Tech

Our house is partially automated. We started with lights* and a couple of power outlets**, then recently began to adda few thermostats*** into the mix. That's the extent of it. No locks, no blinds. Our automation system of choice is Apple's HomeKit. And it's been fun so far. And a lot more useful than I thought. "Set the living room to cozy" brings up a pre-programmed scene with dimmed lights, while "set the hall lights to brightest" is perfect if you're looking for your keys. Of course you can also give the lights percentages from 1 to 100. "Set the living room to 100" sets the brightness of all living room lights to their maximum. At least it used to, until we added the thermostats. Now the same command "set the living room to 100" results in the thermostats getting cranked up all the wa...

When the AirPods were finally out in December 2016, I got my order in for the first batch. The cabled EarPods always fit my ears well, so they've got that going for them. While they don't cover all use cases, they worked well for me and so my expectation for the AirPods was to do pretty much the same, but without the cable mess. I have two main things to say about the AirPods: they are probably the most convenient and comfortable pair of earphones that I've ever owned. Seemingly endless battery life if you're willing to give them a quick rest in their tiny charger box after several hours of listening. And I've had several occasions where I was walking around the house searching for them, just to realize that I was wearing them all along. they have one really big quirk that's...

Another social network. Open. Decentralized. Getting a bit of hype lately. I'm there. Dipping my toes in. As chrismarquardt@mastodon.network - giving it a fair shot. I'm a fan of open and decentralized, so I wish it all the best. You go, Mastodon! Ping me here.