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Who wouldn’t want to wake up to the voice of a strange man under the bed?
Well, perhaps nobody. But let me sweeten the pot a little: the voice under
the bed knows what the weather is like outside, and doesn’t even have a
knife!
Every day before I get dressed, I have to walk to my computer, open a web
browser, and check the weather online. What a hassle! I’d like to know the
weather without leaving my bed so that I know how to get dressed.
There are a few different ways I could do this:
• I could hire a man to come to my house every morning, check the tem-
perature, and read me the weather report.
• I could buy a wireless thermometer from Radio Shack, stick it outside
my house, and place the display in my bedroom.
• I could listen to one of those cheesy local radio stations that read the
weather every five minutes.
• I could make my computer talk, and teach it to throw its voice into my
bedroom.
Cost
Time
Difficulty
$40 - $200
two and a half hours
3 out of 5
What You Need
• Wireless audio transmitter and
receiver
• X10 Powerlinc Serial Controller
• Two X10 appliance modules
• A computer running Windows
• An Internet connection
For a list of specific parts used in this
project, refer to Exhibit A at the end
of this chapter.
Make Your House Talk
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