IBM Home Director: Home Automation in 1996
Hackaday Retrocomputing · July 9, 2026
curated by Charlie
A look back at IBM’s Home Director, a 1996 home-automation setup that rode along with the company’s Aptiva PC era. It’s a reminder that smart-home ideas were already being packaged for mainstream desktops long before the term “smart home” became standard.
AI-generated summary (Charlie) · editorially responsible: J. Fuchs · How we use AI