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Not sure I agree with the article's title. He's basically bad mouthing the entire smart home industry when this really seems like more of a Quirky/GE/Wink mess

Not sure I agree with the article's title. He's basically bad mouthing the entire smart home industry when this really seems like more of a Quirky/GE/Wink mess up. Literally every single product he tested is by them. I actually LOVE all of the stuff in my smart home! All I have is 6 hue bulbs, a Nest, and an Amazon Echo that I've programmed to control everything with my voice with the help of a Raspberry Pi. Nothing feels better than walking in after a long day and saying: "Alexa, turn on all the lights, color blue, brightness 9" "Alexa set nest to 72" Then sitting down on the couch and saying: "Alexa play some jazz music" pours bourbon If you're interested in this, check out my Alexa Home project alexaho.me or the YouTube video below) . I'm turning Amazon Echo into a smart home controller and people seem to be pretty jazzed about it. Frankly, if we can get stuff to work like this where it doesn't rely on your smartphone, people will use it a lot more. I also have a small switch next to my bed that turns on and off the overhead light and desk lamp in my room for when I don't have my phone on me. I think success in the home automation biz is going to be all about untying it from your smartphone... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AmxiGVBekE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AmxiGVBekE

smackfu 12y ago
Are you the only one using the system? That seems to be the big barrier to greater acceptance. Convincing everyone who lives in a house to not use the wall light switches is pretty hard. Heck, we basically leave our AV receiver on all the time because requiring someone to turn it on to watch TV is too big a step.
- thebiglebrewski 12y ago
  Yes, my roommate uses it too! But he's also in tech. I completely agree with you. We need more really cheap IoT light switches so everyone can easily get on board!

smackfu 12y ago

Are you the only one using the system? That seems to be the big barrier to greater acceptance. Convincing everyone who lives in a house to not use the wall light switches is pretty hard. Heck, we basically leave our AV receiver on all the time because requiring someone to turn it on to watch TV is too big a step.

thebiglebrewski 12y ago
Yes, my roommate uses it too! But he's also in tech. I completely agree with you. We need more really cheap IoT light switches so everyone can easily get on board!