Smart Home

Amazon Readies Alexa “Guard” Mode

Taking a page from professional home monitoring services and DIY glass break sensors, Amazon is readying Alexa “Guard” mode to place our Echo hardware into a new sort of listening mode while we’re out and about as the company continues to flesh out their home automation platform. And the Alexa app has just been updated … Read more

Nightstand Voice Assistants Deeply Discounted

Competing Google Assistant and Alexa-powered nightstand assistants are on sale today. While I’m reluctant to bring the stylish Echo Spot into our bedroom, given its video conferencing camera, the full-color 2.5″ touchscreen is a source of frequent temptation. And, at a discounted $99, available in white or black, it’s not a bad deal for what … Read more

The Amazon Echo Button Tease

As with so many things ‘Alexa’ the Amazon Echo Buttons, at a mere $14 for two, are tantalizing close to greatness. Initially introduced as a gaming accessory (meh), the Alexa platform was updated a few weeks ago to allow the buttons to trigger smart home routines. Awesome! Or so I thought. It turns out the … Read more

Amazon Alexa Grows Up

For those looking to automate their homes, the Amazon Alexa platform took great strides this week with significant “Routine” enhancements. While some were fired up by location-based triggers, I can’t say I’ve experienced consistent reliability over the years with geofencing. However, two new conditions make all the difference as I look to standardize on a … Read more

Arlo Goes 4K (for a price)

The mysterious Arlo Gen 5 discovered last month has been revealed as the Arlo Ultra. And, based on an early 2019 release date, missed an anticipated holiday launch. Not only has Arlo’s styling been enhanced, the Ultra is more powerful on all fronts — with 4K video, wider field of view, dual microphones, and a built-in … Read more

Arlo Pet Tracker To Intelligently Monitor Furry Friends

Along with the new Arlo Gen 5 wirefree camera, the Netgear spinoff is also poised to unveil a somewhat curious pet tracker. As they already promote pet-friendly video monitoring, perhaps this collar tag isn’t an entirely unusual pivot… And, as one Twitter buddy suggests, it’ll likely integrate with the Arlo video line to include/exclude those … Read more

Amazon Recalls Bricked Cloud Cam(s)

Can’t tell you how many devices this applies to, but Amazon wants my buddy’s Cloud Cam back.

About two weeks ago, he had told me the WiFi camera died. He attempted a factory reset, but no love. He hadn’t found time or energy to follow-up with Amazon when, out of the blue, he received a voicemail and an email “message from Amazon’s Engineering Team” (device-recovery@amazon.com) this week stating:

I was calling to talk about one of your Cloud Cam devices. I’d like to get you a replacement Cloud Cam device as soon as possible at no additional cost to you. Additionally, I would like to schedule a pick-up to have the original device delivered to our lab for analysis.

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