NORWALK, CT, Nov. 18, 1998 -- Ready to roll up your sleeves and dig in your heels for 12 hours of non-stop home automation training? That’s exactly what attendees of the 1999 Home Automation Show & Conference Boot Camp will do, as experts using a "live" wiring wall will demonstrate the latest technologies and applications for Home Automation. The show and conference will be held February 5-8, 1999 at the Orlando Convention Center.

The first Boot Camp was introduced at the 1998 conference and achieved and overwhelming response. This year’s camp will be designed to show as well as tell the most advanced techniques for wiring, installation, controls, security, HVAC and more. In 25-minute segments beginning at 7 a.m. and ending at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 5, Boot Camp attendees will watch and learn proper wiring strategies to fully utilize high-tech devices, interfaces and controls as industry experts demonstrate techniques "live" on a specially constructed wall. A kick-off breakfast, buffet lunch and post-event networking reception will be included in the event.

"For our first Boot Camp, we more than doubled our attendance expectations," explained Eileen Baird, Industry Vice President for AE&S, the show’s producers. "We’ve modified the Boot Camp this year not only to accommodate more people, but we’ve shortened and intensified the instruction. We’re also offering real demonstrations so installers and dealers can see new applications first-hand and ask questions."

All Boot Camp participants must pre-register, as absolutely no on-site registration will be accepted. For information, call the Home Automation Show & Conference Customer Service at (888) 334-8703 or e-mail to inquiry@homeautomation.reedexpo.com or visit the Website at http://homeautomation.reedexpo.com. The show is sponsored by the Home Automation Association, a trade association of the home control industry, and is produced and managed by Association Expositions & Services (AE&S), a division of Reed Exhibition Companies (REC).

Tours of State-of-the-Art "Intelligent House" and Disney’s The Celebration Community

On Saturday, Feb. 6, the Home Automation Show & Conference presents a tour of a working, state-of-the-art Florida "Intelligent House," planned by IntelliSense, a division of Intelligent Home Systems, Inc.

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Company president Jerry Robbins will lead a limited number of attendees through this 8,000-square-foot, technologically advanced home, where he will demonstrate several of its automation systems, including an artificial rainstorm simulation in the spa and a surround-sound processor and DVD

player in action. The house’s subsystems include lighting/scene control, HVAC control, whole-house audio/video distribution and a dedicated home theater, plus much more.

On Monday, Feb. 8, conference attendees can sneak an exclusive, behind-the-scenes peek at the experimental prototype community of tomorrow, Celebration, Fla. A network of advanced telecommunications and information systems links the town’s homes, school, healthcare facilities, office park and retail areas in a mandate to blend great architecture with benevolent technology. The tour will lead attendees through model homes and a partial construction so that they can see first-hand the behind-the-walls installations. The benefits of cable modems, including the town’s high-speed Internet access and high-speed data network, will also be demonstrated.

This two-part tour concludes with a visit to Epcot’s "Innoventions" pavilion, an interactive technology playground attraction designed to turn "future shock" into "future fascination." Innoventions exhibits include AT&T, Family PC, GE, General Motors, IBM, SEGA, Silicon Graphics and more. At the Honeywell House of Innoventions, attendees can tour the house of the near future.

Availability is limited on both tours, and attendees are advised to pre-register. For information, call the Home Automation Show & Conference Customer Service Department at (888) 334-8703.

Conference Briefing, Forums Provide Opportunities to Explore Timely Industry Issues

Other conference highlights include an Executive Briefing Breakfast, led by Joseph Freeman, Sc.D., President and CEO of J.P. Freeman Co., Inc., on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 7:30 a.m. The briefing will address how a security dealer can marry into the home automation family, and vice versa, creating a marriage of prosperity.

There are also two luncheon forums. The first is a "Builder Connection Panel" luncheon, sponsored by Home Systems Installer and Professional Builder, on Saturday, Feb. 6 at noon, which covers how the home systems installer can build relationships with the players in a home systems project, including the builder, the architect and the product manufacturer. The second luncheon forum, a "Dealer Forum Roundtable," on Sunday, Feb. 7 at noon, is sponsored by the Home Automation Association and covers how dealer/installers have made the transition into home automation, what problems they encountered and how they overcame the obstacles.

Microsoft Director to Discuss New Partnership for Common Software Link in Show’s Keynote Address

On the heels of a recent announcement that six major electronic companies, including Compaq, Microsoft and Intel Corp., plan to jointly develop a common software link to control home electronic appliances from personal computers, the 1999 Home Automation Show & Conference proudly announces that Mike Paull, Managing Director of the Intelligent Home Systems Group at Microsoft, will deliver its keynote address. Paull will discuss "The Bits that Bind: Enabling the Infrastructure for Home Automation" at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6.

"We’re always striving to deliver a conference that focuses on important industry issues," said Baird. "Having Mike Paull deliver our keynote address about this innovative industry move is a shining example of the topical, often exclusive information this show offers attendees."

1999 Home Automation Conference...

The 1999 Home Automation Show & Conference is a 20,000-square-foot exhibition featuring nearly 100 of the world’s leading suppliers of home automation systems, products and services as well as solutions for virtually every aspect of home automation, including security and safety, communications, entertainment, energy, lighting, water management and motorized systems. The show features such exhibitors as Leviton, Cutler-Hammer, Xantech, Ademco, ItI and DSC.

The Home Automation Show & Conference is produced by AE&S, a division of Reed Exhibition Companies (REC). Reed is the world’s leading organizer of trade and public shows, with a current portfolio of 335 events servicing 55 industry sectors. A total of 112,000 exhibiting companies take advantage of Reed’s marketing opportunities, which attract over eight million buyers globally. REC is part of Reed Elsevier plc group, one of the world’s leading publishing and information businesses.

The Home Automation Show & Conference is one of four related Reed events. The other events are: ISC/EXPO (International Security Conference and Exposition) Las Vegas ‘99, to be held March 9-12, 1999, at the Las Vegas Convention Center; the inaugural edition of ISC EXPO/Miami, to be held May 3-5, 1999, at the Miami Beach Complex; and ISC EXPO/New York ‘99, to be held August 31- September 2, 1999, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. For information on these shows, call Customer Service at (800) 840-5602 or visit the Website at http://isc.reedexpo.com.