That is funny. So the motive of your friend is security for himself and surveillance of his wife. The motive of cloud home automation stuff (e.g. Homeseer) is

That is funny. So the motive of your friend is security for himself and surveillance of his wife. The motive of cloud home automation stuff (e.g. Homeseer) is surveillance of its customers, e.g. your friend. It is like turtles all the way down.