[Madcow]

I would like to pursue a whole house control system using a PC architecture. I am currently considering a server using mainlobby and I would like to wall-mount clients in various locations throughout the home. I would envision something along the lines of a PDA screen surrounded by hard buttons on the side. This would be a good size for touchscreen control. If the box could contain the hardware to run a local version of Microsoft Pocket PC and other necessary software, this could be a powerful networked device.


I have done an extensive search over the Internet for things such as POS terminals and kiosk hardware, but I haven't found anything that would meet this criteria.


Does anything exist?

 

[Strahan]

I would personally like tablet PCs in the major rooms of my home on the walls flush mounted. Something akin to Viewsonic's V1100 ( http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...sku=V18-5102+P ). I haven't seen any really small ones with the hard buttons you describe, but then I haven't really looked. I want a more larger screen myself.

 

[Madcow]

Here is a picture of a Crestron keypad that would be ideal if it was PC based.

 

[WD-40]

The Crestron systems, I believe, can be linked to the internet. Someone else was working on the project, so I didn't really get into it, but we had a customer that wanted to see a few different websites at a glance when they woke up in the morning.


If this is indeed possible, then it would just be a matter of setting up a PC with a web server front-end for the home automation hardware. With a Linux server with Apache/PHP you could run just about anything you needed to.


- David

 

[PabloReiter]

try www.coraccess.com. Just what you are looking for. also www.premisesystems.com has the software to do it with.


Pablo

 

[sdumas]

Yikes.


It does look good, but, on ebay they say those things go for $2,800!!!

You can get a whole new tablet PC for half that. I could not find a price for any of those devices from any of their distributors except on ebay...


I am now thinking of using Pocket PCs machines at about $300 a pop using Xlobby2 PPC Client.


Still looking for a miraculous and cheap alternative...


Sylvain