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Pluto: Linux-based Do-everything System
tazzzzz writes "Ever wanted an easy-to-configure, whole-house, internet-accessible, Linux-based VOIP PBX with video, PVR, firewall/router, security system, MP3 player, file server, personal web server, home automation (lights, thermostat) controller? I just came across the Pluto which claims to do all of this (and more, of course!). It'll set you back $15,000 if you're living in a small bachelor pad, but you didn't need that car anyway, did you?"
Hmm... as "nifty" as this might seem, I think I'd rather my firewall be separate from my mail/mp3/whatever server.
TiVo: You love it or you haven't met it.
I got tivo four years ago and instantly fell deeply in love with it. That love continues to this day, but has changed form. About a year ago, I realized that my giddy passion had given way to serenity, by which I mean that I realized that I just didn't want to watch tv any more, even on tivo. It was tivo that got me to this state of mind. It started by seeing how intrusive commercials were, and how much better tv was without it. The next phase for me was the realization of how manipulative the networks were with their program timing and scheduling; how wonderful to be free of that too! And then last summer I found I had dined at the table of paradise enough. I had actually watched enough episodes of The Simpsons, Futurama, Friends, Seinfeld, Frasier, and tons of other shows. To borrow an analogy from another slashdot writer, it was like the weekly trip to the hardware store after you've bought a new house, where one day you get there and you realize that you just don't need anything else, and you turn around and leave.
This has been a profound experience for me. And I don't think I could have gotten here without Tivo. Maybe I would have and it would have taken longer, but I like to think it was tivo.
Now I keep tivo around for the kid (Sesame St, etc).
The linux hacker
$15000? No thanks.
"I'm afraid I can't do that David"
But my name's Mike. Hey, where'd Poole go?
Etiquette is etiquette. He kills his mother but he can't wear grey trousers.
$15000 bucks is a little less what I make per year. It'd be much more cost effective if I built one of these myself. Not that I need one, anyway. VoA (Voice over Air), gesture controlled light switches and junk-made file/mp3/web server work perfectly well at my home.
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you
...a gaming platform with no compatibility issues?
a/s/l here. Sorry, adding domain tags to your s
I built a MythTV system (using a hacked XBox as a frontend!) with a USB webcam for videoconferencing on my TV for less than $2000. It can do everything the Pluto adverises except home automation, but some X10 devices would take care of that.
This is a perfect toy for the busy executive who loves using the latest technology but doesn't understand it -- not for us able Linux lovers on slashdot!
Yes, but does it run Linu...
Oh, wait.
EvilCON - Made Famous by
I see they forgot to implement anti-slashdotting in their security feature.
I can custum build it for almost free(just takes me 20 hours of so, but 20 hours against $15/h == 20*15=$300 and only need an old PC, and linux). I've already a MP3 server, soldering a com-port relais board for the lights etc is also possible . The video stuff could be a VCR controlled by you relais :-) or a tv-caputere card with hardware mpeg decoding ($150 or someting, not worth 15000)
Why pay $15000 for something you can make yourself and o'course it's much more fun DIY
Beautiful man. Anyway, all I have to say is, why pay 15 grand for something that's linux-based? With enough know-how, you should be able to do it yourself. Maybe there are some special proprietary pieces of software( I wouldn't know since the website is excruciatingly slow and the three pages I have managed to load have been quite uninformative), but this sounds like it's just all about the convenience of the set-up.
I think we will have a better chance of visiting the planet Pluto than the website Pluto for the foreseeable future...
We apologise for the fault in this post. Those responsible have been sacked. -- Signed RICHARD M. NIXON
cooked, cleaned, played music and gave you updates on all your favorite shows, while having I/O communication (read into the I/O and you will get the joke). Why you can then replace your own girlfriend, and patch her everytime a new kernel came out.
A decent webserver it would seem. /.ed even on a Saturday. Ouch.
Really, I know what I'm doing...Ohhhh, look at the shiny buttons!
From website:
Pluto will protect your home and family, entertain you, save you time, and change your life.
