too complex and complicated relying on a PC-based interface. Therefore, a user interface that supports complex functionalities and is easy to use is required. In this article digital pen and paper are presented as a suitable interface. Digital pens are only marginally larger than their traditional counterparts, and digital paper is ordinary paper with an almost invisible unique pattern printed on it. Pen and paper are well known to users and thus an important barrier to the acceptance of networked appliances is removed. The approach is integrated with an open services gateway initiative (OSGi) gateway, thus allowing for flexibility with respect to the protocol used to communicate with the appliance. It is also shown how the approach can be applied to other appliances in and beyond the home

Our community publishes peer-reviewed journal, magazine, and conference papers and articles sharing a commitment to originality and to quality content and writing. These papers vary in their characteristics and style, depending on their objectives and their targeted readership. The IEEE Publication Services and Products Board (PSPB) Operations Manual (OM) also provides guidelines differentiating these paper types. There is confusion sometimes, however, concerning the features of magazine papers in particular. Some authors, especially early-career authors, do not fully appreciate certain differences between magazine papers and their journal, transaction, and letter counterparts. This can create a challenge for magazine editors and may result in delay, or rejection, of papers that could have been accepted if written with a better understanding of what magazines are about. We focus our attention here on this issue as it applies to IEEE Communications Magazine (ComMag) in particular. Our goal is to help our new and/or young authors who want to publish in ComMag to customize their writing to the nature of this magazine and enable them to author papers with higher chances of acceptance.