从所有可用的手动计时器的时代开始，家庭自动化(Home automation)已经走过了漫长的道路，这些计时器可能提供也可能不提供比在一个设定时间(set time)打开和关闭(Off)灯或电器(lamp or appliance)的能力或 X-10 模块更多的功能和控制器，几乎让每个人都发疯了，试图让它们正常工作。如今，我们似乎拥有无穷无尽的选择，没有两个系统在产品或复杂性方面是相同的。如何理解这一切？傻瓜家庭自动化(Home Automation for Dummies)试图解决这一切。这本书成功了吗？让我们(Let)来了解一下：
家庭自动化(home automation)的基础知识，又名SmartHome
与所有For Dummies系列书籍一样，Home Automation for Dummies从假设您对所讨论的主题了解不多（如果有的话）开始，并从解释您需要了解的绝对基础知识开始开始了。作者Dwight Spivey还假设读者不会准备进行大规模的自行安装的全屋安装。他假设读者是一位精通技术的读者，拥有合理的真实预算，这是一个明确的优势。
在我们最近的文章如何(How)让您的家变得聪明，我们讨论了在您的家中设置自动化流程的不同基本理念。这本书没有谈论哲学，而是谈论弄清楚你的目标是什么（一次一点或“全力以赴”）以及你是否想尝试让来自多个制造商的设备一起工作，以及你是否想要采取实用的方法，或者只是修补你能找到的最新最好的小玩意儿。对于那些真正刚刚起步的人来说，这种方法可以节省大量时间、金钱和挫败感(money and frustration)。
有一个循序渐进的计划(step plan)来确定任何个人设置的实用性：您家的大小，是否要自动化外部设备，是想从几个简单的小工具开始，还是继续进行大型安装，等等。这些部分非常值得一读，但有一个缺点：作者选择了非常具体的设备来说明他的观点。虽然这在一段时间内可以正常工作，但随着技术(way technology)的进步，书中的设备将很快过时，可能不再作为一个有价值的说明。
在家中实现自动化
当我们安排灯和电器的开关(Off)时，我们中的许多人都做了一点“家庭自动化(home automation)” 。也许您希望咖啡机(coffee maker)早点启动，这样当您跌跌撞撞地下床摸索到厨房时，您就可以享用热咖啡了。或者，也许您希望您的灯和收音机打开，让您看起来好像不是在度假。许多人都有恒温器，可以对其进行编程以使该场所保持在合理的温度。当然，现在(Nowadays)有更多的选项可以打开和关闭(Off)，控制灯光和控制恒温器。傻瓜家庭自动化(Home Automation for Dummies)详细描述了许多选项，给出了便宜和昂贵设备的示例，并建议了它们的使用方法。
在照明系统方面，这不仅仅是关和开的问题。(Off)控制器可以对房子里的阳光或黑暗做出反应，并相应地改变灯光，它们可以用你的智能手机控制，这样你就可以在黑暗中回家之前点亮这个地方。它们也可以由运动触发，这对于人类在黑暗的住所中起床非常有帮助，但如果你有宠物在晚上四处游荡，则不是很有帮助。有些系统不仅可以用来照亮您的家，还可以用来控制您使用的灯的颜色。这本书很好地概述了Philips Hue、INSTEON、TCP、SmartThings和贝尔金(Belkin)。
安全是家庭自动化(home automation)的一大新领域。当然，家庭安全(Home security)系统已经存在了很长时间，但现在有更多的选择。您的家庭警报系统(home alarm system)可以通过您的移动设备进行设置和监控，并且您可以以同样的方式锁定和解锁您的门。您可以通过向您的移动设备发送信号的网络摄像头监控您的家，如果您的系统没有自动执行此操作，您可以触发警报。甚至有一些设备可以告诉你宠物在哪里，假设宠物足够大，可以贴上相当大的标签，这几乎限制了中型到大型的狗或小型农场动物，以及是否有东西泄漏到你的房子里。傻瓜家庭自动化(Home Automation for Dummies)再次提供了一个产品概述(product overview)，以说明可以考虑购买和安装(buying and installing)的物品种类。
有一个很长的章节专门介绍家庭娱乐系统。当作者在本章开始时描述了一个和我一样缺乏技术的童年，我很喜欢他，电视(TVs)只有三个频道（最多），遥控器只适用于遥远星系中的富人。虽然我来自一个更原始的时代，那时UHF还没有被发明出来。如果您想要一些来自古代世界的免费娱乐节目，请在互联网上查找“ Philco TV 1956 ”。🙂
然后，他继续介绍了现代家庭娱乐(home entertainment)世界，那里有很多技术可以让选择观看或收听的内容、地点和设备变得尽可能简单。
有一个专门介绍“家庭娱乐大师(entertainment gurus)”的部分。这些网站向您展示了如何做您可能从未想过的事情，例如拥有一个基于 Web 的虚拟“遥控器”，它可以处理您的所有设备，无论它们如何相互传输信号。或者使用蓝牙技术(Bluetooth technology)用智能手机替换装满遥控器的盒子。我们中的许多(Many)人已经熟悉Roku、AppleTV 和 ChromeCast(AppleTV and ChromeCast)等流媒体设备。“智能家庭娱乐(Smart Home Entertainment)”一章详细介绍了已知和不熟悉的设备，并让读者很好地了解那里有什么……至少在本书出版时是这样。
把它们放在一起
直到《傻瓜家庭自动化》进行(Home Automation for Dummies)到一半以上，作者才开始深入了解使您的系统正常工作的具体细节。由于有很多可用的选项，因此这种方法很有意义。根据您的技能水平、预算和您想要使用的设备，最好先了解您的选择，然后再尝试将它们整合在一起。
正是因为有这么多的选择，这本书不能提供每一个的详细信息。但它为读者提供了一个很好的开始。首先(First)，当然是要弄清楚哪些设备最适合一起工作，哪些根本不工作。讨论了智能手机和平板电脑（Android 和 iOS(Android and iOS)）和计算机（OS X、Windows、Linux和Chromebook(Chromebooks)）。以公平的方式讨论利弊。然而，具有讽刺意味的是，本节以“保持应用程序最新”作为结尾，详细介绍了在(Apps Up-to-Date)某人(time someone)可能已经过时的设备看书。尽管如此，当您尝试将您的移动设备或台式机与您家中的所有安全、娱乐和实用设备结合在一起时，它仍然是您需要考虑的一个方便参考。
然后是对最大的挫折，缺乏标准以及坚持以自己的方式做所有事情的多家制造商的检查。现实情况是，大多数人将不得不选择一家制造商（或同意遵守一种标准的制造商）的设备，而不是仅仅购买现成的设备并期望它们相处融洽。（任何(Anyone)试图让 X-10 模块和控制器合作的人可能还在从头发撕裂中恢复过来，那些小玩意儿来自同一家制造商！）
