This is a little off topic, but what the heck. I'd buck up and buy a UMPC if they included a phone on the thing. Maybe a pc card like chip provided by your service provider so that you could use your UMPC phone with any carrier. Does any such thing exist, or are we stuck with the latest generation of smart phones/pda phones?

I am an architect and we are looking at putting systems like this in luxury condos. I can't remember the companies name we last talked to, but I'll try to remember to post it later. They provide the software and small tablet/umpc style hardware. It runs everything in the home- entertainment, lighting, hvac, security. It also has a web browser and email. They also are setting up local merchants- restaurants, dry cleaners, spas, etc... maybe even doctors offices someday- to order deliveries and schedule appointments. That is an ongoing process, but restaurants are really starting to take interest. It's a nice system. I don't know who they get the tablet from. They put a small wireless server in a closet or cabinet somewhere. The tablets can be mounted on a recharger/bracket on the wall where you would normally see a light switch (the tablets are removable from the bracket), typically just inside the front door, or on a recharging stand on a coffee table or counter. The base systems provide one unit, but the buyer can purchase extra ones. Most want two or three once they get used to it. The interface can be fully customized so say, for example, the homeowner always wants certain lights on, a certain temperature and a certain type of music when they get home. The screen can have a touch button on it that is preset for all those settings- could even be set to come on at a certain time automatically. They are even looking into connecting to new 'smart' appliances like refrigerators to let you know you are out of milk, or order more from the nearest store, or to control the oven, etc. You can also log into the system from outside to turn the lights on or check the temp or security system when you are away. A maintenance person can also log in from outside to see a log of how the hvac has been running or whatever. Very versatile. I may be mixing up a little bit what they are currently doing vs. what they are developing for the next few years, but this is what I remember of the sales pitch anyway. We already use similar systems as far as the lighting and hvac controls in commercial buildings but without the touchpads, so it isn't too big a leap. It basically just comes down to cost which is why they are mainly for luxury users right now... and of course us gadget junkies!

I am a programmer for a home automation firm. I own a Tabletkiosk 7210 and yes this is a perfect form factor for whole house automation. The 2 big names in Home automation hardware are AMX www.amx.com, and Crestron www.crestron.com, they are the big guys out there, and a simple touchpanel can cost thousands of dollars. As for using a UMPC as a home automation solution you would still need an external processor to control all the equipment be it IR or RS-232 ports. Crestron offers what they call an Xpanel which is an executable file that is run locally on your computer, but connects to the main processor over TCP/IP and then can be programmed just as a traditional touchpanel would be. AMX on the other hand doesn't quite have this functionality, they want people to BUY there expensive touchpanels. However you can opt to run a web-panel on a AMX processor, which has a built in web server, or if you already have an AMX panel they have a built in VNC server so you can connect via a VNC client software and control the panel. If you'd like more information I'd recommend talking with either AMX or Crestron. And of course if you need some programming advice / help I'd be happy to oblige! Best of luck and there are some fantastic things out there that we can automate, the best story I've heard from a fellow programmer was a button on a touchpanel that controlled the operation of a hydralic lift for a helpipad that allowed the helicopter to raise out of a bunker and fly away! Airwolf anyone?

AMX and Crestron are old news. They're too proprietary and hence costly. If you want to get into home automation Dennis I'd look into HAI and UPB lighting.

A tech savvy home owner such as yourself could swap out their old alarm system panel with an HAI panel and then swap out the components one by one (PIR's, fire alarms, CO2 detectors, thermostats, etc). Then you could swap out your light switches with UPB switches. Yeah, that's the great thing about HAI and UPB. They use your existing wiring. UPB lighting communicates over your power lines.

Once you switched out your old components to the smart home technology you'd have to do some programming. But that's the great thing. The skies the limit with this technology. If you can think it up you can probably program it. And don't worry, programming an HAI system is very very simple.

Some cool examples of things that can be done with a smart home:
-Path lighting: You wake up at night and want a drink of water. So you step into the hallway. Your motion sensor detects movement and knows that it is dark outside. So, it turns on the hallway light for you. You get your water and go back to sleep. You never have to touch a light switch, your smart house turns the lights on and off for you.

-Vacation mode: You're going away for a week. You don't need to waste electricity on air conditioning. So you put your house into vacation mode. It turns your A/C off unless it gets above or below a threshold temperature that you have set at which point your A/C kicks in to stabilize your house's temperature. At nights it'll be programmed to turn lights on and off to simulate a person actually occupying the house. This is a nice deterrent for thieves as they usually skip over the houses with people in it. Then when you're on the way back home from your vacation you call your house up and literally give it a voice command to let it know you're on the way home and that it should start your A/C up again.

-Cost benefits: Sure it costs a bunch up front to buy all the smart house equipment, but if you're smart you can program your house to run a lot more efficiently. One good example it your A/C. When you're away at work there really isn't much need to heat or cool your house. So if your schedule is fairly consistent you can program your house to not use A/C during your work day. If you want a house that is even more flexible you could program it so that if motion is not detected in your house for a set period of time then the A/C will cycle down. Regardless of the route you take the energy savings will eventually pay for your smart house(Your mileage may vary, but hey I'm trying to give you a good argument to use with your wife when she asks you why you're spending so much money to gadgetize your house). Also, the UPB switches are a lot more gentle on your lights. A regular light switch goes from off to instantly on whereas UPB switches can be programmed to ramp up more gently. This reduces stress on your lighting filament and will greatly increase the lifespan of your lights. Not to mention all the cost savings of having your lights dimmed instead of full on. If you run your lights at %50 brightness you'll typically realize a %40 power saving.

-Scenes: Feeling randy? Turn on your Casanova light scheme and your bedroom lights will be set to a romantic level. Movie time? Turn on your movie setting and your lights will dim to a movie theater level and the blinds will close (assuming you sprang for the motorized blinds). You get the idea.

-Master off: This is the feature I use the most. At the end of the day I press one button and it turns off all the lights in the house. This way I can be lazy and not walk throughout the house and turn off everything. Depending on the size of your house this might not be that great of a feature for you, but it sure helps me out.

There are tons of other cool things you could do with a smart house, but I figured I'd just give you some of my favorite usage scenarios.

And back to the UMPC. With HAI software you would be able to control everything from your tablet. A lot of people prefer using a wifi enabled PDA though and this is what I would recommend personally. It seems like a much better form factor for this.

Anyways, sorry for all the smart home evangelizing. It's definitely some cool technology, but it's not for everyone due to the price premium over a regular house. But reading your website Dennis, I think you are prime candidate for a smart home.

Check out ThinkEssentials® from ControlThink at http://www.controlthink.com/. I run it on a laptop currently... because I do not have a UMPC as of yet, but it should run nicly.