I am glad home assistant (HA) gets some exposure. I run it in a VM on a proxmox server (because I use it for other stuff), it works like a charm. If you only need HA buy the dedicated hardware they sell or buy a mini PC.
For my lights and switches (via the wall module), I am 100% Philips hue which is expensive but make the best smart lights money can buy and works as expected locally even if the internet or my HA server were to go down.
Beware the rabbit hole of home automation though
Funnily enough I went to the article because I guessed that it would have literally formed overnight by some surface movement originating from within the moon not some external cause.
And I believe my guess is as good as yours except in hindsight of course.
Then, when you're ready, setup home assistant but setup everything so basic functionality still works even if your server or internet went down.
My hue bulbs are at the center of this strategy with each bulb controlled by either a remote control or a hue movement detector. Hint: remote controls in rooms where you stay, sensors where you pass by or if you stay only a little while.
I can also control everything via Alexa and can't wait for the day there is a viable privacy-friendly / low-maintenance alternative (Home assistant are working on this). Again, if internet goes down, I still have the remotes/detectors so my lights always work.
Also, for any other equipment you would buy, make sure it's compatible with Matter.
Smart bulbs are the gateway drug to home automation, but they soon reveal themselves as a bad idea, at least if not coupled with a smart switch.
Think about this: if you have a smart bulb, but your light switch is off, there's no way to turn on that light. At the same time, if your bulb "state" is off, your light switch won't be able to turn it on.
You could JUST pair a smart bulb with a smart switch, and align their states.
Or skip smart bulbs altogether and make the switches smart - using Lutron Caseta or an equivalent solution.
Hue smart bulbs, by default (you can change this), will always turn back on after power loss/restoration. If it's off and you have a switch, you just toggle it twice and the light comes on.
I've found Hue bulbs to be one of the best purchases I've made. Being able to adjust color temperature and brightness arbitrarily does wonders for my circadian rhythm.
Hue just decided to start requiring an online account even for local control; I used to think they were the best option, but now I'd recommend avoiding them (even if you don't care about a needless account, consider that this most likely is step 1 to adding fees)
I honestly never understood why people even bothered using the official Hue bridge when Zigbee light link is an open standard with tons of both open and proprietary alternatives available.
I was also intrigued to see a real MRI scanner built with Legos. Also disappointed to see they only give away 600 of these. What's the total cost of this marketing campaign for Lego? $20k?
