Home Zone: Personal Tracking for Mac via Bluetooth

Ever wish your Mac knew you just a little bit better? Maybe you wish it knew when you were home, when you are away, or when you are just that little bit too far from it. If so this might be your solution. Home Zone is a beta app from Metaquark, the guys who brought us the brilliant Aurora alarm clock app. Home Zone is an easy to use tool, that tells your Mac what to do if something happens with a network connection, or a Bluetooth device goes in or out of range.

For example my current setup with the app turns my screensaver on, and music off when I take my mobile out of Bluetooth range. Then, when it comes back into range, the screensaver turns off. Handy no?

It can also change certain settings when you move from one network (home) to another (school). It does everything in the list shown in the image at left, some of which are useful for when you walk away from your mac (enable screensaver, pause iTunes etc). Others are geared more towards when you completely change locations, like setting your default printer. Multiple triggers are also allowed, so for example, when you are connected to network x, and phone y is in range, stop the screensaver. This makes it extremely customizable, and useful on many different levels.

The interface is simple and easy to use, a la the iTunes edit window, allowing multiple rooms, and multiple triggers/actions for each room. As I said this app is currently only in beta, but it’s looking very promising, and it really does what it is meant to. Growl integration is also a very welcome feature.

All in all a pleasant and useful app to be released likely as shareware in the near future. Give the public beta a shot, available for free from Home Zone, and see if it’s not something you might use as well.