I found myself in the same dilemma. While X10's technology is kick-ass, their marketing department deserve to be shot, one and all. A few years ago, I found an article about home automation in The Perl Journal, and immediately bought a ton of X10 gear. A few months later, they launched their plague upon the internet, and I haven't bought anything from them since.

If you really want to make your whole house jump, check out Mister House. It's a free perl application that allows you to control everything from your alarm clock to your window blinds using a web interface. It even has voice recognition and a text-to-speech module so you can interact with it just by talking. Just don't name it Hal.

-Logan
"What do I want? I'm an American. I want more."