What this is About

I bought a Beaglebone embedded Linux single board computer for use with my SMS-based home monitor, which has its own blog. That monitor originally used a combination of an ancient Asus netbook and an Arduino single board computer, along with an Option Icon 322 GPRS GSM modem. I hope by using the Beaglebone for both these functions I can reduce power and cost, while increasing reliability.

Here's a picture of a Beaglebone from the website:

The home monitor was designed to communicate strictly using text (SMS) messages, so it is useful where there is no internet service, and low-cost if used with large quantity text message plans, such as the AT&T 1000 messages for $10/month. Since it can send and receive text messages, it can tweet (which it currently does), and can reply to emails with commands to set up monitor functionality, such as reporting period and alarm actions, as well as turn on and off external appliances.

This blog is where I'll log my experiences with the Beaglebone.