Newbie Greetings-Long Post

["Doug Woolridge" <doug_woolridge@xxxxxxx>]

Hello,

I'm a long time lurker and first time poster from the states.  First off,
you
guys need to know that this group is costing me money!

Second, due to the interest in the PT-510's, I thought I'd let the group
know
about the good service I've gotten from PositiveSale.  I ordered two of the
PT-510's from PositiveSale and received them a few days ago.  The PCMCIA
port on
one of them appears to be dead.  I talked to the PositiveSale guy (Lars)
and
he's already sent out a replacement and has agreed to reimburse the postage
to
send back the defective unit.

Third, my setup and questions:

I'm currently running an old 486 33MHz with DOS based Home automation
software
called HC2000 by the Baran-Harper group in Canada.  It was a cheap way to
get
into this addictive way of life ($20 for software + TW523).  I have several
X10
light control units around the house and garage door control (a powerflash
unit,
a universal module, and a magnetic contact).  I've tried to implement
occupancy
detection with several X10 motion sensors and some complicated IF-THEN
programming with only marginal success.  I've made my own (U.S. style)
signal
bridge and am working on a Dallas DS18S20 thermometer circuit controlled by
a
PIC16F84.

There is obviously quite a bit of expertise and experience on this list.  I
was
hoping to get some suggestions on what direction to go with my HA setup.

What I'd like to be able to do is:

1)  X10/IR/Serial Interface controls including IF-THEN logic
2)  Webpage interface for the house (with Camera capture/upload
capabilities)
3)  Speech recognition and synthesis
4)  Ability to interface through the serial port (i.e. homebrew thermometer
circuits, thermostat, etc)
5)  IR control (multiroom) for my home entertainment equipment from the
control
software
6)  Audio/Video distribution--I have CAT5 cable run to a central location
in the
basement.  I can also run additional Coax lines as necessary.
7)  Phone control could be a future add-on (a good thing for my Christmas
List)
8)  A way for the PT-510's to interface/control the HA software (?browser
interface?)

I've benn playing with Homeseer for a few days now (installed on the
PT-510) and
it seems to have all these capabilities.  The PT-510 does seem a bit weak
for
the voice recognition tasks though.

I've been reading about Misterhouse and it does sound pretty slick.  I
think
I'll install it tonight and start playing with it.

I don't think I have the budget for a comfort system and might opt to build
my
own hardware when I can save some $$.

Now, a barrage of questions...

A)  What software would have these capabilities at the most reasonable
price?
B)  What hardware would be required for the recommended software?
C)  Could the HA computer also act as a server, or should it be dedicated
for HA
service only?
D)  Could the PT-510 interface with the HA software for home control?
E)  Did I forget any key features that no home should be without?

Thanks for any suggestions you can provide.

Doug Woolridge