Re: Newbie Questions

[shb*NO*SPAM*@comporium.net (Si Ballenger)]

On 19 May 2005 08:10:56 -0700, igarber@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

>Hi All,
>
>I'm strting work on a monitoring system for my own house which will be
>built soon. It has a simple purpose - video monitoring our house from
>work while the babysitter is with our child.
>
>I have that part pretty well planned out already, but now I think I'd
>like to add other features such as lighting control, temp. monitoring
>etc.,
>
>Can someone please kindly point me to any information, groups or
>vendors who sell this kind of equipment? i.e. a thermostat that can be
>controlled via LAN,(wireless/wired). My biggest priority is that these
>devices need to be accessed via TCP/IP and hopefully provide a
>programming API, as I plan to write software to control these from
>central location.
>
>Any information will be greatly apprecited!
>
>Igor.

There are a number of DIY things you can do fairly cheaply. Using
the apache web server and its CGI functions, you can control a
lot og gizmos over the net. You can connect an x10 firecracker to
your computer and control the x10 devices via the net. Webcam
setups for video (and audio) monitoring are also easy to setup.
Homeseer is a popular program for web based home control and
monitoring.

http://www.geocities.com/zoomkat/ppswitcher-demo.htm
http://www.geocities.com/zoomkat/ezservo1.htm
http://www.geocities.com/zoomkat/webcamsetup.htm
http://www.geocities.com/zoomkat/t-stat.htm