Remotely Possible

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Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 16, 2016  | 
iPort’s new xPress Audio Keypad is a small, low-power Wi-Fi-equipped keypad that can be set up to control any Sonos device directly. The keypad offers some of the most commonly used functions, such as Play/Pause, Track Forward, Volume Control and toggling through Sonos Favorites.
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Aug 29, 2018  | 
Less than a week before the CEDIA Expo 2018 is set to begin in San Diego, Sonos has taken the wraps off of the company's all-new Amp. Replacing the CONNECT:AMP, one of Sonos's earliest products (originally called the ZP120) that has been in its lineup for 12 years, the Sonos Amp is more than twice as powerful (125 watts per channel) and features an entirely revamped design—both on the inside and the outside—enabling it to be used in more custom applications (including powering up to 4 speakers in stereo or mono, a feature often requested by custom integrators) and within more decors (as well as AV racks) than its predecessor. In addition to more power...
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 29, 2015  | 
Sonos is already the king of the hill when it comes to “filling your home with music” (a.k.a., wired and/or wireless multi-room streaming audio systems that are convenient, easy-to-use, and sound great). But later this year, when the company rolls out the “all-new” new PLAY:5 and the absolutely stunning room-acoustic-tuning technology, called Trueplay, Sonos is likely to become—like Kleenex®, BAND-AID®, and Xerox®—synonymous with the entire product category it helped create.

 |  Jan 09, 2016  | 
Although not as buzzy as at last year’s CES, smart light bulbs, locks, thermostats, and pet feeders were still well-represented this year. Rather than overwhelm attendees with a bunch of new products and hubs, Nexia highlighted the fact that the company “is one of the oldest and most established smart-home pioneers with nearly a decade of experience with systems in hundreds of thousands of homes.” But, as I asked them, what has Nexia done for me lately?
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 09, 2017  | 
The stupidest thing about most smart homes is that you have to fire up your smartphone any time you want to do something as simple as remotely opening a lock or turning a light on or off. Don’t get me wrong. I like my smartphone. But the reason why I wear a Martian Aviator smartwatch is because I like my smartphone to stay in my pocket and only make an appearance when I absolutely need to use it. (Of course, since I’ve been keeping it in my pants pocket, maybe I should be looking into getting a pair of Spartan Boxer Briefs…) The problem is that the smart device industry has ignored the dire need for small, simple input devices that are portable, don’t require a hard-wired power connection, and are compatible with a wide range of smart home systems. French automation company, NodOn, appears to have cornered the market—and, unlike what usually happens when one company has a near total domination of an industry segment, when NodOn’s smart devices become available in the US market within the next few months, they promise to be quite affordable.

Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 09, 2017  | 
I’ve written about NuBryte before because of the company’s unique and beautiful TouchPoint color touch-screen consoles that fit in single- or double-gang junction boxes, replacing existing light switches—and the company continues to be noteworthy...
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 05, 2017  |  First Published: Jan 06, 2017  | 
NuBryte, a relative newcomer to the smart home automation playground, is adding to and expanding on the company’s initial NuBryte Touchpoint touchscreen console with more flexibility in applications plus less expensive add-on, non-touchscreen light switches.

NuBryte’s Touchpoints combine many of the most...

Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 07, 2016  |  First Published: Jan 08, 2016  | 
Anyone who ever writes about consumer electronics—especially at shows like CES and CEDIA—runs the risk of praising a really cool product that, unfortunately, never sees the light of day. (It’s also the curse of anyone who covers Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns.) So I’ll begin this post with the following caveat: I have no idea whether or not the folks at Senic in Germany will be able to bring their Nuimo “Universal Control for Your Smart Home” to life as a real, honest-to-goodness product. But I sure as hell hope they do.
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Nov 08, 2013  | 
Several months ago, Win Jeanfreau, the Founder/Director of Aperion Audio, asked if I would take a listen to the company’s Allaire ARIS Wireless Speaker System. Technically, the Allaire ARIS isn’t a new wireless speaker system from Aperion. It’s been available for a little over a year. In fact, we ran a very favorable review of the ARIS in October of 2012. So what gives? This is an industry that thrives on the newest, the latest, and anything that can lay claim to being enhanced, upgraded, or otherwise improved.
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Feb 10, 2016  | 
Except for the Nest Protect and First Alert’s Onelink Wi-Fi Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Alarm, smoke alarms (and their common live-in companions, carbon monoxide detectors) aren’t super-exciting to talk about. Of course, there’s the usual “pre-order yours now” coming-soon cadre of smart smoke/CO detectors clambering for attention. I’ll be one of the first to admit that these two shipping-soon smart smoke/CO alarms do look pretty damn awesome: 1) the Birdi (that includes “unique environmental sensing” to protect occupants “against pollen spikes, allergen outbreaks, harsh UV & emergencies” and supposedly “predicts air pollution and even when it will rain or snow — down to the minute — at your exact location”); and 2) the Halo+ (that offers “an embedded weather radio [that] keeps you informed in the event of a weather threat like a tornado or hurricane.”) In general, though, fire alarms are dull and boring—and a lot of times highly annoying. Batteries suffer from the same lame, yawn-inspiring existence. So you’d think that a battery (snore…) made for smoke/CO detectors (better make that a double espresso…) wouldn’t be the sort of thing you’d want to spend the next several minutes reading about. You should, though, because the new Roost Smart Battery is a unique Wi-Fi-equipped 9-volt battery that just might save your life.
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 08, 2015  | 
When it comes to digital technology, being an early adopter is almost always painful. There’s the time and energy required during the initial learning curve, the (sometimes ridiculous) expense of the gear, and the discovery of bugs that inevitably need to be squashed. Of course, there are plenty of benefits to being on the cutting edge...
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 12, 2018  | 
PicoBrew says its the "maker of the world's first line of craft beer brewing appliances"—and who I am to say that it's not?
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Apr 03, 2017  | 
By the time you read this, it may already be too late to stop it.

And your ISP may have just logged the fact that you landed on a page containing a discussion about online privacy.

Paranoid? Well, yes, but with good reason...

Darryl Wilkinson  |  Nov 08, 2017  | 
Family photos and videos are a funny thing. Other than the dozen or so you might have framed and hung on a wall or sitting on a desk, the majority of your family pictures are probably stored in photo albums, cardboard boxes, or hard drives. It’s nice to know that they’re there, so you can relive those memories at some later time in life. The best time to reminisce with your photos is during family get-togethers, reunions, or holidays.
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 15, 2016  | 
PRO Audio Technology brought things down a notch from their normal spectacularly over-the-top demos by showing off an all in-wall/in-ceiling (except for the subs) 9.2.4 Dolby Atmos system that’s slightly more affordable—but still “over the top”. The system consisted of three SCRS-26im “invisible mount loudspeakers”, with each one incorporating two 6-inch woofers and a one-inch compression driver mounted on an elliptical constant directivity horn. The side and rear channels used six SCRS-6im in-wall speakers with the same drivers as the front channels but with a single woofer instead of two. Pro Audio says the SCRS-26im loudspeakers are capable of 114 dB maximum output. The SCRS-6im loudspeakers are capable of a max output of 116 dB.

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