The European Commission says that “the average person living within the 27-nation bloc has at least two devices connected to the net at present – typically a computer and smartphone. It expects the figure to rise to seven by 2015, with a total of 25 billion wirelessly connected to the net worldwide. By the end of the decade it says that could climb to 50 billion. ‘If a university teacher cancels a morning lecture because they are sick, students’ alarm clocks and coffee machines could automatically be reset,’ it gives as an example.”