Zatz Not Funny! | Smart Home

Philips Dusk to Dawn CFLs

Both my wife and my HOA have told me I need to keep our outdoor lighting on at night. While I’m not entirely sold on the rationale and am a reluctant switch flipper, I am a dutiful husband and neighbor.

When flourescents first got attention, I bought into their allure and outfitted my condo in early generation CFLs. Of course, as most folks in my situation quickly realized, this new fangled tech wasn’t all it was cracked up to be – dim, buzzing, slow lighting, lesser lifespans than equivalent incandescents, questionable cost/benefit, etc. So these days I’m much more judicious in how and where I apply fluorescent lighting. And I’d originally identified relatively inexpensive Ikea LEDs for my outdoor lighting project, consisting of four sconces, with intentions of leaving the fixtures on 24/7. Yet, at some point, I came across the Philips Dusk to Dawn CFL on Amazon… and changed up the plan. The 60-watt equivalent bulbs run $7-$8 each and feature a rotating light sensor, with the thought being that the bad guys will assume someone is home as lights go on and off. Also, I was hopeful these might be better suited for outdoor use.

Having run the Philips CFLs a few months,

While Uber is generally known as the modernized, Internet-connected car service, a friend-of-a-friend has discovered it can also be used for efficient local delivery. Of course, the rates may exceed a specialized service like Takeout Taxi and your driver may object, but the courier/delivery possibilities seem nearly endless. And the Southern Californian in question had a driver arrive at his home at which point he requested the car drive off to buy and deliver a pack of smokes. Which he did. Score?

LightSpeaker 2: The Imaginary Sonos & Nest Lovechild

Within the last week, both Sonos and Nest released new products. And, while each is somewhat compelling in its own right, I can’t say I’m in the market for either.

First, Nest has beautified and modernized another mundane home appliance. But the connected Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector runs a lofty $129 and, with 5 existing detectors, I don’t care enough to spend the kind of money needed to outfit my house. Further, unlike the Nest Thermostat, there’s no potential energy savings to offset and perhaps mentally justify the cost. Lastly, for reasons unknown, my Nest Thermostat has a tendency to reboot and the motion sensor hasn’t been very responsive — neither of which motivates me to entrust my safety to Nest, despite the Protect’s imminent UL endorsement.

Sonos, by comparison, has released a $199 speaker… which almost makes the multi-sensor Nest Protect appear a reasonable proposition. But Sonos has never been inexpensive and the connected speaker market has featured outrageous pricing across the board these last few years. But ya gotta pay to play, and like my TiVo Mini, I’ve been willing to drop the cash on the best solution irrespective of a company’s profit margins. If I hadn’t recently outfit a couple more rooms with the $299 Play:3, I’d have saved some coin and went with the new and more attractive Play:1.

But what if these two companies hooked up…

Digital Media Bytes

A periodic roundup of relevant news… via our other outlets: Comcast Debuts Family Messaging App Comcast Corp. has quietly launched a new family text messaging and calendaring app for iOS and Android mobile phones. Dubbed Family Point, the app offers private text and voice messaging in a timeline format, similar to a Twitter or Facebook … Read more

Wireless WeMo Light Switch Hits Retail (For $50)

First unveiled at CES, the Belkin WeMo Light Switch is finally ready for its closeup… and the WiFi accessory will be hitting retail outposts any day now for $50. Of course, WeMo is Belkin’s attempt to bring home automatation to the masses with broad distribution and an IFTTT approach. And while WeMo is another self-contained … Read more

Do You Need A Smart Lock?

Evan Moore, friend of ZNF, has penned a post on the upcoming wave of so-called smart locks. While this home automation concept isn’t new, a variety of startups are attempting to take the tech mainstream — more accessible and with improved aesthetics. So Evan’s pulled together a comparison matrix that breaks down the features of Kevo, August, … Read more

AT&T Intros Box With Many Antennae

“In case of online attack, please use the emergency shutoff valve.” -Ed Bott

Digging The Fitbit Aria WiFi Scale (But Haven't Lost Any Weight)

fitbit-aria

After four months with the Fitbit Aria WiFi Smart Scale ($130), I haven’t shed any significant weight. However, should I find the motivation to improve my fitness and diet, I do believe the Aria will provide an attractive and effective mechanism for tracking my progress. But let’s back up a bit…

As our homes and appliances collectively gain sentience via Internet connectivity, health gadgetry has become something of hot topic. The current crop of digital pedometers doesn’t do much for me, but a WiFi scale with automated tracking and charting is appealing. In this burgeoning new category, there are basically two manufacturers to choose from: Withings and Fitbit. And I went with the Fitbit Aria primarily because it clocked in $30 cheaper than Withings (at the time) and Fitbit has decent buzz due to the success of those aforementioned activity trackers (that don’t do much for me). So, while Withings may have a more sophisticated display, at the end of the day I’m just looking for two numbers — weight and body fat percentage. Assuming both products provide similar accuracy, which I can’t definitively address.