This morning my sister, with whom I have an ongoing discussion around “smart device” privacy, sent me a link to Gizmodo’s “The House That Spied On Me”. As you can probably tell from the title, it’s mostly about how our connected devices collect and transmit information about us to The Cloud. Some of this is quite alarming, for e.g. Hulu […]
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SiliconDust recently upgraded their HDHomeRun (HDHR) CONNECT line of over-the-air (OTA) network tuners to include a $149 MSRP four-stream Quatro (HDHR5-4US) companion for the $99 MSRP two-stream Duo (HDHR5-2US) model. Both models feature 100Mb Ethernet, all new internals, and an attractive form factor. Updated silicon components should bring power savings, so if SiliconDust can also maintain the stability of the […]
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If you use an ISP provided, low-end, or older Wi-Fi router, the options for network management are often quite limited. There is simply no way to find out who is connected to your network or control which devices have access when. Devices which add this capability have recently started popping up on the market; each with a different set […]
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I love home automation (HA) because it allows me to make mundane tasks happen without any sustained intervention. Just setup a scene, and let the magic happen. Generally, this works great whether it is a scheduled event or something that is trigger driven. But, every so often I have a scene that requires more intelligence than is available out of […]
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The first time I went crazy with Z-Wave at my house, I had to build my own garage door controller. It was not hard, involving a Z-Wave switch, some components from Radio Shack and a door sensor – all tied together with a couple scenes. As I am sure you all know, time has been very kind to the home […]
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I have an older home. One thing about older houses is pull chain lights, many, many pull chains. Anyone who has walked around a basement in the dark or near dark fishing for a light pull chain can attest that it is a massive pain. After one stubbed toe too many, I turned to home automation as a lower cost […]
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I’ve been debating about whether I wanted to put the time into doing a proper review of our Neato Robotics Botvac D80 Robot Vacuum. Afterall, it kind of is a smart home device, and it’s really nice to not have to vacuum the house during the week… But on the other hand, it’s a vacuum cleaner. This will not be […]
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When I finished watching Person of Interest, I was on the prowl for a replacement. Lo’ and behold, someone mentioned that a new show might be able to fill that void called Wisdom of the Crowd. Skeptically optimistic, I scheduled and watched the premier this past Sunday and was simultaneously intrigued and let down with the results. Wisdom of the […]
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Ring offers a variety of different doorbell cameras, with options available for those without a doorbell ($200), power-over-Ethernet (PoE) ($500, I imagine for new builds or challenging wireless environments), and the Ring Pro for those with an existing low-voltage setup. The $250 (can be found for $190 occasionally) Ring Pro, is not quite in impulse buy territory. But, if it […]
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The trailer I watched for ABC’s new show The Good Doctor was pitiful, leading me to have little faith it would become part of my weekly lineup. Had I not been on the hunt for shows to review, I likely never would have watched the first episode. The trailer felt uninspired and shallow; just one more example of how Hollywood […]
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