That is alot of value for only 15 g's...
*snicker*
"If you think you have things under control, you're not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
. . . this thing made a good cup of coffee. Then we might be able to talk . . .
Eagerly awaiting the mod to "-1, Troll".
Christ, most slashdot readers probably don't even get 15 cents in their weekly allowance. I keep telling them that if they cleaned up the basement like their mom keeps asking...
Yesterday's Mirra link for overpriced "solution looking for a problem"
--Less Thinkin', More Drinkin'...
When there's a breakin your system will patch the video security system through to you and pipe your voice to the house stereo speakers and "will simultaneously call neighbors notifying them of what is going on, giving them the option of being conferenced in to the 911 call so they can provide on-sight reporting to the police?"
Not if Pluto comes with four wheels and a V8 engine.
Hate me!
This device is probably targeted for someone who wants a plug and play solution, or does not have the technical knowledge to build their own from a variety of parts offered at the consumer level (server, software, tv tuner, big hard drives, mic...) Someone with some level of putting together a computer can probably come up with a more economic version of this item.
However, if you do not want to build your own and have money to burn this is a perfect oppurtunity to buy one!
Make me your friend. All my friends get +1 modifier and I need friends :)
...is this actually cheaper and more convenient than just purchasing and/or making the individual systems yourself with your own Linux setup?
And another thing: is it just me, or is this only news because it's Linux-based?
Slashdot: when news breaks, we give you the pieces.
I wonder what the market for something like this is? I mean $15,000? First Adopters, I thank you for taking the brunt of R&D and other costs. Maybe they are pricing the first ones high to recoup costs, but all their profits are going to pay for the extra bandwidth on their Flash-sucky site. At first I was thinking "Awesome way to advertise your product or service", and then I thought "Oh, wait, maybe not".
-cp-
Alaska Bugs Sweat Gold Nuggets
I would think many if not most slashdot readers would rather create their own system from scratch, both for the fun of it and for the reduced cost.
Twenties Retirement
I built a system that does everything that does except the PBX (though it does do caller ID) and PVR (a web-enabled TiVo works fine, thanks) functions
Except I did it a couple years ago, with a used beige Power Mac running OS 9, and the total price was nowhere near $15K. Still works great.
Sounds like a Mikey Mouse operation here.
----
"Ours was a free culture. It is becoming much less so."-Lawrence Lessig
Security is our top priority. All communication is encrypted using an unbreakable 2048-bit system. The whole Pluto network, including your existing pc's, sits safely behind the protection of the Pluto Core, which includes a commercial-grade Linux server that is not susceptible to the viruses and security breaches you find in Windows pc's.
These guys are just ASKING for someone to hack their system. As computing power increases, 2048 will take very little time to brute-force (though this probably won't happen for a while). Not susceptible to security breaches? Please. Tell that to Debian and GNU. If this thing connects to the outside world (it does), it can be hacked. End of discussion.
I consider a lot of the built-ins on this product as "24x7x365" services". I am not sure that I want those all built into the same machine. I don't want my firewall taking down my lights or my tv when it crashes.
Also... Upgrades... There is a lot to break when you illegally expand that hard-drive or want to make your lights in your house turn on and off to Jingle Bells at Christmas.
I think some products were never meant to be unified. Kinda like my cell phone being able to play tomb raider... I don't want a large phone and I don't want a crappy screen with mono sound. Nuff said.
It's a classic argument. Is it better to have a single device that does everthing where all features work together under a single uniform interface, or many devices that are all designed to perform a single task and do it well. The problem with the all in one approach is that it's nearly impossible to everything well. What happens when you want the new features of a competing PVR product? Maybe dual sattelite recivers, or HD capability. On the other hand, what if you want to automatically have your tv volume mute and your stereo turn into a quadriphonic speaker phone when you recieve a call. That's harder to do with seperate devices that don't know about each other. What we really need is a standardized control/communication interface so all the seperate devices can communicate and work together, yet any one piece can be replaced or upgraded with a competitors product at any time.
