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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
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
I'm going to pick on you here. Not personally, but just because the mood strikes and your post is perfect.
Slashdotters should take the queue from the "pros" and develop an alternative to sell to your boss.
You see, we complain about the big salaries our bosses command, and complain that they don't know the tech they use, and leave it at that.
Instead, perhaps we should be building our bosses (and their rich friends) alternatives to the $15K do-all box for $10K and charge $5K labor to install it in their homes.
$15K either buys them a box they don't know how to use, *or* a box installed with training.
Not to mention, some of these guys (my boss and his friends included) think of things they want in addition to the built-in features. If you ask me, that sounds like an extra-cost feature.
Think about it...
-sid
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
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.
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...
How about combining IPchains, MythTV and/or Freevo with MisterHouse and some X10 equipment on a commodity $300 1.5-2 Ghz machine?
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.
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.
"Hey editors, we can smell when you have product placements as "news". Please, at least note that in the story."
If it's interesting, who cares if it's an ad?
Ads aren't automatically bad.
"Derp de derp."