LinuxWorld: Home, smart home

“An intruder is detected in the back yard by infrared sensors,
setting off the automatic sprinklers — or even dialling 911. Not
that he’d have been able to get in anyway, as the house is
protected by Java-based iButton keys…In the 1960s, MI6 or
U.N.C.L.E. might have paid millions for the things you can do today
on your Linux box with MisterHouse — without installing any new
wiring…“

“A few days ago at lunch, however, I was speaking with a
hardware engineer who changed my mind about the next great
technology. At first I wasn’t convinced by his vague arguments
about “intelligent appliances.” But after I pressed him for more
detail — and after we agreed that neither of us are much
interested in having automatic toasters (who will put the bread in?
and why?) — we decided that the idea of higher-grade commercial
appliances would be great…”

“The best part is that you can have this kind of home automation
today: the X10 protocol allows for the home automation part, and
Linux and a piece of software called MisterHouse can take care of
the rest. Until recently, X10 had mostly been used to turn lights
on or off at some particular time, or from two rooms away. But new
advances allow you to interface an X10 network to your Linux box
via a serial port.”

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