You use Siri to search for directions, to find nearby pizza shops and to send hands-free text messages, but wouldn’t it be nice to also use Siri for home automation or home control? Sure, there are some patchwork ways to do that, namely with apps like IFTTT and some clever hacking, but I’ve found those […]
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Updated. Originally published March 2014. There are a lot of smart things in this review. Unfortunately, I’m not one of them. In the case of this test I was probably the dumbest thing in the room. I’ve setup a number of smart home hubs (like this one and this one), programmed my own Control4 system […]
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If someone asked you to name the electronic device that has undergone the most dramatic transformation over the last decade, you might be tempted to say the cellphone. You may be right, but if you said the lock on your front door, you’d make a pretty compelling case. The fact is, the last 10 years […]
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Looking to build a security system? Here are some things to consider to help you monitor and protect your home.
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A few years ago I wrote an article about how nice it would be if I had a way of checking on the status of my garage door when I was away from home. The reason, of course, was that I came home from a weekend away and found that I’d left the garage door […]
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If you’re like 37.9 percent of the people surveyed by Piper, then your home security plans while on vacation amount to nothing more than locking the door on your way out (without even a smart lock). While 16.8 percent reported using a professionally installed security system, most everyone else who was asked responded that they […]
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Philips Hue is the most attention-getting, and probably the most popular, smart lighting product on the market. Philips Hue lights change color (well, most of them) and can be controlled with the Hue app and lots of other apps, and can also be integrated into DIY and professionally installed smart home automation systems. Today the […]
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These home control systems offer built-in Z-Wave Plus and a better performance than its predecessor.
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The latest smart lock features support for HomeKit and Thread, as well as WiFi and Bluetooth.
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Kwikset’s Kevo Bluetooth (BLE) smart locks for doors can finally integrate with home automation systems thanks to a new Home Connect Bridge that translates ZigBee and Z-Wave commands into Bluetooth for controlling the lock. When Kwikset introduced arguably the first Bluetooth door lock a few years ago, it didn’t do all that much. It didn’t […]
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