Home Automation Today!

The HTINews is our Bi-Monthly Online Magazine featuring the most up to date Home Automation news available. Here you'll find feature articles, product ads and reviews, interesting columns and interviews as well as press releases announcing the latest technologies available from those companies pioneering the Home Automation industry.

Past issues are available and we've compiled libraries of all the feature articles and product reviews for easy reference.

Consumer Electronic Show and
Habitech Institute 1998
Leviton Introduces Intellisense
HA Show - February 8-10, 1998 - Orange County Covention Center, Orlando, FL USA
Smart Corp Ships CEBus Products
HAL2000 Ships Voice Control
IES on HGTV

Learn About LonWorks Networks
GPS Vehicle Tracking Project
Pre-Plan your Home Wiring
Uncle Phil - Part VI in the Series
Introduction to SMART HOUSE

Review - X-10 Mouse-Remote
Contest Prize - Secant Cardio System

I've got to take a moment here to thank all of those who have helped by submitting articles, tips and bits of info to us over the past year. Without you there wouldn't be an HTINews at all.

And of course, thanks to those companies who are supporting us with their advertising. With your continuing assistance, we'll be able to keep providing the HTINews to our audience at no charge. And that's what the internet is all about ... "the free exchange of information". I urge all of you who read this magazine to help support us by supporting our advertisers. Click on those banners and read those ads. I guarantee that you'll learn something new with each exploration.

There are some fascinating things to read about in this issue. My favorite is the GPS Vehicle Tracking Project by Tim Skaja. I think this article shows what can be done with today's technology some ingenuity. You should visit Tim's website to see some of the other stuff he's done.

PlugFest 2 came off without a hitch. I understand that 9 or so companies participated at Smart Corporation's headquarters. Whole lotta pluggin anda playin goin on. Hopefully we'll be seeing some products in 1998. In my humble opinion, HomePnP is what will make Home Automation happen for the average consumer and therefore create a new generation of Bill Gates style entrepreneurs. Who will they be? Right now they're working away in garages around the world.

It must have been a rat race at Smart Corp. for the last few weeks. Not only hosting PlugFest 2 but they also started shipping their SmartOne CEBus product line. These guys are on the cutting edge and I hope to have my hands on some products to review in the near future.

Mike MacAdam of Domosys (another great Canadian Company) visited the Intelligent Living '97 Conference in Hanover and came back with a worldly perspective which we all need to hear. According to Mike, we've got to get our act together and settle on one standard (as they are trying to do in Europe) so that we can start manufacturing and marketing "Solutions". I agree 100% and am banking on HomePnP to be that standard ... but ... as Mike says, it doesn't really matter what the standard is as long as we can all focus on making products that conform to it.

While we're talking about standards ... here's another major contender. Take a moment to learn more about LonWorks Networks. Motorola and Echelon have teamed up to give you this guided tour.

Of course, it doesn't matter what the standard is, it won't work without some wiring. Bill Savage at Amp has sent us a nice Introduction to Home Wiring and I hope to follow it up with more in depth articles in the future.

Newly built homes must contain integral wiring systems. I think we should all tune in to HGTV on Thursday, December 18th at 5:00 p.m.and 8:00 p.m. Pacific or 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Eastern to see a program called 21st Century Home which will highlight technologies and trends in today's modern home with emphasis on products for the future and will showcase wiring products from Intelligent Electronic Solutions (IES), Inc.

Uncle Phil ... what can I say. Another great article about X-10 technology and troubleshooting. If you haven't read Phil's stuff before, you better have a look at it now. He is definitely one of the best teachers I've run across.

My good friend Ken Sinclair has written a whimsical piece entitled Tomorrows Child. Ken is a bit grumpy about the interfaces that we all put up with and I agree with him. He is kind of keen about the X-10 Remote Mouse that I reveiw in this issue though. Maybe I'll let him play with it a bit to see if it cheers him up.

Home Automation Consultant Ken Wacks has sent in another of his excellent articles this month. It's about SMART HOUSE and I think you'll all be interested in knowing more about it's past and future.

Trade Shows are an important part of any emerging industry and our two biggest are happening in January and February. The Consumer Electronic Show and
Habitech Institute 1998 is in Las Vegas Jan. 8-11 and the Home Automation Show and Conference in Orlando takes place Feb. 8-10.

Need to buy a Christmas present for someone who has everything. Patrick Roberts gives you a few hints in his Home Theater Column and we've put together great selection of ideas in a special Christmas Supplement. You can even leave a note for Santa (one of my dumber ideas but an idea none the less).

And what about Leviton. Although I haven't played with one of their new Intellisense switches yet I've heard nothing but good things about them. Reducing Line Noise problems and thereby increasing reliablity is welcomed and the "Soft Start" and "Preset" features are a bonus. Hopefully this will help to alleviate some of the unhappy campers recently posting in comp.home.automation as well as others like Bill Harnell who says "What we need is a wall switch that was engineered for human use."

If you follow the Home Automation Newsgroup comp.home.automation you've seen a lot of talk about the Omni & Aegis systems from Home Automation Inc. Have a look here to learn some more.

This month's contest prize is a Cardio System from Secant (yet again ... a great Canadian Company). I had hoped to preview this system in this issue but unfortunately I didn't get it in time. Look for the preview next issue. By the way ... while you're at it please take a moment to vote on last issue's entries.

Well, enough said (actually ... too much said). Hope you enjoy this issue. Keep those cards and letters comin'.