Re: Burglar Alarms controllable via PC/web browser??

["rectorydp" <dpullen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Noel

I am sure that ther are lots of homebrew projects out there with
touchscreens. It is certainly possible to come up with things that are
a lot cheaper than Crestron et al.

I know quite a few people (myself included) bought some kiosk pcs on
ebay and these have made good panels although a bit of work is
required. I think they were about $225 each excluding shipping, taxes
etc. I still see a few of them cropping up. I am guessing that you are
aiming for more of a mac solution. The Mac Mini may well fit the bill.=20

I have all my HA stuff controlled through web browsers (and remotes).
Browser control does have a bit of a downside since you can't easily
push events out to the browser. Of course, there are all sorts of
things that can be done to deal with this situation. I am thinking
about moving more of my control to xAP desktop (which overcomes any
such problems) but I have so much already written that it is a slow
process. BTW I am using Homeseer as a central controller.

The browser based stuff has been great for getting exactly what I want
on to the control page. It is very quick to add new devices and
layouts and it is very flexible. I don't have browser based interfaces
to burglar alarms at the moment but I do have a keypad for opening the
door to the AV cupboard (mainly to make it child-resistant!). I can
post a few pictures of my kiosk PC installed in the wall and screens
(to the file area) if you like. They are not flashy as I like to have
simple interfaces but at least they show some of the things that can
be done with a homebrew system. You can also see my old heating
control screen on the automated home site if you look for VIOM
controlled heating.

Most importantly it is actually rather satisfying to get all this
stuff working without resorting to very expensive custom installations.

BR
David=20=20



--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, "noel_pilot" <HA@a...> wrote:
> yep thats what im thinking..lots of potential im just trying to
> investigate limits on the resolution and what I could do with these
> little screens, would definitely like a burglar alarm panel
> functionality and control of lights, other HA equipment X10 etc etc
> would be cool, its just finding the best way to go about it in terms
> of the display i.e. writing a page in html for display in opera with
> tabs along the top for A/V, lights, alarm etc etc and then just have
> it running internally on a LAN.
>=20
> other option in my mind (without wanting to go the size and expense of
> a tablet) is a 7/8" lilliput style touch screen ~=A3150ish, and
have a
> mac mini or barebones pc in each location, could be hidden anywhere i
> guess and that would then give you a full 1024x768 touchscreen for
> still reasonable cost.
>=20
> ....rubs hands with glee at the thought of an entire bank of mac minis
> powering housewide screens!!!
>=20
> has anyone else made or is thinking of making a homebrew touchscreen
> solution for around the house? i.e. withoutb crestron thousands of
> pounds touchscreen??!!
>=20
> >