Episode 80 - The Update Extravaganza

This week's HomeTech show is chalk-full of updates. We start out with some follow-up points on the not-so-rosy outlook for the KNX Association as they gear up to make a push into the US market. Following that conversation we discuss a number of recent updates on Crestron's Pyng, no doubt aiming to bring the platform back into the spotlight for CEDIA 2015. Speaking of Crestron, and of CEDIA, we also give a quick nod to Vincent Bruno, the former Crestron exec who was recently named CEO of the trade organization. 

Zooming out from the CEDIA channel, we close the show with a quick conversation about iOS 9, rumors of forthcoming products and features from Sonos, and a conversation about Amazon's new 4K FireTV, which quickly morphed into a conversation about the conspicuous absence of 4K on the new AppleTV. Go figure. 

We hope you enjoy the show. Be sure to stay tuned as we count down towards CEDIA EXPO, only a few short weeks away! As always we remind you that if you enjoy the show please take a moment to leave us a review on iTunes! We'd also love for you to consider becoming a patron of the show, more info on that here. We'll see you next week.

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Episode 79 - Everything But HomeKit

Home technology fans anxious to see HomeKit in the spotlight at Apple's recent 'Hey Siri' event were once again let down. While we could easily rant about the continual lack of movement on Apple's smart home initiative, who wants to kick a dead horse? We decided instead to focus this week's show on what Apple did unveil, and there was plenty. 

We discuss each of Apple's new product releases, and their implications, or lack thereof, on the home technology market. We take particular aim at the new AppleTV, a product that was long overdue for an update. The updated set top box is certainly an improvement over its predecessor, but it's not all roses (ahem... 4k anyone?).

While mostly focused on Apple, this episode is also rounded out with news from Lutron (yes, Lutron again!). We also discuss the recent push by KNX, a long-established European home automation protocol, to penetrate the US market. (We want to hear from our listeners overseas on this particular story. Tune in for more info and don't hesitate to let us know your thoughts). 

As always we hope you enjoy the show. If you find HomeTech to be a valuable resource please take a moment to leave us a review on iTunes! We'd also love you to consider becoming a patron of the show, more info on that here. We'll see you next week.

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Episode 78 - Empowering Creators with Peter Hoddie of Kinoma

This week's episode of HomeTech features a guest well-known within engineering and technology circles, Peter Hoddie. Having once served as Chief Quicktime Architect at Apple, Peter boasts a very impressive resume. Peter currently serves as VP of Kinoma, a division within the giant semi-conductor company Marvell. Back in 2002 he co-founded Kinoma, producing a virtual software platform widely deployed by companies like Palm, Sony, and Sling Media. While Kinoma has since been acquired, in many ways they continue to proudly demonstrate their startup roots. 

Peter joins us to discuss the recently crowd-funded project dubbed Kinoma Create. Create is a platform aimed at removing the low-level drudgery experienced by developers who work at the intersection of software and hardware. By drastically speeding up and simplifying the prototyping process, Kinoma's goal is to promote innovation in a variety of vertical markets, of which the smart home is no doubt a prime target. The company is also highly driven to see the adoption of Create amongst students, promoting tech-education through experimentation. 

Sure to be especially popular with the tinkerers and DIY-enthusiasts in our audience, this conversation provides a glimpse at the type of product which could inspire innovation in the smart home for a whole new generation of Creators. 

As always we hope you enjoy the show! For more episodes be sure to subscribe on iTunes or TuneIn, and don't forget to leave us a rating while you're at it! If you have any suggestions, comments, or just want to say hi, do so on Twitter, or using our feedback form. We look forward to sharing our thoughts on the upcoming Apple Event with you next week so be sure to tune in!

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Episode 77 - A Constant Cacophony

Ever wonder what the how the rest of the world perceives home technology integrators? Wonder no more. We kick this week's episode off by sharing the audio from a YouTube clip we think sums it perfectly. Not sure if we should laugh or cry, but a little levity never hurts either way.

Regarding (somewhat) more serious matters we discuss a few follow up thoughts on Just Add Power's new 3G line, a new entrant to the cloud-based video surveillance market, and a rather abrupt closure from a well-known speaker manufacturer. 

We bring the show to a close discussing the creation of a new Slack chat channel exclusively for HomeTech Patrons . We look forward to your participation in the channel and think it will be a fun way for all of us to interact! To access the channel you simply need to become a Patron of the show which you can do for as little as $1 a month. Learn more here

Thanks as always for listening. We'll see you next week!

Episode 76 - We Get No Respect

In what has become a bit of a rare occurrence lately this week's show actually features both of your regular hosts. No interview guest, but plenty of interesting news and opinion pieces to discuss. First we provide a wrap-up of the CEPro Summit, an event recently attended by Jason. Focused primarily on the professional integrators in our audience, the conversation provides an interesting peek behind the curtain for end-users and enthusiasts as well. 

Next up we discuss a few news stories including the announcement of UHD-enabled products from Just Add Power, an interesting hardware play by Google (and what it could really mean for the smart home), as well as a recent venture funding story with a few names you might just recognize. 

We bring the episode to a conclusion with another must-hear discussion for the integrators in our audience. A number of columns have appeared recently in CEPro that got our attention. Submitted by a Joseph Kolchinsky, of OneVision Resources, the pieces focus on a handful of critical flaws that pervade many of our business models. These flaws lead to a lack of profitability and respect amongst our trade partners. Joseph's articles offer great insight as to how we can improve, in turn enabling us to provide a higher level of service to our clients. We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this important conversation so shoot us an email or drop us a line on twitter.

Thanks as always for listening and we will talk to you next week!

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