Go Big and Go Home
So, now you know how to build a solid home automation system with a Mac that serves as the brains (and, of course, the beauty) of the operation. But you don’t have to stop there. With some perusal of the available devices, AppleScripts, and the forums at http://www.shed.com and www.perceptiveautomation.com, you can take your system to a whole new level. You can set up your system to do the following:
- React to triggers so that, for example, when you turn on the lamp in your living room, 10 minutes later the light in your bedroom comes on
- Affect whole zones by sending house codes that turn on all devices that have addresses starting with A (or B, or C, and so on)
- Execute commands sent over the phone, via email, or using a Web browser
- Control iTunes playback
- Send email when motion sensors are triggered
And just about anything else that you can think of. Good luck and good automating!
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