I’ve wired the garage to a Linux box. I found some code and instructions on how to persuade Linux to monitor the parallel port. I tweaked the code some and got it to run as a service. Then I tapped the phone line that runs to the garage and plugged it into the parallel port. Its a pretty clean install and didn’t require any additional holes into the garage. From the phone jack, I made an RJ-11 connector which branches out to a magnetic switch. When the garage opens, the switch opens and the Linux box records it.

In the end, its all kind of silly, but it is mildly practical too. We often leave the house and forget if we remembered to close the garage. Now we have a way to check from our cell phones or from the ‘net. I have NO plans to connect a garage door opener to the computer (although it wouldn’t be that hard at all to do).