The good folks at Windfall Energy have sent me one of their interesting new plugs to beta test. OK, an Internet connected smart plug. What's so interesting about that? Our Windfall Plug turns on at the optimal times in the middle of the night to charge and power your devices with green energy. Ah! Now that is interesting. The proposition is brilliantly simple: Connect the smart-plug to your WiFi. Plug your bike / laptop / space heater into the smart-plug. When electricity is cleanest,…
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I have an ancient Roomba. A non-sentient robot vacuum cleaner which only speaks in monophonic beeps. At least, that's what I thought. A few days ago my little cybernetic helper suddenly started speaking! 🔊 💾 Download this audio file. Not exactly a Shakespearean soliloquy, but a hell of a lot better than trying to decipher BIOS beep codes. All of my electronics beep at me. My dishwasher screams a piercing tone to let me know it has completed a wash cycle. My kettle squarks mourn…
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After reviewing the X-Sense Home Security Kit, I decided to also review their wireless smoke alarms. As I said at the time, the interlinked alarms were great - but didn't connect to the hub. That means you have to be physically present in the home in order to hear the alarm. Well, X-Sense were listening! They've sent me the X-Sense Mini - it's a WiFi smoke alarm which integrates with the X-Sense app. That means that your phone receives a push notification when it is triggered. It connects…
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A bit of future-gazing which I can't be bothered spinning into a 15,000 word Gartner report. In the UK we have a competitive electricity market. Only one set of wires comes to your house, but you can buy your electricity from a number of providers. Some only offer organic, corn-fed, Wind Farm power - others promise price stability - another gives you a discount at their electric car chargers - one gives you loyalty points at a supermarket. We increasingly have smart meters. Second-by-second…
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My first QR code post of 2013! I'm a long term fan of QR codes. I know some people don't like the idea of augmenting reality with specific tags for computer vision - but I do. Some people prefer RFID/NFC. Others still prefer dedicated augmented video apps. As I've written many times before, QR codes have several substantial advantages over alternate technologies. QR is a free and open standard. Compatible with every phone with a camera. No need to build or use a dedicated…
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