Gordon Meyer

Smart Home Hacks (eBook, ePUB)

Tips & Tools for Automating Your House

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

So much of what is commonplace today was once considered impossible, or at least wishful thinking. Laser beams in the operating room, cars with built-in guidance systems, cell phones with email access. There's just no getting around the fact that technology always has, and always will be, very cool.But technology isn't only cool; it's also very smart. That's why one of the hottest technological trends nowadays is the creation of smart homes.At an increasing rate, people are turning their homes into state-of-the-art machines, complete with more switches, sensors, and actuators than you can shake a stick at. Whether you want to equip your home with motion detectors for added security, install computer-controlled lights for optimum convenience, or even mount an in-home web cam or two purely for entertainment, the world is now your oyster. Ah, but like anything highly technical, creating a smart home is typically easier said than done.Thankfully, Smart Home Hacks takes the guesswork out of the process. Through a seemingly unending array of valuable tips, tools, and techniques, Smart Home Hacks explains in clear detail how to use Mac, Windows, or Linux to achieve the automated home of your dreams. In no time, you'll learn how to turn a loose collection of sensors and switches into a well-automated and well-functioning home no matter what your technical level may be.Smart Home Hacks covers a litany of stand-alone and integrated smart home solutions designed to enhance safety, comfort, and convenience in new and existing homes. Kitchens, bedrooms, home offices, living rooms, and even bathrooms are all candidates for smart automation and therefore are all addressed in Smart Home Hacks.Intelligently written by engineering guru and George Jetson wannabe, Gordon Meyer, Smart Home Hacks leaves no stone unturned. From what to purchase to how to use your remote control, it's the ultimate guide to understanding and implementing complete or partial home automation.

---

Dieser Download kann aus rechtlichen Gründen nur mit Rechnungsadresse in A, B, BG, CY, CZ, D, DK, EW, E, FIN, F, GR, HR, H, IRL, I, LT, L, LR, M, NL, PL, P, R, S, SLO, SK ausgeliefert werden.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: O'Reilly Media
• Seitenzahl: 402
• Erscheinungstermin: 25. Oktober 2004
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9780596553869
• Artikelnr.: 52983319

Autorenporträt

Gordon Meyer is a Chicago-based writer and speaker who has authored dozens of software manuals, numerous articles for Macintosh users and technical writers, and Smart Home Hacks, a leading book on do-it-yourself home automation techniques.

Inhaltsangabe

Credits
About the Author
Contributors
Acknowledgments
Preface
Why Smart Home Hacks?
What Is Home Automation?
Crossing Platforms
How X10 Works
X-What, You Say?
How This Book Is Organized
Conventions Used in This Book
Using Code Examples
How to Contact Us
Got a Hack?
Chapter 1: A Foot in the Front Door
1.1 Hacks 1-24
1 Know the X10 Address
2 Turn On a Light
3 Master Your Appliances
4 Send X10 Commands
5 Send X10 Commands Wirelessly
6 Keep Watch with Motion Detectors
7 Turn On the Lights When You Enter a Room
8 Turn On the Lights When They're Needed
9 Ring a Bell to Alert the House
10 Sense What's Happening
11 Control the Uncontrollable
12 Groom Your Home for X10
13 Set Addresses for Modules Without Dials
14 Increase the Spousal Approval Factor
15 Unplug Your Computer
16 Add a Brain to Your Smart Home
17 Get to Know XTension
18 Get to Know Indigo
19 Get to Know HomeSeer
20 Sync with the Sun
21 Choose the Right Controller
22 Maintain an X10 Library
23 Shop for Secret X10 Devices
24 Welcome to the State Machine
Chapter 2: Office
2.1 Hacks 25-36
25 Remember Important Events
26 Keep the Lights On While You Work
27 Know Who's Calling
28 Broadcast Announcements to the Whole House
29 Announce Events with Recorded Announcements
30 Send Pager Messages
31 Broadcast Messages on Your Home Network
32 Control Your Printer from Afar
33 Phone Your Home
34 Control Your Home with Phlink
35 Forward Phone Calls
36 Silence the House when You're on the Phone
Chapter 3: Kitchen and Bath
3.1 Hacks 37-46
37 Brew Your Morning Coffee
38 Detect the Beer Thief
39 Install a Kitchen Terminal
40 Install a Home TV Server
41 Control Your Heating Remotely
42 Monitor the Refrigerator Door
43 Heat the Toilet Seat
44 Detect Flooding
45 Monitor the Litter Box
46 Avoid Battery Memory Problems
Chapter 4: Bedroom
4.1 Hacks 47-53
47 Educate Your Alarm Clock
48 Put the House to Sleep for the Night
49 Lighting for Insomniacs
50 Adjust Lights as the Sun Rises
51 Simulate a Sunrise
52 Motorize Your Window Blinds
53 Outdo Big Ben
Chapter 5: Garage and Yard
5.1 Hacks 54-68
54 Monitor Your Driveway
55 Know If the Garage Door Is Open
56 Control Your Garage Door
57 Control Your Home from Your Car
58 See Through Walls
59 Use Indoor Modules in the Great Outdoors
60 Control Outdoor Lighting
61 Track Fuel Consumption
62 Know When the Mail Arrives
63 Mow the Lawn
64 Get the Weather
65 Safely Water the Garden
66 Foster Green Pastures with a Smart Sprinkler System
67 Stop Watering During Rainstorms
68 Adapt Sprinkler Schedules and Solar Water Heating to Available Sunlight
Chapter 6: Security
6.1 Hacks 69-82
69 Check for an Empty Home
70 Know Who's Home
71 Avoid False Intrusion Alarms
72 Nobody Here but Us Ghosts
73 Send Notifications of Home Events
74 Who's There?
75 Secure Your Construction Site
76 Monitor Your Summer Home
77 Protect Outdoor Cameras
78 Know When Windows and Doors Are Open
79 Bark like a Dog
80 Unite Your Alarm and Home Automation Systems
81 Instill Peace of Mind for the Elderly
82 Monitor Your Home with a Network Camera
Chapter 7: Advanced Techniques
7.1 Hacks 83-100
83 Improve the Response Time of Motion Detectors
84 Check for Dead Motion Detector Batteries
85 Outsmart Motion Detectors
86 Improve X10 Reliability
87 Avoid Common X10 Problems
88 Streamline Your AppleScripts
89 Harness Your Hamster to Power a Night Light
90 Get More Out of Your Motion Detectors
91 Track Home Events with iCal
92 Chart Home Automation Data
93 Share Your Home Automation Mac with Other Users
94 Remap X10 Addresses
95 Control Lights in a Group
96 Block Units for Easier Scripting
97 Calculate Elapsed Time
98 Identify Trouble Spots
99 Control Your Home from a Web Browser
100 Which Way Did She Go?
Colophon