15 grand, and lets see if it can take a slashdotting!
house next door catches fire and frantic screams are heard
so that's what happens when a house gets slashdotted
"Ever wanted an easy-to-configure, whole-house, internet-accessible, Linux-based VOIP PBX with video, PVR, firewall/router, security system, MP3 player, file server, personal web server, home automation (lights, thermostat) controller?"
:)
Yes, it's called Windows XP
--- any post that takes longer than 20 seconds to write, isn't worth writing
It's quite surprising that people have so much money to spend these days.
When I was young an offer to buy something besides houses or companies for 15000 $ would be considered to be a tasteless joke. Even for extremely rich people this would be too much. I still remember that there was much talk in the New York high society when Rockefeller bought his wife a collier for 20000 $.
It seems that capitalism had really achived what the communists always wanted: the make common man really rich.
Funnily in the 1930ies when some guys predicted exactly this development they were considered extremist fools even in academic circles.
Over 90 years and counting !
Ever wanted an easy-to-configure, whole-house, internet-accessible, Linux-based VOIP PBX with video, PVR, firewall/router, security system, MP3 player, file server, personal web server, home automation (lights, thermostat) controller?
No.
Not for $15,000 anyway.
The short answer would be "No".
The longer answer would be "No, but I'll have some of whatever you're smoking/drinking/injecting/snorting".
The sympathetic answer would be "No, and I can recommend a very good psychiatrist if you continue to use the terms 'MP3 Player' and $15,000 in the same sentence."
But I think the most accurate answer would be "BWAAAA HAAA HAAA HAAA HAAA HAAA oh jeez *wipes eyes* HAHHHAAAA *snif*".
Ceci n'est pas une signature
They must be running thier website on one of these...
A 'queue' is a lineup. A 'cue' is a hint.
when the site gets /.ed, do their lights turn off? Maybe it calls their upstream provider and asks for more bandwidth, automatically?
====
Crudely Drawn Games
...they want their 'priced for the idiot dot-com paper millionaire' gadget back.
How the fsck is that funny?
From website: Pluto will protect your home and family, entertain you, save you time, and change your life. Better buy a dog, if you want those things. A whole lot cheaper. You have to stand some occasional drooling, 'course. But hey! nothing new for a geek, who just got word they're making a crossover between LOTR and star Wars! "Frodo, I'm your father!" ----Got Carried away. Excuse me.
Seriously.
I realize Slashdot readers as a group are probably pretty diverse with regard to age, race, jobs, background, etcetera. But what unites us is curiosity: we want to know how stuff works, how to solve a specific problem or how others have chosen to tackle those problems. That's what
I'm sure most of us would build an pluto-like device (I'm actually surprised they didn't name it iHouse) ourselves, even if turned out to cost the same, just for kicks...
Its Linux, it has to be free.
How about combining IPchains, MythTV and/or Freevo with MisterHouse and some X10 equipment on a commodity $300 1.5-2 Ghz machine?
Problem I see is, the demographically ideal purchaser?
never, ever leaves the house
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
"Ever wanted an easy-to-configure, whole-house, internet-accessible, Linux-based VOIP PBX with video, PVR, firewall/router, security system, MP3 player, file server, personal web server, home automation (lights, thermostat) controller?"
Well...no.
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
"An intruder as been detected. Linux kernel must be recompiled for alarm to go off. [ok]"
I should have given some more info knowing that the site would be slashdotted...
For that price, you get the Pluto Core, which is the Linux-based server. You get some number (unclear to me how many) of media distributors (PCs with DVD drives and network interfaces) that hook up to your TV and the Core to show video and play music. You also get "Orbiters", which are hand-held devices to which you can stream video from your security cameras and control the Pluto system.
So, we're not talking one Linux PC. It's a whole system of stuff. I've requested more pricing info, because I'm curious how much you have to pay for the various parts. $15K is a lot of money, but this can give technically unsophisticated folks a usable "home of the future" sort of setup.
Kevin
Um, my lowly RedHat 2.1 Linux box was doing all this (except video) back in the early 90's.