然而，对于想要尝试使“多协议系统”工作的人来说，有一些选择可用。通常，这涉及某种可以与其他设备通信并说服它们一起工作的集线器。我们在之前关于智能家居的文章中介绍了使用集线器的 起起落落(SmartHomes)。
十的一部分
大多数For Dummies书籍都以一个名为The Part of Tens 的部分(The Part of Tens)结尾。它们通常包含十个很棒的提示、技巧、网站、产品等。傻瓜(Dummies)家庭自动化(Home Automation)做了一些不同的事情：它讨论了人们可以用来开始家庭自动化(home automation)而不会有太多挫败感的简单产品。但是(Again)，当读者去商店开始使用时，这些产品可能不再可用。
然后是“十个(Ten)伟大的家庭自动化网站”的(home automation)一部分(Part of Tens)，几乎任何人都应该感兴趣，并且它们具有随着小工具世界的变化而易于更新的优势。
但是等等，还有更多……
Dummie(Home Automation for Dummie)的家庭自动化讨论了一些人们可能没有考虑过的设备。
例如，我从未拥有过机器人吸尘器，也不会将其视为家庭自动化计划的一部分，但确实如此，您可以安排忙碌的小Roomba（或其他）开始四处游荡，而你不在那里，在你回家之前完成（你的四足朋友只是不得不喜欢它或把它混为一谈）。
或者自动排水沟清洁器(gutter cleaner)、自动宠物喂食器(pet feeder)（布朗博士(Doc Brown invent)不是发明那个吗(Did)？）或用于马桶的自动冲水器，这样您就不必再伸手去冲水了？
提到了很多(LOT)我可能从未想到过的产品，比如联网的洗衣机和烘干机(washer and dryer)、机器人拖把、自动烤架清洁器和一种叫做RoboSnail的东西，它们可以清除鱼缸玻璃上的藻类。好吧，称我为Luddite，但我认为一个好的老式Plecostomus是完成最后一项任务所必需的，我的鱼缸里的Plecostomus也是如此。
我怀疑在本书下一版或绝版之前，其中一些深奥的产品将在清仓商店或 eBay 上销声匿迹。这是一个人的建议过于具体的一大缺点。
判决
傻瓜家庭自动化(Home Automation for Dummies)是一本写得很好的书，作者清楚地知道他在说什么。太多了，那些了解没有遥控器的世界的人对技术毫无希望。有大量真实世界的信息，For Dummie s 提供了他们通常优秀的Extras 伴侣网站(companion website). 这本书涵盖了很多选项，并很好地概述了哪些可行，哪些不可行。但是一本如此依赖当今产品的书过时得太快了，这可能是个问题。可以这么说，很难根据已经在旧垃圾箱中的设备做出明智的选择。此外，插图是黑白和灰度的，它们不像彩色插图那样吸引人。但是彩色插图总是更贵。尽管如此，我还是建议您阅读它，以便对那里的内容以及您可能永远不知道的内容有一个很好的了解。如果你能在当地的公共图书馆找到它，那就更好了，因为这样你就会知道这本书是否适合你。对我来说，它是一个守门员。
Book review: Home Automation for Dummies
Home automation has come a long wаy from the days when all that was available werе manual timers that might or might not have offered anything more than the abіlity to turn a lamp or apрliance On and Off at one set tіme, or the X-10 modulеs and cоntrollers that drove аlmost everybody nυts trying to get them to work properly. Nowadays we have what seems like endless choices, with no two systems being alike in either products or complexity. How to make sense of it all? Home Automation for Dummies tries to straighten it all out. Does this book succeed? Let's find out:
The basics of home automation, aka SmartHome
As with all the For Dummies series of books, Home Automation for Dummies starts with the assumption that you don't know much, if anything, about the subject under discussion, and starts by explaining the absolute basics you'll need to know to get started. The author, Dwight Spivey, also makes the assumption that the reader isn't going to be gearing up to do a massive, self-installed, whole-house installation. He assumes a reasonably tech-savvy reader with a reasonable, real-world budget, which is a definite plus.
In our recent article How to get smart about your home we discussed the different basic philosophies of setting up automated processes in your house. This book doesn't talk philosophy as much as it talks about figuring out what your goals are (a little at a time or "all in") and whether you want to try to make devices from multiple manufacturers work together, and whether you want to take the practical approach or just tinker with the latest and greatest gizmos you can find. For people who are truly just getting their feet on the ground, this approach can save a lot of time, money and frustration.
