Blog

RED Alert! Belkin Wemo smart plug v2 epic fail

Big time bad news for Belkin Wemo smart plug owners! Belkin Wemo smart plugs have a major security flaw. If you own one of these devices, you need to take immediate action to limit the security exposure or throw it in the garbage. According to 9to5Mac, a major...

The death of Insteon hub

Another one bites the dust.. Insteon, an early pioneer of smart home lighting controls, has gone out of business. Not exactly earth-shattering news, companies fail all the time. But this happened with no advance notice at all. Not even a few days, let alone a week....

Smart sprinkler controller – why buy?

Are you suffering from the irrigation shuffle? I don't have a smart sprinkler controller so this weekend I went through a well rehearsed routine for sprinkler maintenance: Walk to the garageOpen the dumb not smart sprinkler controller boxMove the mechanical dial to...

Smart Home perfection – the four c’s

Stick with the four c’s When I design a smart home automation system, I follow a holistic approach by addressing the four C’s: Interactive ControlLocal ControlRemote ControlAutomatic Control Interactive control The obvious and minimum capability for a smart home....

Smart home cleanup organizing secrets

Don't wait for Spring or Fall! Here are my favorite tips for smart home cleanup at any time of year.  Check And update firmware Everything seems to need firmware updates these days - even the darn toaster oven! Check all your devices - computers, smartphones,...

Touch screen on the wall?

Wall-mounted iPad touch screen interface Can't touch this! As our smart homes grow, it is tempting to turn to a wall-mounted iPad or touch screen for controlling everything. The allure is simple - a touch screen mounted to the wall is infinitely more configurable than...