This is a pretty old video (from 2008) but it’s cool and demonstrates the power of home automation. Justin Wickett came up with a clever application for the site, using it to route text messages from his phone to his computer, which then instructs an Insteon switch to power the lights on or off. [via Gizmodo] But given the several-second lag, and the fact that it relies on Twitter (which seems to be down a lot these days) and a computer hooked up, it’s neither the fastest nor the most reliable system. But it’s cool anyway – geek points to you, Justin.
I smell an amusing vulnerability, however. Unless the computer is specifically instructed to obey messages from a certain account, you could imagine a prank tweet to turn out the bedroom lights at inopportune moments, or more nefariously, a hi-tech robber’s tweet to cut the power and disarm the security system.
A much more efficient and secure way to turn out the lights in your house (among other things) would be to have an actual home automation system with a phone adapter installed. The Insteon SmartLinc central controller can hook up to a modem and/or a router to receive signals remotely. Once you signal to it, it can turn off your lights, turn up the air conditioning , or whatever else is hooked up.
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