:)
:). Today MP4's are flying across the network to a Powerbook for watching movies on any TV wirelessly.
:) and every toy out there. Probably have a few $K left over... And no, I did not read the article.
Web, File & Print? Trivial.
Lights / HVAC? X10
MP3 music: SliMP3
(and no, you don't need to buy to use their software -- I just happen to own a couple of them
Answering machine I hacked up waaay back when myself (still use it via ISDN inbound
For $15K I'd spend it on a Dual G5 with Dual monitors (why not?
Now -- I did look around the (html version) of the site. Nice little product, though IMHO over priced. I hacked it all up for under $3K (including X10 re-wired outlets as needed). A couple of [radio] all-in-one remotes from The Shack and I can control the lights, TV, and stereo as needed throughout the house. I have a remote for each floor actually, though Radio Shack has since discontinued the model I like -- the new one doesn't work with X10 unit codes 11+ anymore for some reason.
A car? Pht!!! Why would you ever want to leave?
~Chris Hammond
not releavant
thank you
Be locked out of the house for a week and then find you've gained a son and need a new set of kitchen ware ?
No thanks.
"It seems that capitalism had really achived what the communists always wanted: the make common man really rich."
your right. now i can buy one of these probably assembled in mexico or china and be a rich little bastard!
but wait... what about the cheap 2*cent leighbour that they can get away with in these countries...
hmm i guess there not the common man
- Alarm System: 2k
- Phone System: 1k
- Home Automation: 2k
- Entertainment: 5k
- Personal Computer: 10k
- Everything Running Linux: Priceless
Forgive me!Never underestimate the dark side of the Source
1. Open source software that does everything this thing does is available for free.
2. To do something like this on your own you really CAN'T use old PC parts you've got laying around the house. Assuming you plan to do the PVR functions you'll need a decent processor (otherwise you could get by with 500mhz), lots of memory, a very large RAID array (can't have all your work lost to one bad drive, plus video/mp3's are going to need some room), a good UPS, heavy duty power supply system, cooling that won't die on you, and a couple higher end video capture cards... That all probably all adds up to around ~$3500. The good thing is this is upgradable and expandable for the future.
3. Next you need some way to interact with the system in a easy and natural way. Voice control isn't exactly ready and if you go with touchscreen LCD remotes.. you'll end up spending nearly as much as this system. RF remotes connected to a computer that distributes video to TV's thoughout the house (so you can see what you are doing) is probably cheapest and easiest way to do this. Say ~$1000 for that (including extras you might need)
4. Lots of time... For someone who's fairly tech savvy say two weeks worth of work or about ~$3000. Most people would probably who are tech savvy would consider this part of the fun an not an expense though. If that's not you you'll have to pay someone to do it for you.
Can you get James Bond? (Pierce Brosnon, not George Lazenby)
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
SPOF. Single Point Of Failure. Its a neat idea, but i dont see enough technological safegaurds in place (read: redundancy) to prevent you from suddenly losing your security, home monitor, and worst of all your PVR all in one shot...
"Ever wanted an easy-to-configure, whole-house, internet-accessible, Linux-based VOIP PBX with video, PVR, firewall/router, security system, MP3 player, file server, personal web server, home automation (lights, thermostat) controller? I just came across the Pluto which claims to do all of this (and more, of course!). It'll set you back $15,000 if you're living in a small bachelor pad, but you didn't need that car anyway, did you?"
I assume you get the small bachelor pad thrown in for free? Might be worth it then,.
(This post is really for the folks who haven't seen what exactly is home automation. Before I started doing this stuff I was completely unaware how mature that home automation industry is. The Pluto is a very-low-end system that doesn't do a whole lot, and the price really reflects that.)
/any/ home entertainment/theater systems. We can integrate with climate control systems too, and along the way make it all web accessible. I work for a Crestron shop here, but many other folks uses AMX as well. It's pretty standard in this space.
