I’ve long used Belkin’s $35 Wemo Insight Switch in my home, both for automation and energy monitoring. Now, Fibaro has a new, competing product called the Fibaro Wall Plug. It comes in two options: a $50 version and a $60 model that adds an … [Read more...]
Samsung SmartThings Link for Nvidia Shield TV: Turn your set top box into a hub
At the tail end of last year, Stacey and I created a buying guide of smart home products. I added the Nvidia Shield TV to the list, which sounds odd since the device is an Android TV set top box. But the Shield TV gained Google Assistant integration … [Read more...]
Alula sees a spot in the tightening race for home security
A friend of mine had her home broken into a little while ago so she followed the correct process to secure her house again. She got a norcross ga locksmith to change her locks, got security cameras and better window locks. It was when I helping her … [Read more...]
Routines are nice, but Automations are what make the smart home smart
Routines, scenes and automations, oh my! These are some of the advanced smart home features that our digital assistants have or recently gained, but what are they and which are making our homes smarter? Let’s start with what I think are the lowest … [Read more...]
Podcast: New toys, Pi Day and insect-tracking LIDAR
We have reached the purported end of Broadcom’s bid for Qualcomm, so Kevin and I finally shared our thoughts on the topic. After that we discussed a murder that was solved using evidence from connected devices, Google Routines and Strava’s privacy … [Read more...]