Home Hacking Projects for Geeks

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Introduction

Difficult as it may be to believe, there was actually a time when only a hand-

ful of people had computers in their homes. For those of us who got on the

bandwagon early, finding a use for such an expensive appliance was a chal-

lenge. Some people used their computers to run spreadsheet applications

like Lotus 1 2 3. Others, like us, found that just playing around and explor-

ing how they functioned was justification enough. And no one wanted to

admit they played games on their computers; it was nearly shameful.

How times have changed. Today, personal computers are considerably

more affordable, and nearly one in every four homes has at least one. More

than a third of those homes have broadband Internet access. In the old

days—when computing resources were enormously expensive—an idle

CPU was money wasted. Today, processing power is cheap, and we’ve got

cycles to burn.

Personal computers can enhance your life at home in ways you may not have

thought of. For example, your PC can be the nerve center of an advanced

environmental control system, monitoring occupancy and adjusting light-

ing and temperature according to your preferences. Improved multimedia

capabilities allow personal computers to play a central role in home enter-

tainment. Combining data acquisition with the general-purpose nature of

computers enables your home and computer ...