While it is probably true that no other product integrates even 2 out of 5 of the home electronics systems, in the world of home automation and home integration, folks tends to pick the best-of-breed hardware and integrate them.
I can say this: I do this for a living.
For instance, one generally uses Vantage or Lutron for lighting or other high-voltage controls, Radionics and Pelco (among others) for fire/intrusion control. We can integrate with
The reality is that you can't do true home automation for $15K, or by yourself. Installing high-voltage, and sometimes low-voltage wiring, requires a electrician's license. (So you have to hire someone and pay labor.) Low-end AV equipment controlled by IR can be easily DIY, but to do the really cool stuff, there are many AV gears that can be controlled by RS-232. (Rotel and Meridian, for example.) With that you can get feedback of what the device is doing, and display that information on the UI; having that information helps you make much more reliable code too. (Try having your system find out the volume level on your IR-controlled AMP, for instance.)
The stuff is not cheap, but it's solid and well supported. We have projects between $200k to $2mil+, and there's no shortage of people who has that kind of money and are willing to spend it in their house. These systems has much better uptime than any of my Linux, OS X or Windows boxes; they are so stable, in fact, I heard that the BART in California uses Crestron and AMX as part of a redundant system.
You can go cheap too: If you just want an IR controlled home theater with existing IR controlled gears, RS-232 control of an alarm system, plus some minor goodies like web access, I can prob do it for less than $2000. (Notice no real wiring required here.) Start with a Crestron QM-RMC or MP2E.
Check out http://www.crestron.com/ and http://www.amx.com/
Leatherman wave.
The Computer.
The El Camino.
I would like more information on making inaccurate, and ignorant flip remarks. I was hoping, perhaps, you would offer classes, literature or the place to get a first class out paitent lobotomy.
Errr, or there's the other alternative, the one the original post suggested -- ditch TV altogether. It's amazing how well it works.
Yes it comes wiht an mp3 player and internet server but I can not justify the costs here. I like to look at my own finainces as a business. A nice car at least provides value in getting you to work and less repair jobs which saves you money and downtime.
Maybe I am just bitter because I work minimal wage jobs and go to school but use to program and do system administration for a living.
Humility teaches you alot of things. I for one if I made 90k a year would look at this and say cool. Today, if I made that much I would not. I guess I value money more.
http://saveie6.com/
Cool, now the people at www.drivemeinsane.com can get one of these and hook everything up to the Internet: heating, security system, lights, garage door, ...
John Kerry is a Joke!
It's actually quite a nifty product. And I am quite sure none of the "I built this myself for less" posters come even close to the functionality it provides.
I'd love to have one of these. I've been dreaming of integrating more and having less odd electronics that do one thing and don't talk with anything else around.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
aren't you at least going to post a pic or something?
Why to ./ folks place NO value on software, and assume that they could cobble together a system that works perfectly in a long weekend to do anything?
All of you that are employed as programmers - how much software could you write, test, debug, document, and have ready for public distribution for $15,000? How much software have you written for your company in the last 2 months or so?
There is a HUGE difference between deployment ready products and somethign a hacker can live with. I'll bet you the R&D effort for Pluto cost a LOT more than $15K, but all of you think you could create the same thing for ten bucks!
Next time your boss is reviewing your productivity, I guess he should expect you to create a system of similiar complexity in 2 weeks.
Easy to configure? Just how easy to configure could this behemoth be? O_O
The World Wide Web is dying. Soon, we shall have only the Internet.
As one living in a small bachelor's pad...
Wow! 15,000 or 200K or 2Mil for an alarm system? At that kind of value the only thing a thief would want to steal from my place is the bloody alarm system. Or my grubby little debian box/PVR/mp3 player + cellphone (why bother serving up mp3's too something a max of 10 feet away...., or transferring calls to myself), but that could probably only net the thief about $400. Some perspective recommended here....
So if you aren't living in a bachelor pad, does it cost more or less than $15,000?
I must be missing it, but I can't find where
on the site it says the product is using Linux.
How did the poster know??
...when they require a version of flash not readily supported on the OS they favour.
