Re: Newbie Greetings-Long Post

["Doug Woolridge" <doug_woolridge@xxxxxxx>]

Thanks for the suggestions Daniel!

An update: (in case anyone's interested)

I played around with Misterhouse this weekend, and it does seem very
powerful.
This is by no means a slam on Misterhouse, but I am going to go with
Homeseer.
Misterhouse seems to require all setup (X10, etc. to be done by writing
Perl
scripts (someone please correct me if I'm wrong!).  I can see Misterhouse
as a
great option for the poweruser who is, or wants to become, familiar with
Perl.
I wouldn't have a problem with this, but my SWMBO probably wouldn't want to
go
through that learning curve to change her wakeup routine.  I plan to
monitor
Misterhouse to see how it develops.

I've been setting up my X10 devices in Homeseer along with my various
routines
(wakeup, doorbell, garage door, nightime, occupancy, etc.).  I was really
impressed with how easily it can retrieve and speak the weather forecast.

I also installed a couple of ceiling mount speakers over the weekend for
$20.  I
had a couple of automobile speakers laying around and lots of mains wire
from
re-wiring my house.  The $20 was for the decorative covers.  They will be
the
computer's "voice" and possibly for playing MP3s.  I have wired a
provision for
a volume control near the speakers and run the wire back to my (developing)
node
0 in the basement.

Some more questions:

1)  How can I amplify the audio out from the computer (cheaply).  I was
thinking
of using an old automobile amplifier powered by an old computer power
supply
(supposedly 9A at 12V).  Any thoughts?  Will I burn down the house or fry
the
sound card by doing this??  I want to get something working now, and can
upgrade
(i.e. spend more money) in the future.

2)  Can someone comment on the usability of the voice commands in Homeseer
(voice recognition).  Can a single microphone work for a whole room?  What
effects do ambient noise or music have on voice recognition?  What
microphone is
needed? (usable but as inexpensive as possible)  Where should it/they be
mounted
(ceiling, wall, tabletop?)

Thanks again for all the help and for the great list!  I don't think a day
has
passed that I haven't found a good technology tip here.

Doug Woolridge