Is Pluto an appliance or software solution?
From Pluto Wiki
Until now there have been two options for a smarthome+media system:
- Low cost software based PC solutions, including home automation software like HomeSeer, Premise and Mr. House, also media software like Microsoft Windows XP Media Center.
- Appliance solutions, like Crestron, AMX, Kaleidescape and Escient.
High-end systems are always appliance based, prefered for their simplicity, reliability and lack of hassle; no worry about missing the football game because your PC-based PVR got a virus. But appliance systems cost a lot — for one that includes automation, media, telephony, etc., like Pluto. Even though those "appliances" are normally PC's inside special cases, often running Linux plus some proprietary software, you can never get the software separately to build your own — until now.
Pluto is an appliance solution. Once you use the kick-start CD, your Core becomes a self-configuring, self-maintaining black box appliance. Since the Core automatically offers a network boot image to any PC's you want to use as media directors, they too become appliances. You can still use them as a PC, of course, but you can crash the hard drive, install a virus, delete system files, and it doesn't matter. When you hit 'Pluto' on the remote control, the Core sends it a network boot, the hard drive turns off, it doesn't use your operating system, and you'll never see a PC prompt. And when you hit the PC button, it goes back to being a PC like normal. Pluto is a 'family friendly' solution--you can use the PC for kernel-level coding, knowing the kids can always hit 1 button and still use it to watch cartoons.
Pluto offers the best of both worlds: an appliance solution at the price of a software solution, and the the power and versatility of a software solution with the ease of use of an appliance. We offer the software for free as open source because our business is licensing Pluto to hardgoods manufacturers who embed it in their products.
