God damn it, people, secure your frigging computers. (or: God damn it, Microsoft, get your heads out of your asses.)

I had some time to kill today, and started thinking about home automation, and looking at programs and systems that support the X-10 interface. (No, it’s not the X-10 camera people you love to hate.) These guys have a program for OS9 which allows you to control as many outlets in your house as you can afford to install. There are also OSX native versions from different vendors which all require further investigation. It would be great to have the server turn the lights upstairs on and off based on the time and date, or alert me if there’s an intruder…

And, on a somewhat related note: for all those that share my annoyance at over-complicated electronics, CNN did a story about it.