Hello everyone, I just arrived on the forum: I’m Christian from Vichy, 64 years old, retired and strongly attracted to robotics and home automation. I wanted to start with HA but I came across videos by Pierre-Gilles that convinced me to start with Gladys for its « simplicity ». So I bought the starter kit and I’m starting to discover Gladys…
Hello @Chris75 and welcome to the forum!
Don’t hesitate to share with us what you’d like to do and if you need advice, we’re here 
Hello @Chris75 and welcome to the forum! 
We’re delighted to have you join the Gladys adventure.
You’ll see, there’s a lot to discover at first, but the community is here to help. Don’t hesitate to create a topic whenever you have a question or get stuck on something; there will always be someone to lend a hand.
Looking forward to following your first home automation projects with Gladys!
Hi @Chris75 and welcome! 
Continuation of the topic Getting Started with Home Automation:
Hello,
Welcome to the world of Gladys.
Even as a professional in computer science, I’m also a beginner in this field.
If I may offer a first small piece of advice, it’s to ask the community before buying devices. I have several unused devices because they are incompatible or too complicated to install.
Personally, I’m currently focusing on Zigbee components before moving on to other things. For now, Matter only half-convinces me as it’s still difficult to connect to the network without using mobile apps that I’m wary of.
Ah yes, another of my specificities is a chronic allergy to any disclosure of my personal data.
Enjoy discovering Gladys.
Indeed, I’m also having some pairing issues with Zigbee devices, and it turns out it’s not as simple as I thought!
Don’t hesitate if you have any questions @Chris75, there’s always someone to help