Many people think of home automation as their PC running their home.
However, that is not always the case. Even if there's no single PC running things, there are often many tiny, invisible computers running various appliances. So a home can still have some automation in it, even if it's not, strictly speaking, automated. My coffee maker is a little more sophisticated. It can be set to start at a specific time so that I can have fresh coffee brewing when I get up in the morning.