Security

SVAT ISC200 Outdoor Imitation Security Camera with Blinking LED
$44.99
This fake would pass a close inspection as the real thing. Have had no unwanted visitors after installing this.

GE 50723 Motion Sensing Night Light
$11.99
Works well to light up a stair case. Kinda disappointing in that it doesn't use LED's.

Security Engineering: A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems
$70.00
Security Engineering 2nd ed. by Ross Anderson offers an accessible yet comprehensive introduction to the discipline. Chapters are modular in nature so it's not required to go straight through the book. Amateur to mid-level explanations of important security engineering topics (encryption, emsec, etc) are very illuminating.

My only complaint is that the editing seems a little rushed. For example there are several obvious typographical errors and sometimes the same sentence or choice of words are repeated verbatim when the author refers back to examples of a particular concept.

Skylink SC-100 Security System Deluxe Kit
$129.77
I'm using the skylink setup in my 1 br apartment (~1000 sq ft). I have the two magnetic sensors hooked up to the windows (rather than using one for the door), and the motion detector is covering the rest of the space. I imagine that you would need a few more motion detectors for a whole house. The detector is incredibly sensitive--I would expect a lot of false alarms if you have animals roaming around. I haven't had any problems with light or shadows triggering it though. It works well in the dark.

I've been happy with everything so far and it's been quite dependable. The keychain component is helpful since I prefer to set my alarm to "away" at night. This allows me to disarm from my bedroom and get up to have a glass of water, etc, in the apt. area that is in motion detector range.

The alarm is piercingly loud. I would say that the only downfall so far is how loud the system is when it arms. It lets out a couple (loud) short beeps that are probably annoying my neighbors a lot. The chime mode is equally loud, but it wouldn't be bad if I were using this in a larger space. Another minor disadvantage is the design of the magnetic sensors. My windows are oriented vertically and they can be opened from other side. I would technically need two of these sensors for each window to be thorough. Also, if my windows were locked, a burglar would be smashing the windows, not opening them. With that being said, I would recommend investing in more motion detectors and only using the sensors for doors (which is their intended purpose anyway).

This system was incredibly easy to set up. I'm not sure how difficult it would be to add additional components, but I expect that they would be no problem. Overall it is a great buy and will give you some peace of mind for a reasonable price.