You can use your old laptop to make a smart home hub

You can repurpose an old laptop as a Home Assistant hub, an open-source platform that integrates Philips Hue, Google Nest, Ring, Sonos, Ecobee, and other brands into a single local control center. Home Assistant runs on modest hardware, requires a constant power source and a stable Ethernet connection, and can automate tasks such as turning on a coffee maker when an alarm is dismissed or dimming lights when a movie starts. The laptop’s battery condition must be checked or removed to ensure continuous operation.