Introducing Maximum PC Lab North

Posted 05/01/2008 at 9:24am | by Michael Brown

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THE KITCHEN

As in many homes, our activities frequently revolve around the kitchen, so I asked Greg to integrate a desk and file cabinets into the kitchen cabinets. I put an HP IQ775 TouchSmart PC on the desk (the successor to the IQ770 I reviewed last year). We using a saddle stool instead of an office chair because we can tuck it away to regain floor space when we're not using it.

If I had this to do over, I would have had Greg figure out some way of hiding the surge suppressor and the cables; maybe a false panel in the back?

I absolutely love having a PC in the kitchen. Family members can check email and surf the web without having to skulk off to a bedroom or the home office. The machine has a built-in TV tuner, too, which is connected to the second tuner in our satellite set-top box in the media room. The TouchSmart also acts as a server for the Logitech WiLife video-surveillance system we have installed. This machine gets more use than any other computer in the house.

You can never have enough USB ports, and since I needed to drill a hole in the desktop to route the cables through anyway (the desk is attached to the wall), Belkin's powered four-port In-Desk USB Hub (left) was the perfect solution.

I installed Intermatic's InTouch CA600 dimmers (for incandescent ceiling cans), CA3000 switches (for fluorescent ceiling cans and ceiling fans), and CA3500 receptacles throughout the house (right). The InTouch devices use Z-Wave technology, which enables me to control all the lighting remotely and to monitor the status of the lights from anywhere I have Internet access. I also have several CA5000 multi-button scene controllers in the house, which allow me to store and recall multiple lighting scenes for different rooms. The one drawback to the InTouch products is that the dimples don't match the conventional Decora faces. Intermatic started offering Decora-style faces after our construction was already finished.

This is what the WiLife Command Center looks like running on the host PC, but you can also monitor all of your surveillance cameras from the Web with a remote PC or a smartphone.

Logitech's WiLife outdoor security cameras are weatherized, so they don't need expensive enclosures. They use power-line networking technology, so they need only be plugged into a receptacle to work. John suggested cutting the plugs off and hardwiring them inside weatherized in-wall electrical boxes, and the results look so much better than the typical bubble enclosures would. But when I told Logitech what we'd done, they politely pointed out that we'd just voided the warranty on the product. D'oh! Do not follow our example.

Page 1: Introduction 

Page 2: The Media Room

Page 3: The Media Room: Wiring and Video

Page 4: The Media Room: Audio

Page 5: The Home Office and the Home Run

Page 6: The Kitchen and the Video Surveillance System 

Page 7: The Garage

Page 8: The Solar Power System