I recently found out about BugLabs. They have a fantastic uber-gadget, which is essentially a submicrocomputer base with USB ports, ethernet and so on, running Linux, into which you can plug various modules. There are about 80 gadgets on their roadmap such as screens, cameras, motion sensors and the like.
You take the base system, then snap on the components you need, creating your own unique gadget in real-time. If my eldest son sees this thing, I am in big trouble, he’ll want a dozen and would have ideas for a hundred more modules! There is an SDK to develop apps and BugLabs are driving the growth of a development community around it. The APIs and connections are open, you can download the specs from their site, so anyone can create modules and applications for it.
If you want to see more, there are a set of videos:
I can see how you could end up with a few hundred of these around the house doing everything from security to environmental monitoring. Their viral videos and blog are quite cool too!
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