http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/actiontecs-zcontrol-home-automation-gateways-get-official/ Engadget Comments for Actiontec's zControl home automation gateways get official http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2010 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/actiontecs-zcontrol-home-automation-gateways-get-official/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/actiontecs-zcontrol-home-automation-gateways-get-official/My personal favorite is the ability to 'turn on the microwave' when you leave work so your dinner will be done by the time you get back. Hmmm...cool idea. But...All microwave dishes I have seen are either frozen or at least refridgerated, and should only be removed from the freezer shortly before preparation. So unless they will build refridgerated microwave ovens in the future, this isn't going to work, since you can't leave your dish to be prepared in the microwave all day.]]>Jan 10th 2008 9:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/actiontecs-zcontrol-home-automation-gateways-get-official/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/actiontecs-zcontrol-home-automation-gateways-get-official/Jan 10th 2008 11:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/actiontecs-zcontrol-home-automation-gateways-get-official/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/actiontecs-zcontrol-home-automation-gateways-get-official/
I want to know if this this thing works with WHS.]]>Jan 10th 2008 11:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/actiontecs-zcontrol-home-automation-gateways-get-official/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/actiontecs-zcontrol-home-automation-gateways-get-official/
Automation of lawn sprinklers is a nice idea as well, although there are cheap timers you can use and leave on 24/7 (e.g. set to sprinkle for an hour every other day).. turn off the sprinkler system completely in Winter. An exception is if you live in a rainy area where you'd want to turn off the sprinklers to save water.

I don't care for fancy garage openers, and lights or TVs, which are already easy to flick on/off. How long does it actually take to open the garage door via a mobile phone, considering Internet latency? I'd hate to have to pull into my driveway and wait for minutes before I can drive in.. what if the Internet box disconnects?

I will look into building a small 60 watt MiniITX server running Smoothwall or lightweight Linux, and hook it up to my thermostat for remote heat operation. Send an e-mail (from any Internet station or phone) to the server box containing a command, time to execute(optional), and password. A motion sensor may be included to automatically turn off the thermostat if there's no movement in a few hours since remote operation. The tricky part is communicating with these devices in a Linux box.]]>Jan 10th 2008 11:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/actiontecs-zcontrol-home-automation-gateways-get-official/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/actiontecs-zcontrol-home-automation-gateways-get-official/
Verizon Router]]>Jan 10th 2008 6:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/actiontecs-zcontrol-home-automation-gateways-get-official/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/actiontecs-zcontrol-home-automation-gateways-get-official/Jan 10th 2008 7:27PM