I enjoy steak, but for some reason its always better in a fancy steak house than it is at home. I have gotten pretty good at cooking it the way I like, but its never quiet the same twice. After asking once at a fancy steak house how they got […]
Home Automation and smart home gadgets are great, but they can be expensive especially when you need a bunch of them to get this working the way you would like. Recently I had a chance to try out a Nine dollar Smart WiFi Mini Plug from VANZAVANZU. The switch is […]
I have been using Amazon Echo devices in the house for a while, I have a Amazon Echo, a couple of Echo Dot’s and the FireTV so I avoided Amazon’s new offering of the Spot as I thought it was just another Echo! I recently got the chance to try […]
Have you ever imagined what its like to live in a multi million dollar home? How about one that has been fully outfit with the latest and greatest smart home automation gear from professional companies like Crestron. I recently had the chance to tour this amazing smart home with Chris […]
This week was Google’s annual developer conference and during the keynote Google demonstrated that they are not moving away from AI like that seen in the Google Assistant. In fact I would say they are going full speed ahead as it is becoming part of everything they do. Here is […]
So I have never been one for security cameras, I always felt if there were security cameras, there must be something wrong! But seems I am in the wrong and for good reason as more and more of my neighbours have been installing them with only positive things to say. […]
Smartthings home automation is one of the best hubs you can buy. If you are looking to make your home a smart home this is a simple place to start. In September 2012 SmartThings secured $1.2 million through a Kickstarter campaign. In August 2014, SmartThings announced that they had reached an agreement to […]
So typically my blog is reserved for technology and home automation reviews, but our new puppy seems to have taken everything over. He is a welcome addition to the family, even if he has been waking me up at 5am! Meet Mylo! So if you are thinking of a new […]
So you have your smart home automation up and running, now it’s time to really expand using a Zwave mesh network! Zwave is a low-energy wireless protocol that is very common with home automation devices and makes up a large part of the IOT marketplace. Hubs like SmartThings, Wink and […]
So you have openHAB up and running, now what? Time to create some rules and make things happen. Traditionally creating rules in openHAB has been accomplished using config files written in a form of programming language. They are fairly simple, but can be pretty intimidating for someone just getting started. […]