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Yeah, that is what I want. An electric device that fills my bathtub while I am not there, because I can't wait 10 minutes to get into the bath.

I have looked into it. http://plutohome.com/ is one of the options.

All of the things that are possible are things I have no need for to do remotely. I have no need to be able to control my coffeemaker from another country. I can walk up to it and press the button. I do not need my fridge to tell me what I need, as that is something that is so variable, it will never learn.

The only thing I might want is a big off button at the door that I can press and set the house in 'away' or 'home'.

Also I do not want my airco or heating to start when I am not home, as it could very well be that I get home hours later then expected and no, I do not want to be able to control those settings when I am not home, but sitting in a bar.

As I said, I have looked into it a few years ago and found nothing of interest, except the interest of being able to do it.

Pluto Home This is pretty good stuff. The core is linux, but if you want those essential extras (DVD recording/playback) then you'll need to either add your own packages to the system, or purchase the canned solution they offer.

The thought of shouting abuse at a burgler/stalker/milkman through my home stereo system while watching him on my mobile is oh so exciting! There might be a world's funniest video hidden in there..

http://plutohome.com/ is perhaps something you can use for that.

I do not have the HD space at this moment, otherwise I would do the same.

I would just put extra HD's into my PC. I just bought an extra IDE card to add all the IDE cards I have.

However if you want to have it cheap and ONLY for NAS/Backup, then I would buy a cheap PC via Ebay that still works, put any Linux distribution I like on it and put as much HD in it as I can lay my hands on. Connect it to a network and done.
The only connection you need is a network card and even if it is not on the mobo, a cheap 100MB card will be enough for any homeuse.

Alternatively, if you like to do much more with it for more PC's and have it as a multimediaserver, then http://plutohome.com/ might be a good distribution. Based on Debian, it can do all of your domotica. Why stop at NAS if you can have so much more for the same price.

Looking at the Kaleidescape website it appears this system looks like it does everything MCE extenders are going to do, but I'd rather go with DIY (read cheaper) hardware. I've looked at Pluto and it looks to be a decent choice, but I'm not sure it's the best choice. Anyone have any references to DIY slim boxes for playing movies/music from a backend server? I don't care so much for DVR/TV, I'm more interested in playing XViD/Matroska/etc and MP3's anywhere, while making it simple enough for my wife and kids to watch/listen to different media files at the same time in different rooms.
Jonah HEX

I would suggest a lot of the same, but run at least 2 coax lines and don't scrimp on it. Quad shield rg6 and a hard dielectric. If you can find a double/double banana cable with cat6 and quad shield rg6 that would be the way to go.

Also of note is: http://plutohome.com/index.php?section=what_is_plu to

One system that I have looked at is PlutoHome http://plutohome.com/index.php

They can in some circumstances integrate just about everything you want for automation, Phone (Asterisk), Lighting (Insteon, X10 and others), Security, HVAC (I think), and presence based services (Music, phone calls, video follows you from room to room), TV, DVD jukebox, etc.

And if you want to install it yourself you can, or you can have it professionally installed.

For the infrastructure, go for Cat5e, and Wireless A/B/G. Fiber is overkill and doesn't appear to be coming to a desktop as a standard install anytime soon.

Conduit as others have mentioned is also a great idea... How many HD connectors have there been in the last 3 years? How about the next 10? Put in generous counduits between your video devices (TVs, Projectors, etc) and your server room/closets. (3 inch should be good)

Multi Zoned Heating/Cooling System. (If you are looking for do it yourself, Pluto has some built in, and DIY Zoning http://diy-zoning.sourceforge.net/

Depending on Cell phone converage, possibly integrate a Cell repeater in the house.

Plan for also quite a bit of COAX for satelite or Cable. 2 COAX or more per data drop, remember you can use good COAX for your Component, or digital COAX audio also.

Zoned in wall speakers with room based controls (Like A-bus or similar). For the actual home theater system I would stay away from the in wall speakers, stick to good floor standing or wall mountable speakers. For Speaker Wire check out this site before you drop major dolars on "Premium" speaker wire http://www.roger-russell.com/wire.htm.

Plan for Sound deadening your rooms. (http://www.soundproofing.org/index.html or http://www.soundisolationcompany.com/

Also consider running Data cabling where you might not think to, Washing machine, Dryer, Fridge, Stove, Microwave, Freezers. At least you can use this data cabling for alarm circuits to monitor temperatures inside your freezer and fridge to check for temperatures out a range (It sucks to come home to an upright freezer that the door didn't close and it is 95 degrees out... Say goodbuy to your Frozen Elk and Deer...) Also Aquariums for temperature and other sensors that you can feed back into your central HVAC/Security systems. Temperature sensors all over the place (check out the aforementioned DIY Zoning site)

Outlets outside under your eaves for Christmas lights.

And the list goes on.

Good luck and I hope you have some deep pockets... :)

Go for the gusto..

http://plutohome.com/

If you're willing to install a linux distribution in your living room you should give Pluto a try. It incorporates myth and many more from media to home automation and is a free as in beer Debian based Linux.

I believe this was making its round couple weeks ago, so skip the crying over dupes..


Pluto - Combines Security, Home Automation, Telecom (and other things) into a single package. Uses bluetooth roaming to follow your audio around your house.. OpenSource, and it also utilizes Myth. I thought Its a neat project.

Link - http://plutohome.com/

You want pluto, a free and open source linux-bsed home automation toolkit.

argh,, fixed link to Pluto: plutohome.com. I really like this project. It's a opensource home automation system with loads of features. Based on Debian I believe.

Why not install an entire home automation system that includes MythTV?

Check out Pluto

It's open source, not GPL though. They make their money selling hardware, but you can install it for free on your own stuff. It consists of a server, Media boxes that go near your TV's and stereo's, and Orbiters. The Orbiters are basically fancy remotes, they have the software to use a PDA for it, a Nokia/Symbian phone, or even a tablet PC. All free.

Using X10 equipment, you can create extremely complex controls and automation for various scenarios. I was going to do Misterhouse, but this thing looks so much sexier.

http://plutohome.com/ - Open Source, free as in beer and mostly free otherwise. If you want a roll-your-own Home automation package with media capabilities, this is the way to go.

Pluto is the only all-in-one solution for your home that seamlessly combines media & entertainment, home automation, security, telecom and computing. You can control your whole house with a mobile phone, a touch-screen tablet or a web-interface. A Pluto system is like an appliance - not a computer. It is self-configuring, maintaining and updating. No technical skills are required to use or install Pluto. Pluto is above all simple. The devices are all plug and play. Pluto is also an open platform, offering unlimited expansion potential, and requiring no special cabling. This is Pluto: a complete, comfortable and secure solution for your home.

But you could save yourself a lot of time by checking out Pluto

If that doesn't torture the metaphor too much.

http://plutohome.com/

there's also plutohome although it has much different goals (imho) than that of knoppmyth. I guess it depends on what you are looking for.

specs here

I think the house on their homepage is made with furnitures etc. from The Sims? And they're developing a Linux system? Even the thief is stolen from Sims, isn't it? In my eyes a doubtful company. Bye