Going embedded
From the embedded prototyping systems I considered, the Arduino is one of the cheapest and the most popular ones. The combination with the ethernet shield will make it the perfect addition for my home automation project. This weekend I received the one that I have ordered online.
The ATmega328 microcontroller used by the Arduino includes a serial connection, PWM outputs, I2C bus, analog inputs and more. This will make it ideal for connecting my LCD TV, RGB Led lighting, climate sensors and other equipment to the network. Running simple macros on the controller will in some cases take away the need of a home server being on 24/7. It seems that I'm not far away from generating my first code for embedded devices. :)