Smart Homes for Dummies |
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| Title: | Smart Homes for Dummies |
| Author: | Danny Briere
Patrick Hurley |
| Publisher: | For Dummies |
| Type: | Book / Paperback |
| Publication Date: | June, 1999 |
| ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0764505270 / 9780764505270 |
| List Price: | $21.99 |
| You Save: | $11.55 |
| Amazon Price: | $10.44 (via Amazon marketplace seller) |
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Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
Welcome to the new millennium and the next step in home technology. Replace your telephone with a computer. Power up your burglar alarm from a PC that's miles away. Turn lights on and off with a click of your mouse, or plan and build your meals without stepping into the kitchen (well, almostÖthere's still dishes to do). In short, discover how to network your entire home and remote control everything with the smart home" technology that's available today. Smart Homes For Dummies guides you step-by-step through everything you need to know about automating your home, from advanced security to home theater entertainment centers. Find out what it takes to turn your home into a state-of-the-art entertainment and communications center, and discover the benefits of home networking, from Internet access in every room to monitoring the baby from your living room TV. Decide what to buy -- and what to avoid -- in the absence of universal standards for "smart homes," and get the lowdown on competing home systems from X-10 and IBM Home Director to CEBUS and Intellon. Explore a wonderful wide world of wireless products, and secure and protect your investment with an integrated security system. Build the home of the future today with the smart advice you find in Smart Homes For Dummies.
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Customer Reviews:
• An Excellent Orientation; A Mediocre How-to
04 November, 2007
This book was very useful in providing an organized and cross-referenced overview of all the systems and sub-systems and technologies that can be utilized in constructing a smart home. The best thing about it is that the authors manage to maintain good objectivity - it's not a glorified sales pitch for any particular manufacturer. The book is very useful for making decisions about what technologies to incorporate in your home. Audio and video may be a given, but the authors also address phone systems, home security, computer network (wireless and cabled), voice control systems, video cameras, lighting, and more.
The principal weakness is that the book doesn't really tell you how to create a smart home plan. It is weak on examples. If you're sitting down with a set of blueprints and this book, there are a lot of missing pieces to the puzzle (placement and types of outlets and switchplates, dedicated circuitry for the media room, in-wall or in-ceiling speaker placement for audio or surround sound setups, conduit layout, drawing and notating plans for the electrician, and so on).
It's very well written, with a personal and humorous touch from the authors and you can easily sit down and read it cover to cover in one day. But it's rich in information, so I'd suggest reading it with a highlighter handy for the things that grab your attention.
- Amazon Customer Review
• Where's The Beef
12 June, 2008
A good introductory book for understanding the options but not enough examples of how to use the technology in real life.
- Amazon Customer Review
• Good Guidance
20 September, 2007
Lots of info for x10 systems but not leaning to any particular vendor. Very much like that they wrote from personal experience. I did wish they were a bit more clear in regards to whole house audio, but the section on impedance was adequate.
- Amazon Customer Review
• Not As Informative As I Hoped It Would Be
28 September, 2008
I assumed this book would be about home automation, but it only briefly touches on that. It is mostly about wiring of distributed audio and video, which I didn't find very interesting.
The book does contain some interesting and useful information, but it could probably all be squeezed into about 30 pages.
The reader is directed to an an accompanying web site for up-to-date information, but the web site was last updated three years before the latest edition of the book was published.
- Amazon Customer Review
• I'm Not Sure I Know What I Expected...
12 September, 2009
...but I didn't get much out of this book. Much of what was in it - I already do (for example, I have a home network with a central "server computer"). I was hoping it would cover more about automating lighting and compare different methods/systems...
Anyway, it also lacks much of the humor I normally find in "dummies" books - so it was pretty dry reading.
Bottom line - not very impressed.
- Amazon Customer Review
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