591 episodes
There is no better time than the Holidays to gather with close friends and reflect on the fact that another 12 months have come and gone (already?!). To that end we are excited to present to you a very special episode: The very first "Technology.fm Holiday Fireside Chat".
After taking a week off to galavant around Germany, Seth returned just in time for us to bring you this week's show. Battling through a serious case of jet-lag, and nostalgia for the land of beer and brats, Seth joined me to discuss a number of stories about smart home innovation, or at least something resembling it.
With this episode releasing on Black Friday, 2015's holiday shopping season is officially upon us. It won't come as a surprise to fans of our show that this year brings no shortage of gift options for the home technology enthusiast in your life. Join us for this special episode as we dissect the best smart home gift ideas of the 2015 holiday season.
When a startup raises over 3,000% of its crowdfunding goal it's safe to say that they've struck a chord. The Chicago based startup Oomi accomplished this feat, raising a staggering $1.7million in a campaign that set out to raise a mere $50k. Surpassing their initial goal in just 37 minutes, the team behind Oomi has clearly found a winning formula for standing out in the increasingly crowded DIY smart home space. Home technology enthusiasts are voting with their wallets, and the numbers don't lie.
DIY and straight-to-consumer products are continuing their expansion in the smart home, and if you ask Joey Kolchinsky that's quite all right. Our guest on this week's episode, Joey is the founder of OneVision Resources. Unlike many other companies who purport to have a unique approach to home technology, it would be hard to question his claim thereof. Founded squarely on the principal that end-user experience trumps all, OneVision bases it's entire business model on charging fixed rates for service and technology management, while passing through hardware at no (that's right... zero) markup.
In what's become emblematic of the CEDIA channel, this week's episode of HomeTech takes a decidedly split approach, focusing on equal parts pro and DIY technologies. After all, the differences between the two camps, at least from the casual observer's perspective, are becoming increasingly difficult to spot.
This week we are proud to present the second, and final, part of our CEDIA 2015 Wrap-Up Special. With so much to talk about following this year's Expo we almost had to extend to part 3, but somehow we managed to fit it all into one doozy of show.
The dust is settling in Dallas after another busy CEDIA Expo. With the housing market at its strongest in years, and exciting new technologies continuing to gain traction, the show floor was buzzing. Three solid days spent canvasing the exhibits turned up far more interesting news than we could cover in a single episode. So this year we have decided to break up our post-show special into two parts!
The dog days of Summer have come and gone. But while temperatures may be cooling, the home technology scene is heating up in preparation for another CEDIA Expo. This years' show, dubbed "Hello, Future" is being held in Dallas, TX. Whether you're a professional integrator, an end-user, or a hometech hobbyist the smart home industry's largest stateside event promises plenty of products and services to get excited about.
A proliferation of entry-level and DIY smart home products has integrators and manufacturers alike grappling for ways to maintain market share. Providing down-market solutions without cannibalizing existing business is, after all, a very difficult balancing act. The good news for those trying to crack the code is that it can be done. For proof look no further than Lutron.
Think of this week's episode as a delicious breakfast scramble. Ok, it may not be quite as satisfying as a hot plate of hash-browned potatoes adorned with a couple of fried eggs and covered in melty cheese. The best that we can offer is our own tasty trifecta of HomeTech business ramblings, new product news, and general smart home mayhem.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Many tech companies are quick to use the word "security" when describing features such as mobile alerts and remote access to cameras. While certainly convenient these technologies are necessarily limited by their reactive nature, likely affording you little more than a front row seat to the violation of your home. Lost in all this marketing hype is the fact that a true security system's biggest benefit lies in it's ability to proactively prevent an intrusion from happening in the first place.
This week Seth takes the mic solo again and chats with (super) special guest Mike Wolf about his upcoming Smart Kitchen Summit event in November. They also chat about a few bits of news that happened over the past week including creepy TVs, a new DIY security platform, and robot chefs.
This week Seth and Jason are back together to chat about the last few weeks in HomeTech. A little follow up here and a little news there -- overall a really fun show this week. Thank you to all our Patreon supporters for showing your support! You guys rock!
This week Seth sits down to chat with industry veteran and Editor-at-Large of CEPro Julie Jacobson. Julie has been covering the home automation market for more than two decades and has been one of our go to sources for home automation news each week. We chat about the interesting stock performance of Control4 and Alarm.com and discuss the recent news of Savant killing off their LiteTouch panelized lighting control system.
