Hello all ! My name is Luke and I am HA challenged.

I stumbled on to this forum while researching to buy a new controller. I have had an x10 lighting system in the past and have also tried a wireless camera system of theirs which was a total bust. I did have moderate success with the lighting but the switches seemed rather cheap and had some connectivity issues.
So I just built a new house and really want to get off on the right foot. I ran normal wiring to all the switches but also have cat5 and coaxial ran to every room. I plan on building the system as $$$ allows by adding switches, cameras, etc, as I go but really want to make sure I start with a good controller. I have both a Mac and a PC that could be used however I would probably prefer the Mac sense It doesn't have the issues with antivirus, anti-scam, etc. software. Also I would like to make sure that it would support a good security camera system, but am not sure how that whole process would work either.

Anyway if anyone could point me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it , and I look forward to chatting with you all.

Thanks

Luke

Did you put a Neutral Power connection in all the switch boxes?
Most automation switches need Neutral for power. Along with the LIne and Load wires.

Yep I ran 3/12 so they all have neutral

Don't limit yourself to Mac - as not many HA systems are Mac based, although a couple are.  A great resource to compare the software options would be above in the CocoonTech menus - under Resources, go to Home Automation Software.  Indigo is main Mac one I'm familiar with.
 
Another route to consider would be hardware as the primary platform, or a combination.  For instance, some popular options:

1. MiCasaVerde Vera
2. Elk M1 Gold
3. HAI OmniPro
4. ISY

Each has their strengths and components they work well together with - so knowing your overall HA goals should let you compare each option for strengths and weaknesses.
 
I chose the Elk platform as the primary controller, then I chose components that worked well with it - for instance, RCS thermostats and UPB for lighting.  Someday I may incorporate a little Z-Wave just for locks and motion sensors (for automation, not security).
 
You may also like the Insteon ecosystem - they have a solution for just about everything in the one solution; the main drawback is that they're single-vendor but the ISY controller is very powerful and flexible - and I don't think it cares what OS you interface with.
 
Either way - enjoy your reading and good luck!  And of course feel free to post any questions or thoughts along the way.

Ok so this is what I'm trying to figure out. So before When I had the X10 lighting control, I would hook up what I called the controller to the computer and then program it as I saw fit then I could plug it into the wall and my remotes and switches would all work. So I was leaning toward the ISY controllers thinking that they were similar but more power sense they use both power line and rf ??? I'm assuming. Anyway I have seen through the forums that many people use the elk system but when I look at there website it looks more like a card that is installed in a desktop. So does that mean that you PC is then your controller ??? Also I definelty would like to be able to see the status of the switches and components, via iPhone , iPad . So by saying that I would prefer Mac I am saying that if my computer is the controller I would think that it would have much less glitches and issues sense it's a Mac and not PC, but what does this mean with Elk , HAI, MiCasa, & ISY . Anyway I guess I' m a bit confused any help would be appreciated and thanks Work2play for previous comments

I don't remember a lot of programming in the X10 days - it was usually setting addresses; but I'm guessing you had a hardware controller that you could probably do timer events and whatnot...  I'm not nearly as familiar with ISY personally, but I'm familiar with the lineup of their products (just haven't programmed any).  Basically with all three systems, there's some sort of interface device between them and your computer or automation system... With UPB, this is a wall wart that has a serial cable that would connect to a PC.  Insteon is the same basic thing.  Z-Wave has, as I understand, some similar things that go to RF rather than directly onto the power line.
 
Insteon may or may not use more power - the amount of power the switches themselves consume is trivial, relatively speaking...  Insteon still uses a pretty weak powerline signal so the RF helps when Powerline fails, and also helps jump the gap between the phases in your electrical system.  UPB is just powerline but a much stronger and more reliable one (I could not get X10 to work at all in my last few homes - that's what lead me to UPB) and it's much more flexible and secure.  Z-Wave is completely RF and at the time when I really got into automation, it was still in its infancy.  That said, I'm still very happy with my UPB and wouldn't change it.
 
The Elk panel and the card you referenced - it's an XSP which is their serial expander - basically it's a card you attach to the Elk's databus which gives you a serial port - and you plug the Powerline Interface Module into that - instead of the computer.  I know in my case, I have 3 PIM's stacked - one to automation software; one to my Elk, and one for programming and messing around.
 
If you decide to use a Mac as the host for some software control solution, then you'd probably be looking at Indigo - but a Mac is expensive to sit around and do just that.  If you dedicate a computer to running your software, it doesn't matter if it's osx, Linux, or Windows - as long as you do a couple very basic things, it'll be a secure system.  Windows with automatic updates turned off and a firewall turned on will run for YEARS without issue and will open you up to so many more software options - just manually update once in a while when you're ready, and don't let anyone browse the web on it or play facebook games, and it'll never catch any bugs.  As far as what lives as the host, that's somewhat irrelevant to what you access the system with - there are control solutions that can be over your iphone, or many are managed from a browser, so they should work from safari just fine. 
 
If you are thinking of Insteon, with or without an Elk, definitely look at the ISY - it's a very powerful controller that will extend the functionality of your system well past what the Elk can do and it's still a hardware appliance that'll be a solid reliable performer, and it'll make the setup and maintenance of your Insteon devices much simpler.