Afew weeks ago I called home from the office to check on my 91-year-old mother-in-law who has recently come to live with us. "I'm a little cold," she said. "No problem," I replied as I logged on to the website of Control4 and remotely adjusted the thermostat.

Remote access to functions like lighting, temperature setting and security are among the features en-abled by a home automation system I have been testing from Control4 ( www.control4.com ), a Utah-based software and home automation system company. Its aim is to build "the operating system for the smart home". It integrates existing entertainment systems and services such as satellite TV together with other systems such as heating, air conditioning, security and lighting.