The cost will vary depending on the type of equipment you choose to purchase for your setup. If you know a bit about computers and understand connections etc you can probably do it. One of the most important points is to make your setup secure so that it is not open for others to see and get on. Here is a pretty good guide, if you do some google searches there is a wealth of info on this topic and on the equipment to use. For wireless I suggest always going with the newest technology available it will be more secure. And here is the guide by microsoft. http://www.microsoft.com/athome/moredone/wirelesssetup.mspx http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/learnmore/bowman_05june13.mspx this one has pictures of components http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1428 when you are considering your components do searches for them on a site like newegg.com, there you can read the specs for the item and also a list of comments about that item by actual owners. Here is a link that might be useful: guide

Ellie, Go for you. I took the liberty of tagging the other threads here for you. Now members will have a single portal to all four of your same topic threads, and you will only have to keep one alive if need be. One thread is historically the best way to go. First thread: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/comphelp/msg0705045516743.html?35 Second thread: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/comphelp/msg0713354729000.html?4 Third thread: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/comphelp/msg070451503251.html?7 DA

That is an old thermostat. I have never seen a thermostat with soldered connections! Is the HVAC system the same age as the thermostat? If it is I would love to see pictures of that too. If you have heating and cooling, and you can control the fan, then you need at least 4 wires (Power, heating, cooling, and fan). If you have independent transformers for heating and cooling, then you need two power connections which makes 5 wires. It is difficult to tell how this thermostat is connected. Do you have any documentation? Can you trace the wires back to the furnace and AC? At the very least you will have to figure out the function of each wire. See if the terminals are marked at either end. I don't think the color of the wire is going to help. Most WiFi thermostats required a ground connection. I can't tell if this thermostat has one or not. I am not aware of any WiFi thermostats selling for $100.

" Why spend the money if you do not want the gadgets " Because often the appliance you want for all the other right reasons, also comes with WiFi attached. Agreed. I am so picky about the overall design of things. sometimes the only things that tick all the boxes also happen to be smart. I spend the money because I get all of the design and performance things I want, and I don't have to connect it to the internet if I don't want to. as for updates: usually those are in regards to security, but if you don't have it connected, then you don't need updates. re: TVs-- we chose not to connect ours to the internet because that brand (Samsung) had major security flaws at the time we bought it. but it's otherwise a really nice TV. like dadoes, we treat it like it's a giant monitor hooked up to our Fire TV. now that we no longer have cable, the fire TV remote controls everything. it's so slick.