The steady march of progress has brought all sorts of nifty and expensive toys into our homes.  Now, it seems it’s reached a point at which it’s brought things that are good at protecting our homes, too.  Do-it-yourself security systems recently got a nod from a New York Times expert.

With prices starting at around $200, these are things that just about everybody with a home should be able to afford.  Even better: the monitoring services don’t all cost an arm and a leg, and setup is truly something that people should be able to handle on their own.

John Biggs writes, “[N]ew ’security systems in a box’ use a combination of battery, wireless and cellular technology to make installation simple and quick for most homeowners.  Some systems can even bypass monitoring firms directly and contact the owner instead of a third party when the alarm is set off.”

A worst case scenario (judging from the few DIY products Biggs covered): you’re out $25 a month, or the price of a really cheap cell phone contract, for monitoring, and you lose two hours of your life sticking stuff to doors and windows.

Given the direction the economy’s going, protecting your possessions in this manner might not be a terrible idea.

Popularity: 3% [?]