A few weeks back, I wrote about the decision to retire my Wink Hub. At the time I figured I'd just plug the Samsung SmartThings Link USB stick I previously bought into my Nvidia Shield TV, which turns that set-top box into a SmartThings Hub. But word … [Read more...]
Google Assistant updates unify the smart home and make it smarter
After showing off plans for ambient computing and on-device voice processing at Google I/O in May, Google began to deliver on those strategies. At its Made By Google event in New York City, the company announced updated devices for the smart home and … [Read more...]
Building a new home? Wire it up for the smart home of tomorrow.
On our most recent IoT Podcast, Judy called into our hotline and asked if it makes sense to install wired ethernet in a new home she's having built. And specifically, she's wondering if she should even consider locations such as her garage for wired … [Read more...]
Hello Mistral: Google Nest WiFi expected to include Google Assistant capabilities
Back in November of last year, I posed the idea of merging Google Wifi with the Google Assistant. I doubt the company took my input into consideration, but it appears that this is exactly what is happening. According to 9to5 Google's sources, we'll … [Read more...]
Where does your connected device data go? Firewalla tells you that and more.
If you’re reading this post, chances are you have one, if not several, IoT devices in your home. So how do you know that these connected devices are sending your data to the servers that you’d expect? The companies that make our video doorbells, … [Read more...]