Do Even More with iCloud and AirPlay - iConnected: Use AirPlay, iCloud, Apps, and More to Bring Your Apple Devices Together - page 214

Home Automation
Although an expensive technology, home-automation technology can make the remote-con-
trolled home dreams of Hollywood sci-fi movies a reality. To do home automation, you need the
remote-controlled gear and the companion iOS apps — and sometimes a specialist to make it all work
together.
But you can start small, such as with the smart-looking, $250 Nest thermostat , which learns your
comings and goings to figure out when to heat your home and lets you monitor and control it via an
iOS device. Heatmiser makes a similar series of more traditionally styled devices for £137 and up, but
they require a Windows PC to set up.
Then there are remote-controllable lighting products, such as the incredibly cool Philips Hue
bulbs and bridge ($238 for the starter pack, then $99 per additional bulb) that offer an extraordinary
level of control over your home lighting. Not only can you turn off and on the lights (how 21st cen-
tury!), you can create lighting themes and schedules with a simple touch of your iOS device's screen,
as Figure 9-8 shows. You can even create light settings based on your favorite photos. Madness!
Figure 9-8
Control the lights from your iPhone, seriously.
As well as providing these wild options, the Hue bulbs can be controlled from anywhere with an
Internet connection so you can create the illusion of being at home even if you're on the other side of
the world.
Similarly, blinds provided by companies like Loxone can be controlled by switch, automated and,
you guessed it, via an iOS device.
Wireless CCTV
Adding video monitoring via closed-circuit TVs (CCTVs) to your network can be as James Bond
or as paranoid as you want it to be. For ease, my personal favorite is the $335 Netgear VueZone Wire-