The
Bedroom
 Even
though Curtis is sitting in his home office, he can use
the FireCracker software to turn on the radio in his
bedroom, sending the sultry strains of his wife's
favorite jazz station through the house.
She can hear the music
from the living room. She knows when he does this, it
means he is done with work and ready to give her some
attention. By the time she gets to the bedroom, he's
turned off all the bedroom lights -- all but the single,
candle-like lamp by her pillow.
Is this guy a good
husband, or what?
The Kids' Rooms
Curtis' kids are young
enough that they go to bed earlier than their parents --
but old enough to try to stay up later than they should.
He has the outdoor lights set as a signal -- when they
flicker twice, the kids know it is time to come in for
play. At bedtime, the standing lamps in both kids' rooms
are plugged into X10 lamp modules -- with one click of
his mouse, Curtis can call "Lights Out" and
there's no question about whether it is bedtime.
Curtis also will use
FireCracker to turn off the kids' boom boxes, which they
sometimes forget to turn off.
The Yard
 Because
the weather can be variable, and Curtis doesn't want to
waste water, he generally turns the sprinklers on in the
cooler evening weather, when he is certain that there
won't be any rain. One click of the mouse, and
FireCracker sends a command to the appliance modules
controlling the sprinklers in the front and back yards.
The Kitchen
 Curtis
is a member of the caffeine nation, and he's proud of
it. Using FireCracker, he can get coffee going in the
kitchen with a click of the mouse. He can also turn off
the Crockpot™that's reheated some slow-simmering
chili, or turn on the window fan to get more air
circulating through the house. |
