Before leaving work, Steve Lee likes to use his cell phone to turn on his heat and air condition system at home. So by the time he gets through traffic into his front door, the temperature inside is perfect. You may wonder what a so-called smart home can do inside.  Lee works for a company called Smarthome. com, testing and living with many of his company's home automation gadgets , like this multifunction touch screen that controls devices around the house and even connects to the Internet traffic cameras.  "I have cameras, and they follow all the way down the freeway to work, "said Lee with pride, "What's going on at home when you are away? No problem, install some wireless cameras and controllers and from any computer in the world with an Internet connection, you can watch your house. " "You can check on the house, and I can look at the temperature. Believe it or not, if I want to turn on lights ahead of time, I can, "added Lee.  We sat in Steve's California kitchen and with the right password, turned on the kitchen counter lights at his boss' house in Wisconsin. Steve did have permission to log on .  "If you do know the password and you want to play a trick on your wife, you could turn lights on and off remotely. " This new technology, which can automatically turn on water sprinklers when humidity is low, or turn off a pool pump when it is not in use, is no longer expensive.  Several hundred dollars for a basic system is enough and it is not hard to install.  Sure the convenience is nice but many people who like the security advantages like making sure kids are safe with the help of camera monitors and bedside alerts.  "I can notice that maybe one of my children wakes up in the middle of the night once the light switch is turned on. " What a smart home can't do is get you a snack and you have to leave the couch for that. What can't a smart home do according to the passage?
Turning on the light automatically. Getting the owner some food. Turning off a pool pump. Watching over the home's safety.