Customer Reviews

Geek House: 10 Hardware Hacking Projects for Around Home (ExtremeTech)

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This book is by the authors of PC Toys. The PC Toys projects are relatively easy to implement and spoon feed the reader all the material needed to complete the toys.

I think this is an excellent book. I'm very comfortable with software and coding, but not that great with electronics.

This book is more ambitious, provides good road maps for the different project areas, but the book is written with the intent of the reader branching out and developing their own solution. My interests are X-10 and Wireless based projects.

The companion website provides alot of source code that can be tweeked, or rewritten for your own particular project.

Negatives: not for beginers, could be insufficient for "experts". These statement may be contrary, but instructions lack detail for a complete novice. At the same time, if you have a particular interest in a given area, this book might not be providing you with anything new.

Check out the contents before buying to ensure your going to get a book that gives you the amount of detail you need. A look at the contents page and a quick skim should help decide if it is right for you.

If you liked PC toys, could manage the projects and want something more challenging the chances are you'll like this book. I think it's an excellent source of inspiration for projects.

I'm interested in X10 projects as well as other home automation projects throughout the house but I thought this book was a little out of tune to what you realistically would do. I was captured by measuring the temperature of a grill and adjusting the heat. This is showing you a control for a "smoker." Other items you can easily find on the internet such as X10 devices, sprinkler control, etc.