Csilla and Tim Clark like to regularly go out for dinner and a show. But these days the show is their own living room—beamed remotely onto their cellphones. From their home in Wenham, Mass., cameras send the couple live images and monitors send text messages when the house gets too chilly.

Home-monitoring technology is coming to your cellphone. And your BlackBerry. And your computer. The technology is pitched mostly as a safety and security measure. But it’s also creating some obsessives who can’t stop checking on everything from indoor thermostats to whether the lights are on in the kitchen.

In October, AT&T launched a $9.95 monthly service called Remote Monitor that beams streaming video from homecams to cellphones, and can send customized text-message alerts whenever there’s movement in particular rooms. Companies such as QuietCare are capitalizing on the market for senior monitoring, creating elaborate programs that can email customers with updates on how many times their elderly relative visits the bathroom each day. Electronics retailer Best Buy is now selling a $15,000 home-monitoring system, ConnectedLife.Home, with features that include the ability to remotely turn on sprinklers or a washing machine.

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For more information on this and other real estate matters, your first source for Palm Beach real estate should be licensed agent and long-time resident Caesar Parisi.