myhome247 have just launched their new 24/7 home surveillance system.  The kits start at £250 (plus £5.95 per month) and provide home security and control, with one button setup, secure remote monitoring and support for Windows, Mac and Linux-based web browser...

Here's a useful little device if you need a phone socket but can't run a cable.  It's especially interesting as it's data friendly so you can use it for you PC, the modem in your Sky box, fax machine etc (approx 50m range).  The units use an upgrade of the DECT standard which increases its data rate from 9 Kbit/s to 56 Kbit/s to fully support V90 modems.  The transmitter receiver pair is £50 and additional receivers are available at £25...

London based company, En-Twyn recently showed this prototype at the CeBit show.  Kind of a HomePlug Ethernet unit, built into a regular power outlet faceplate, it's an interesting idea that would particularly appeal to anyone wanting to retro-fit lots of Ethernet in their home...

We’ve had our Sonos setup for nearly three years now and it continues to be a joy to own and use.  Our original setup of 2 x ZP100s (the zone players with built in amplifiers) was recently added to with a third un-amp’d ZP80.  The new ZonePlayer was swapped for the ZP100 in the AV room where amplification was not required as it was already plugged into our home cinema system.  So the plan was to utilise the now spare ZP100 as a zone in the en-suite bathroom off our main bedroom...

Idratek have just released v23 of their home automation software, Cortex.  The new features include the ability for the system to estimate actual energy savings made from its intelligent heating and lighting control.  Other notable additions in this update are a new lighting automation engine and the inclusion of support for the xAP protocol...

In recent weeks the HomeEasy wireless home automation kit from Byron has attracted a lot of interest.  Its low cost and extensive ranges of modules even lead our reviewer to conclude it may be the X10 replacement he's looking for.  However, the one thing that’s been missing is any sort of PC integration.  Until now...

Home automators are always messing around with hard drives, and that can be a pain.  Well here's a product to ease your suffering.  The Elonex SATA Hard Drive USB Docking Station is a fast, easy way to access bare drives.  You simple insert your disk into the dock and instantly it's accessible at 480Mbps via it's built in USB 2 interface.  It supports both desktop 3.5" and laptop 2.5" drives too and cost £29.99...

The home NAS market has never been better served and here's another interesting proposition.  Acer have up'd the capacity of their easyStore to 3TB, making it a direct competitor to Drobo (look out for our in-depth Drobo review coming soon)...

LinuxDevices have the scoop on this new Home Automation touchscreen PC.  The wall-mountable Techsol TPC-43 has a 4.3" display with a resolution of 480x272.  Development kits are available now starting at $400...