Zero Sum (don't amount to much). [root@localhost]
Since the box is based on Linux, I don't think it'd be a lot of work to split the function up among two or more "Pluto Core" units of varying capacity, or to even create an air gap by sticking a box with a different OS in front. Go send Pluto some feedback.
I love the technology in the TiVo, but I still haven't brought myself to purchase one. Every time I think I should, I start thinking about which programs I'll have it record for me to watch later - and I think "Gee, there's hardly anything I need to see badly enough to be worth paying hundreds of dollars for the ability." Then I leave the store, one more day without a PVR.
I'm really not "anti television" or anything. If you have a bunch of "must see" shows, good for you. Enjoy them! I just find that when I do get the free time to sit down and watch TV, I'd rather watch a movie than some sitcom or TV serial drama.
Sure, a really good new show might pop up and I'll want to watch it - but chances are, I could just tape it on the old-fashioned VCR and that'd be good enough.
Also though, there's something I sort of like about just randomly flipping through the channels on cable or satellite and stopping on anything that catches my attention. Sometimes, I've watched programs I would *never* have thought I'd be interested in - and liked them. TiVo would shield me from these opportunities - and that may not really be a plus.
You only need this add-on. (Not safe for work!) Oh, and don't miss the illustrations. (Definitely not safe for work!)
Does it make toast and play Ogg Vorbis? (not necesarily in that order)
I own a couple so called "combo" devices, always advertised to do more than the sum total of the devices it combined, and so far, I have been disapointed. If you want something done right, do it yourself. Build your own hardware, print your own silicon, and write your own software for your combo device, then you know it wont fail. That looks like a combination of about 20 brands, from Linux to Windows tablets to Tron cellphones. There has to be a hole somewhere.
1Control has done some really cool stuff for the community. It uses xine for the video stuff and they hired several xine devs to work on more features (PVR and network playback support). We also did a bunch of firewire, asterisk, and linphone stuff. Much of the code has been released, and the rest is on it's way, yay!
This wasn't always easy considering the founder and initial employees were mostly windows devs. Hopefully more companies will choose the linux media route!
Also, they're debian MSI boxen network booting from a server in each home. The 'remote controls' are running CE, but maybe that'll change down the road. The coolest feature is that the controller displays menu's from DVDs on it's touch screen when they appear on the screen. Then you just touch the option you want.
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
I see the company has thoughtfully included links to a UPS supplier, whole house surge protection devices, and backup generator service and supply company. NOT, NOT, NOT! One good ol' fashioned lightning storm (can you say Texas?)and you have a $15k light show with smoking special effects in cascading splendor. Or does the system failsafe automatically lock all the doors and windows, arm the security system, and release all the safeties on the perimeter defenses for a terrorist event (lightning strike)?
Every mans' island needs an ocean; choose your ocean carefully.
After I got married I weened my wife off TV. Now the only time the TV is switched on (other than to watch DVDs) is when there's a rugby game on (World Cup, Super 12, NPC - I bet you yanks have never heard of those :-)
You make the mistake of thinking you can educate the fundamental stupidity out of people. You can't.
Buenas Noches,
Soy estudiante Ingles (Frances e Historia a la universidad de Warwick) y quiero entender el punto de vista oficial de la republica Cuba sobre su existencia y su tratamiento por el mundo occidental, especialmente por los estados unidos. He aprehendido el Espanol por algunos anos pero no suficientes para entenderlo totalmente. Existe un sitio Internet para que los extranjeros que no hablan el espanol puedan estudiar para que exista el estado cubano actual?
Or, you could just download and install "e-ve-ry-thinggggggg!!!!!" in / for the newest Mandrake ensemble. :)
Oh, and swap that LG cdrom drive for something else, eh ?
Others have already covered the MythTV aspects of replacing this thing. Asterisk would be the obvious replacement for the VOIP/PBX end of this system.
Anyone else bothered by the lack of product photos - just lots of (very well done) CG cartoons?
"Record Indefinately"
"...Lighting interfces, etc."
