Home Automation Books

I wish I had heeded the warnings of the other reviewer that panned this book, but I found a used copy from an Amazon vendor at a really low price and figured "what the heck." Well, no price is low enough for this volume. Even free it wouldn't be worth the postage.

Fortunately you don't have to read for long to discover that this book is a waste of time. The second chapter, tantalizingly titled "Intruder Alert: Outdoor Lighting" is 5 pages long. In those 5 pages it basically says "Go to a home supply store; buy an outdoor light with motion sensor; install it." It is impressive that the author was able to drag that out to 5 pages! What did I expect of a chapter entitled "Intruder Alert" in a book named "25 Home Automation Projects for the Evil Genius"? I dunno - how about building a system involving multiple lights and multiple sensors that communicate through some automated system. Or maybe a system that uses high-power lights to blind and disorient an intruder. Or at least something that requires a soldering iron!

If you make it past chapter 2, Chapter 4 tells you how to install a thermostat. Let me save you the trouble of reading it. It says "Go to a home supply store; buy a modern setback thermometer with whatever features you would like that is compatible with your home; Remove your old thermostat; install the new one." Chapter 5, excitingly named "Speak Up! Installing Voice Controls" spends 3 of its 6 pages showing you how to run the installation setup app for the voice control program on your PC. I'm not talking about some arcane ritual, it literally shows you screen shots of the freaking setup wizard. Give me a break! If you aren't able to install an application on your PC, you are not ready for home automation.

I am amazed that this book was ever published. I am amazed that it is still in print. I have never read any other Evil Genius books, and after this one I don't intend to.

To start this review I will quote an excerpt from the front cover:
"Every project includes a list of materials, sources for parts, schematics, and clear instructions. Build your own home automation system that includes lighting, security, surveillance and monitors, climate control, entertainment, and more"

Anyone who is familiar with the "Evil Genius" series of books knows that they are famous for DIY projects created by hacking existing items for new purposes. This book is not one of them. There should be a disclaimer on the front of this book that says "REQUIRES WINDOWS XP FOR MOST PROJECTS AND A LOCAL HOME IMPROVEMENT STORE". Nothing about this book is spectacular. In fact Ms. Ledford has simply taken the instructions out of the boxes of products bought from Lowes or Home Depot, and compiled them into a 25 chapter book. You don't build ANYTHING. Everything is purchased ready to use right out of the box. Please reread the excerpt above now. Why the need to mentions materials, parts, or schematics. Why does it say "build your own". If there had been anything at all in this book that came close to the history of the "evil genius" series OR if the book contained anything that resembles what is spelled out on the front and back covers, then I would have given it more than 1 star. As far as this book is concerned, all you need to do is go to your local home improvement warehouse and buy whatever home automation item you want. Then bring it home and follow the instructions supplied with the purchased item. I also challenge anyone to find the words "windows" or "software" on the covers of this book. Has Ms. Ledford not considered that not everyone uses a MS product? TAB Electronics has had really great books come from their presses, but their editors drop the ball on this one. It needs "evil genius" removed from it's cover. It should actually have the title "25 Ready To Use Home Automation Products". If you are a fan of the previously released "evil genius" books then stay away from this one. If you want help installing something you purchased and a little bit of theory behind how it works, then by all means this is the book for you (you just better have a MS enabled computer handy).

I had hoped for a guide to designing and setting up an Automated Home. Instead, what I got was a catalogue of outdated data sheets and installation instructions for various X10 gadgets. If you know absolutly nothing about X10 technology, it might serve as a primer, however virtually all of the information is available at the supplier's web sites for free. There has also been a lot of improvement in computer interfaces and software since the book was last revised (1996). Virtually all of the software and computer interface chapters is useless, being superceeded by Activehome and the advent of the CM11A interface. For not much more than the price of the book, you can by a starter kit ($39 on sale) and actually get some modules and read the accompanying documentation for the same (but up to date) information!

It is unfortunate that there is so little in print on applying X10 technology, from an application viewpoint. The gizmos are cool, but setting up a whole house for security and appliance/lighting control is a fairly complicated task. This book did not provide anything to make that task simpler.

This is bull, this person made a website saying how to make your own video game, and I payed 6 bucks to read about different ratings...Not cool man, not cool...