Since my last post about the HomeOS I’ve been a little obsessed with technology in the domestic environment: security, media, automation, robots, the works. And reading around I’m starting to get a good feeling that 2012 might be the year that home automation finally hits the mainstream. First thing to catch my attention was Android @ Home. Just watch this video from May 2011 and see if you’re as excited as I am – the good bit starts at 6:12. It’s not so much the Android aspects that excite me here, though clearly that has cool...read more.

My house needs an operating system. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, then the OS is the core software that allows a device to operate, providing an accessible interface between applications and the hardware. It allows applications to communicate with each other and share access to all of the hardware. I have a lot of hardware at home. Of course there’s the techie stuff (home cinema, games consoles, PCs, tablets, phones) but there’s also the more basic bits (fridge/freezer, washing machine, dishwasher, cooker, boiler, thermostat, blinds, lights, burglar and smoke alarms, gas, electricity and water meters)....read more.