There's a step by step plan for determining what's practical for any individual setup: Your home's size, whether you want to automate exterior devices, whether you want to start off with just a few simple gadgets or go ahead and blow the wad on a major installation, and so forth. These sections are well worth reading, but there is a downside: The author has chosen very specific devices to illustrate his points. While this will work OK for a while, with the way technology advances, the devices in the book will be obsolete quickly and may no longer serve as a worthwhile illustration of the points.
Automating inside your home
Many of us have done a little "home automation" when we schedule lights and appliances to turn On and Off. Maybe you want the coffee maker to start early, so you have hot coffee when you stumble out of bed and grope your way to the kitchen. Or maybe you want your lights and radio to turn On, to make it look like you're not away on vacation. And many people have thermostats that can be programmed to keep the place at a reasonable temperature. Nowadays, of course, there are far more options for turning things On and Off, controlling the lights and controlling the thermostat. Home Automation for Dummies describes quite a few options in detail, giving examples of both inexpensive and expensive devices and suggesting how they might be used.
It's not just a matter of Off and On, when it comes to lighting systems. The controllers can respond to sunlight or darkness in the house and change the lights accordingly, and they can be controlled with your smartphone so you can have the place lit up before you get home in the dark. They can also be triggered by motion, which could be very helpful for humans getting out of bed in a darkened dwelling, but not quite so helpful if you've got pets who roam around at night. Some systems can be used not only to light your home but to control the color of the lights you use. The book gives a good overview of the options available from companies such as Philips Hue, INSTEON, TCP, SmartThings, and Belkin.
Security is a big new field for home automation. Home security systems have been around for a long time, of course, but now there are even more options. Your home alarm system can be set and monitored from your mobile device, and you can lock and unlock your doors the same way. You can monitor your home through webcams that send a signal to your mobile device, and you can set off an alarm if your system doesn't do it automatically. There are even devices that can tell you where your pets are, assuming the pet is big enough to put a fairly bulky tag on, which pretty much limits it to medium-to-large-size dogs or small farm animals, and whether something is leaking inside your house. Home Automation for Dummies once again gives a product overview to illustrate the kinds of things one can consider buying and installing.
