As many of y'all know, we're preparing for a move to Seattle in June. As part of the prep work, I'm getting rid of some of the clutter we've picked up in our 16 years of marriage and life in Texas. To inspire me, I've started watching "Tidying up … [Read more...]
Life in a Google Home and what it says about the smart home
In mid-December, my family went cold turkey on Alexa in both our kitchen and living room. Alexa still reigns in the bedrooms, but we removed the Echo Show to try out life with a Google Home, as we had been growing increasingly frustrated with Alexa's … [Read more...]
Can you install smart switches if your home doesn’t have neutral wires?
This week's question from the IoT Podcast Hotline likely applies to many people, or at least, those that have older homes. On the podcast, our caller asks if he can make a 50-plus-year-old house a little smarter. The problem? The home's electrical … [Read more...]
A look back at smart devices I have loved
Last week, I was pretty hard on the state of the smart home. And so this week, at the prompting of one of my Twitter followers, I decided to take a look at all of the connected devices that I have tried over the last five years and share what works … [Read more...]
Lennar’s bet on the model smart home
The home was like hundreds of others located in planned communities across the state of Texas. Limestone and wood on the exterior and browns and beige throughout. But if you lived there, you could open your front door by simply touching its hardware. … [Read more...]