"You can also do email from any Obirter or Media Console and over the internet."
Apparently $15K doesn't buy you a freaking spell checker.
"lets him broadcast his voice through the TV's and stereo's so his voice can roar through the home while he watches the burglar run away,"
Ah, the "Home Alone 4" Security system.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
While it is possible to have many of the features installed in your home for a fraction of the price, most people, probably including yourself wouldn't know where to begin. Pluto is a simple to use/install system that takes care of all the hard stuff for the end user. Yes your can have Freevo/Myth but will it intergrate with your phone system, yes, but you must install a voice modem, pray for drivers, recompile kernel, write software, do some voodoo and have a half ass system.
No, Pluto isn't for these die hard geeks out there but most of you geeks probably can't afford this stuff anyway. You probably wouldn't even care about it if it was based on any other OS but because it is a Linux based core, you are whinning that it is too expensive or finding any other flaws to cut it down. I am a Windows user. I like Macs. I have 2 linux boxes running my home/webserver. Would I buy a Pluto? No. Not now. In the future, maybe. But for now, I am looking into what the system has to offer and am already looking for ways to implement this into my own system.
What about a Wifi-enabled PDA to control it all?
CitrusTV (http://www.citrustv.net): the Nation's Oldest & Largest Entirely Student-Run Television Station
does this mean we can slashdot houses? cool.
Is this early enough to qualify as the first piece of vaporware of 2004?
For under a grand I (or most of the slashdotters) could assemble a kickass hardware and do alot more with a bunch of scripts. Why would ANYONE pay $14,000 for a nice GUI?
I guess the company figured, if you put a big price tag, people will buy it thinking it must be good enough (think Microsoft). Unfortunately for them, the story reached slashdot..
"Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you." -Nim Chimpsky
It'll set you back $15,000 if you're living in a small bachelor pad, but you didn't need that car anyway, did you?"
just like sex and porn, you can argue that you dont need to pay for it, but ending up to be a do-it-yourself job - is it the only way to keep it free?
my blog
Have you looked at their site? They are "selling" a security system. They criticize the alternative solutions and emphasize the virtues of their own system. Sure, it may be nice, but it is an advaertisement, and obviously presented in that way, and not as some objective assessment of the product. Which, by the way, is what the editors should look for.
/..
This feels, tastes, smells, etc. as big as any product advertisement scam I've ever seen on
By the way, where is the source code?
Pluto is first and foremost a Web server, and by using it to access your "security" system or email or home automation from "anywhere in the world", you violate your ISP's terms of service and risk losing access to anything.
If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
Worst gouge, beyond those "fees," are textbooks. Whatever you do, try to avoid the college bookstore. The prices there make Little Baby Jesus cry. Suggestion: get the ISBN numbers of your books and then go online. Most of the time profs don't use the ancillary materials, like CD-ROMs, that are packaged with textbooks nowadays for added "ooh-ahh" factor.
If you have a house and are retrofitting it with this system then $15k is a lot of money. However, consider how much more your house will sell for when you do sell (and you will, someday) with a system like this in place. If your house will sell for an additional $10k, then the system only costs $5000. Same thing if you are building new except that if you get the builder to have it installed as part of the house, then the $15k becomes part of your mortgage.
With many (even most) houses near the big cities costing $300,000 - $500,000 that $15,000 doesn't seem like such a big hit. I have a friend who recently bought a new built house and adding a wrap around porch to the house was going to cost an additional $40,000.
Keep it in perspective people.
"Computer Scientists can count to 1024 on their fingers" (non-mutant, non-mutilatated, human computer scientists)
Fortunately, for myself and loved ones, I haven't :)
done that in years.
Don't knock it till you try it.
I WOULD recommend that you watch some commercials
every 6 months or so.... just to keep a basic idea
of the stupid drivel that's running through
your average sheeple's brain.
Sometimes makes the agony of dealing with them shorter by
taking advantage of built in social engineering flaws.
Fucking with people when they're asleep is too easy.
It's waking them up that's nigh on impossible.