There's a lengthy chapter devoted to home entertainment systems. The author endeared himself to me when he began the chapter by describing a tech-deprived childhood much like mine, where TVs only got three channels (at most) and remote controls were only for rich people in a galaxy far, far away. Although I was from an even more primitive age when UHF hadn't been invented yet. Look on the internet for "Philco TV 1956" if you want a bit of free entertainment from the ancient world. 🙂
He then goes on to introduce the modern world of home entertainment, and there's a lot of technology out there that can make choosing what to watch or listen to, and where, and on what devices, about as easy as it can be.
There's a section devoted to "home entertainment gurus." These are websites that show you how to do things you might never have thought of, like having a virtual web-based "remote control" that can handle all your devices regardless of how they transmit their signals to each other. Or using Bluetooth technology to replace a box full of remote controls with your smartphone. Many of us are already familiar with streaming devices like Roku, AppleTV and ChromeCast. The "Smart Home Entertainment" chapter goes into detail about both the known and the unfamiliar devices and gives the reader a good idea of what's out there… at least at the time the book was published.
Putting it all together
It isn't till more than halfway through Home Automation for Dummies that the author gets down to the nuts and bolts of making your systems work. Since there are so many options available, this approach makes sense. Better to know what your choices are, according to your skill level, your budget and the devices you want to work with before you try to get it all together.
Precisely because there are so many options, the book can't give detailed information about every single one. But it gives the reader a good start on figuring it out. First, of course, is figuring out which devices work best together and which don't work at all. There's a discussion of smartphones and tablets (Android and iOS) and computers (OS X, Windows, Linux, and Chromebooks). The pros and cons are discussed in an evenhanded manner. The irony is, though, that this section concludes with "Keeping Apps Up-to-Date" when it's gone into detail about devices that may well be out of date by the time someone reads the book. Still, though, it's a handy reference to what you need to consider when you try to tie together your mobile device or your desktop with all the security, entertainment and practical devices inside your home.
Then there is an examination of the biggest frustrations, the lack of standards and the multiple manufacturers who insist on doing everything their own way. The reality is that most people are going to have to settle on devices from one manufacturer (or manufacturers who agree to abide by one standard) rather than just buy devices off the shelf and expect them to get along. (Anyone who tried to get X-10 modules and controllers to cooperate is probably still recovering from tearing their hair out, and those gizmos were from the same manufacturer!)
There are, however, options available for people who want to try to make "multi-protocol systems" work. In general, this involves a hub of some kind that can communicate with other devices and convince them to work together. We covered the ups and downs of working with hubs in our previous article on SmartHomes.
The Part of Tens
Most of the For Dummies books end with a section called The Part of Tens. They usually contain ten great hints, tips, websites, products, etc. Home Automation for Dummies does something different: It talks about the simple products that people can use to get a start in home automation without too much frustration. Again, though, these products may no longer be available when the reader goes to the store to get started.
Then there's Part of Tens devoted to "Ten great websites for home automation" that should be of interest to almost anyone, and they have the advantage of being easy to update as the world of gadgets changes.
But wait, there's more….
Home Automation for Dummie s talks about some devices that people might not have considered.
I've never had a robot vacuum cleaner, for example, and wouldn't have thought of it as part of a home-automation scheme, but yes indeed, you can schedule your busy little Roomba (or whatever) to start prowling around while you're not there and finish up before you get home (your four-footed friends are just going to have to like it or lump it).
Or how about an automatic gutter cleaner, an automatic pet feeder (Didn't Doc Brown invent that one?) or an automated flush-a-ma-jig for your toilet so you never have to reach around and flush again?
There are a LOT of products mentioned that I might never have thought of, like an Internet-connected washer and dryer, a robo-mop, an automatic grill cleaner and something called RoboSnail, that gets algae off the glass in your fish tank. OK, call me a Luddite but I think a good old fashioned Plecostomus is all that's necessary for that last task, and so does my Plecostomus in the fish tank.
I suspect that some of those esoteric products will be languishing at the closeout stores or on eBay well before the book gets its next edition or goes out of print. That's the big downside to being too specific in one's recommendations.
Verdict
Home Automation for Dummies is a well-written book and the author clearly knows what he's talking about. So much for the notion that people who knew a world without remote controls are hopeless with technology. There's a wealth of real-world information, and For Dummies has provided their usual excellent Extras companion website. The book covers a lot of options and gives a good overview of what will work and what won't. But a book that relies so heavily on present day products gets dated all too fast and that may be a problem. It's hard to make intelligent choices based on devices that are already in the day-old bin, so to speak. Also, the illustrations are in black and white and greyscale, and they're not as appealing as color illustrations. But color illustrations are always more expensive. Still, I would recommend reading it to get a good overview of what is out there and what you might never have known about. If you can find it at your local public library, so much the better, because then you'll know whether this is the book for you. For me, it's a keeper.
