Home automation is really not particularly novel. Quoting Wikipedia: >In 1975, the first general purpose home automation network technology, X10, was developed

Home automation is really not particularly novel. Quoting Wikipedia: >In 1975, the first general purpose home automation network technology, X10, was developed. It is a communication protocol for electronic devices. It primarily uses electric power transmission wiring for signalling and control, where the signals involve brief radio frequency bursts of digital data, and remains the most widely available.[4] By 1978, X10 products included a 16 channel command console, a lamp module, and an appliance module. Soon after came the wall switch module and the first X10 timer. Of course electronics have progressed immensely in 45 years, so we can now do a lot more with a lot less. I still feel like very little has change in practice though. I find myself actively avoiding "smart" equipment, both because it's overpriced and a bit of a pain to use in my experience. They all have their own software stack, their own apps (which are often cloud-based instead of running locally, adding all sorts of privacy issues) etc... On top of that you never know when the company is going to go under or stop supporting your device, leaving you with a not-so-smart device in the best case, or a useless plastic brick in the worst.