HomeOS
HomeOS is the working title of a home automation operating system that was being developed at Microsoft Research in the early 2010s.[1][2] Microsoft Research announced the project in 2010.
Developer | Microsoft Research |
---|---|
Working state | Unknown (as of October 2013) |
Official website | research |
HomeOS communicates with Lab of Things, a cloud-based Internet of Things infrastructure also developed by Microsoft.[3][4][5]
The slogan for the HomeOS project is "Enabling smarter homes for everyone."[6]
The HomeOS development team has written three sample applications that make use of multiple devices, including a "sticky media" app that plays music in parts of the house that are lit up, but not other rooms; a two-factor authentication app that uses audio from smartphones and images from a front-door camera to turn on lights when a user is identified; and a home browser for viewing and controlling a user's access to all devices in a home.[7]
Some staff who worked on the HomeOS project cited Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's focus on enterprise applications, productivity software, and cloud computing as the reason for the stalled development of HomeOS.[8]
References
- Dixon, Colin; Mahajan, Ratul; Agarwal, Sharad; Brush, A.J.; Bongshin, Lee; Saroiu, Stefan; Bahl, Victor (April 2012). "An Operating System for the Home". Microsoft Research – Publications. Microsoft. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- Foley, Mary Jo (10 September 2010). "Microsoft experiments with 'HomeOS' and home app store ideas". ZDNet. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- "Lab of Things Wiki". CodePlex. Microsoft. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- Higginbotham, Stacey (15 July 2013). "Microsoft pushes HomeOS further with Lab of Things, but where's the mobile angle?". Gigaom. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- Foley, Mary Jo (15 July 2013). "Microsoft adds a Lab of Things to its HomeOS". ZDNet. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- "HomeOS homepage".
- ""Microsoft's HomeStore: Home automation, with an iPhone-inspired twist"". zd.net. 7 October 2010.
- "Microsoft had a plan to automate your home before Apple and Google — but never did it". businessinsider.com. 4 December 2015.