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Some services available to the SmarthomeSystem make use of Activex controls, so they can only run on Windows. These services are implemented by Smarthome Servers running on various machines in the house. While these servers share a common code base, the functions that they implement on each machine can be customized.
 
A Smarthome Server running on a machine is designed to be as "thin" as possible - they provide a service to the rest of the network and do as little local processing as possible.
 
Currently the following functions are available:

• VideoCapture - access to a video capture card or QuickCam.
• MicrosoftAgent - an animated character user interface with voice synthesis and recognition.
• ChatClient - an instant messaging like interface to the Smarthome Conversational Interface.
• LynxX10Interface - the ability to send and receive X10 signals over the power lines.
• OneWireInterface - the ability to control OneWireDevices.

 
For more info about how the Smarthome Server got started, see SmarthomeServerHistory.