I am delighted to see items marked in an old school way. These young whippersnappers though think they need to use the “FOR” mark, which would actually be used in a 2 FOR 99 scenario.
I’d probably do the same thing, though. It’s geeky cool.
Geek
HomeKit, Part 2.
The switch from Amazon’s Alexa to Apple’s HomeKit to handle our household technology needs is going mostly well. HomeKit hasn’t lost any devices or scenes and routines I’ve set up, but accessing them can be tricky. Apple has a “gap” in the device department; there’s nothing equivalent to the Echo Dot or Google Home Mini. I don’t want to buy a HomePod for the bathroom, but we like to listen to music and podcasts during our morning routine.
Another gap in the HomeKit device arena is an equivalent to the Google Home Hub. We tried having an iPad fill that role, but it’s just not the same. Google has knocked it out of the park in this area; Earl can ask the Home Hub for a recipe for something spectacular and a combination of audio commands and visual cues can take him through the recipe at his own pace. An iPad requires physical input, which is not convenient when your hands are covered in cooking oil or whatever. I haven’t found an iOS app that replaces the functionality of the Google Home Hub, so it’s back on the kitchen counter again. I’m thinking of installing a couple of freebie Google Home Minis in strategic locations in the house as well.
This takes us away from an all HomeKit setup but it helps keep costs down.
The other kicker of this conversion is that some of our home automation outlets are either HomeKit or something other than HomeKit, none of the controlled outlets we purchased will interface with both systems. I purchased a couple on Amazon that should be here tomorrow; hopefully they will work with both systems simultaneously. This way we can talk to Siri or the Google Home products when we need to.
My husband just asked that we don’t continue to use Alexa, because that seemed like it took the longest for anything to happen and we found Alexa to be the least reliable when responding to voice commands.
I’ll probably have a part three to this saga in the next week or so, but I’m learning that Home Automation is still well entrenched in the “early adopters” stream. I could never see my grandparents setting up something like this.
Updates.
Who knew there would come a day when updating software in our car would become a thing? I’m surprised the car doesn’t update itself, but it’s a fun little exercise.
Theme.
A live version of the “Charlie’s Angels” theme song. One of the best television theme songs of all time.
There better be a nod to the original theme song in this movie coming out at the end of the year.
PixMob.
So last night the family went to Allstate Arena to see Shawn Mendes. He is touring on “The Tour” and puts on a good show. I’m not a huge fan of his music but he exhibits a decent amount of talent, has a good voice that doesn’t sound electronically modified too much, and puts a lot of energy into his performance.
When we were entering the arena we were all given white wrist bands with little LED lights in them. I thought these were to be used in place of lighters of the old days, but it turns out they didn’t turn on when we removed the battery protector. There were no switches.
Made by PixMob, these little bracelets lit up as Shawn took the stage and for the next 90+ minutes, our bracelets were part of the performance’s light show. They twinkled. They flashed. Waves of color danced over the crowd for the entire performance.
I was captivated by this technology.
According to Wikipedia, the bracelets are controlled by infrared signals, much like the remote control on your television.
It’s not the most productive use of technology in the world but it was impressive and it contributed to the positive energy of the show. And these days we need all the positive energy we can get.
Chromed.
I’ve never really been a fan of Google’s Chrome browser. There’s just something odd of trusting all of your browsing activity to a browser made by a company that relies on user data and ad revenue as its primary revenue source. Here’s an excellent article that recently appeared in The Washington Post that explains many of my concerns without getting too lost in the technobabble.
What was a little surprising to me was that organizations like health insurance companies and school loan facilitators are also in on the tracking business.
My tests of Chrome vs. Firefox unearthed a personal data caper of absurd proportions. In a week of Web surfing on my desktop, I discovered 11,189 requests for tracker “cookies” that Chrome would have ushered right onto my computer but were automatically blocked by Firefox. These little files are the hooks that data firms, including Google itself, use to follow what websites you visit so they can build profiles of your interests, income and personality.
Chrome welcomed trackers even at websites you would think would be private. I watched Aetna and the Federal Student Aid website set cookies for Facebook and Google. They surreptitiously told the data giants every time I pulled up the insurance and loan service’s log-in pages
That’s just creepy.
Missions.
My dreams are usually very vivid. Over the 23+ years we’ve been together Earl has been repeatedly surprised that I can recall my dreams upon waking in the morning. I have many, many pages of journals where I’ve written things down. Often my dreams linger with me throughout the day, but like any experience in life, some have more of an impact than others.
Apparently I’ve been watching too much “Star Trek: Voyager” (though I am really enjoying watching the entire series again). Last night I was assuming command of a brand new Intrepid-class starship under the leadership of Admiral Janeway herself. She was pleased to see the launch of another ship like Voyager, though this ship would have improved technology based on the enhancements and data gathered while Voyager was in the Delta Quadrant. I’d be taking the ship and her crew to the Gamma Quadrant. We had a very nice launch party with music playing, Starfleet officers milling about, and family and friends wishing us well. My dream even included use of the transporter as seen from my vantage point as I was beamed upon the new ship.
I woke up feeling energized (ha!) and wonderful. Thank the stars for my ability to recall and enjoy my dreams.
It’s just as fun as the Holodeck.
Homekit.
It’s a new era in our merry little household. For the first time in a number of years, one can confidently utter the word “Alexa” or “Google” without various devices scattered about binging and bonging while trying to be helpful.
The Amazon and Google ears have been decommissioned.
My husband and I have been working on little tech upgrades here and there and over the weekend he remarked, “it’d be really nice if we had one kind of computer with one service for the lights. I don’t want to talk to Google in here and Alexa in there and watch you haul around a Linux computer”.
We’ve decided to go all in on Homekit, Apple’s Home Automation platform. I know that some have had uneven experiences with Homekit but it has always been solid with us. The only reason we added Alexa and Google to the mix was so we could talk to thin air and have something happen.
“Hey Siri!” gives us this option as long as we have a iPhone or iPad within our shouting range. Since we always have our device on us, this is working for us.
When we first moved into the condo here in Chicago it was my intention for us to be an all Homekit home but then we started buying cheaper smart plugs that were only compatible with Alexa. I’ve been doing some network monitoring and the smart plugs are quite chatty with non-U.S. IP addresses. I don’t know why my smart plug feels the need to tattle around the world when I turn on a box fan, but it made me hyper aware of the security concerns around the Internet of Things.
I firmly believe Apple has the most secure offering in this arena.
Jamie had a decommissioned iPad Mini 2 that we have pressed into service as a Home Controller in the kitchen. I just need to find an older iOS device to play the same role in the bathroom, as we like music to play when we shower and the like, and then we’ll be golden. In the meanwhile we can use our phones.
I’m liking the doubling down on the Apple ecosystem. Believe it or not, it helps my focus for both personal and professional tasks. And for us, it just works.
And that’s all that matters to us.
Topsy Turvy.
So apparently the WordPress app on iOS no longer recognizes camera orientation when posting a photo.
I think it’s time for me to start finding a new platform to power this blog. WordPress feels like it’s not keeping up with the times.
Repair.
The power button on my iPad Pro has become mushy. Whatever makes it click has given up the ghost. So today I have an appointment at the Genius Bar at our local Apple Store.
