Make shows off how to build your own version of that device that's a little smarter and more useful. Make's guide uses an Arduino so you can set specific sound pattern for each outlet in your house.

For prototyping, Infineon has a RGB LED lighting control shield for Arduino, based around its ARM Cortex-M0 XMC1202 microcontroller. On board is something called a ‘brightness colour control unit’ ...

For one, the sound doesn’t directly control the solid state relay used in the fan controller. When the microphone equipped Arduino detects enough noise, it will start a timer that keeps the fan ...

“RasPiO Night Light is motion-activated RGB light that lights your way in the dark. It’s a lovely build-it-yourself kit designed to be gorgeous to look at and fun to build, use and tweak.” ...