Category: Lifestyle

The Home of Tomorrow is Here…

Smart Home communities are beginning to pop up in the United States. Home builders are starting to recognize the potential in creating a fully functional smart home form the ground up. These homes of tomorrow come fully equipped with voice activation of every switch and appliance throughout the home.

What can these Smart Homes do?

One Smart Home Community, Brookfield Homes in Washington D.C. has partnered up with Amazon to have the home fully controlled by Alexa. From turning on the stove to drawing the shades. All can be done with a simple voice command through Alexa. The home also comes with a Smart Home app that let’s you control lighting, music, and appliances even when you’re not home. These homes have the ability to learn the owners work, sleep, and daily habits to better assist the owner. The home can make simple automation task such as turning the A/C down before you arrive home form work. These homes usually come with a higher price tag, but can save big on energy bills and efficiency.

So it has Alexa, what else?

These smart homes, also come with energy efficient roofs and solar panels to keep your carbon footprint to a minimum. Also these homes are starting to come equipped with Telsa Powerwalls, which is a solar charged lithium battery that can power your whole house. This battery can basically eliminate your monthly electric bill when utilized properly. From voice control lights to automated vacuum systems, these homes are truly designed to improve your life.

Summary

Smart Home Communities are a new endeavor in the housing market that are just now beginning to be explored. But with all the tech advances as of late, these smart homes are extremely convenient for a reasonable price tag. Years ago, an automated robot vacuum sounded made up and pricey but now you can get one online for $200.00. These new communities will continue to grow and advance. Their sole purpose is to facilitate our daily needs and make our homes functional and modern.

February 26, 2018
Hyperloop One, the Train of Tomorrow…Today

In 2017, Virgin Mobile purchased the Hyperloop One company and unveiled its concept for the train of tomorrow. Hyperloop One chose 10 cities around the world to introduce it’s high speed commuter trains and plan to grow from there. This underground train travel up to 7oo MPH in a vacuum sealed tube. Making long distance travels or work commutes obsolete.

How it Works

For the first time in over 100 years, someone has created a completely new form of travel. The idea started with putting the train’s engine not in the train itself, but on the track. Hyperloop one has created a linear motor using electromagnets that lays on the track while propelling the train car at high speeds with minimal effort. The track is encased in a vacuum sealed tube so the train can travel at very high speed with little-to-no resistance. The airless tubes mock a plane traveling in the stratosphere at 200,000 feet. This makes for a very smooth ride, giving the passenger the feeling as if they’re floating. Achieving incredible speeds while simultaneously creating noiseless and comfortable environment, has fundamentally changed travel as we know it.

One area that was chosen for a Hyperloop One system was Central Florida. The Hyperloop line is expected to run from Orlando to Miami and can carry passengers to and from the two cities in only 26 minutes. Being able to work in Miami and live in Orlando with a 30 minute commute has never been a possibility. The adverse effects of this commuting system are just now being realized. In this writers opinion, this will terra-form all areas surrounding the Hyperloop One line. There are also plans to place this system in many other countries such as India, Mexico, United Kingdom, and Canada. The trains will eventually carry freight cars completely revolutionizing how we ship goods and resources.

Summary

Hyperloop One has done something that will change the way we live and travel forever. With any new groundbreaking technology it is hard to image how it will change our lives, but it will. We are on the eve of something here. As long as we keep the safety and practicality of it at the foundation, it will only be a benefit for mankind. I don’t know what the future holds for Hyperloop One, but I eagerly await its arrival.

February 25, 2018
Its a Deal with MoviePass
MoviePass is an American subscription-based movie ticketing service. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in New York City, the service allows subscribers to purchase a single movie ticket per day for a flat subscription fee per month

The Great
- Terrific value
- great interface and useabilty
- Very Convenient
- Unlimited Movies
The Not
- No New Releases
- 2d standard movies only
- You have to pay the full year up front
The Conclusion

I wish they had this when I was growing up, It would have been my wildest dream to have an unlimited movie ticket to the theater around the corner. Today, its def the worth the $8 a month. I no longer need to pirate new movies and the headaches that come with that are long gone.

The Movie Pass Experience

Once you sign up, right now they are offering $7.95 a month rates, they will send you a credit card. You simply use your phones app to find the movie you want and reserve your ticket. Then head to the movies, when you get close to the theater you will get an alert your card is active. You then use the card to purchase your reserved ticket. Easy peasy.

I don’t get to the movies as much as I used to and I’ve never been one to go to a theater alone. This made me a little apprehensive of the deal, but I decided to sign up after seeing how beneficial Moviepass can be. After using it for the last month I have enjoyed the experience so much I thought I would give you my own thoughts. Moviepass is kind of like the Netflix of movie theater going. You pay a flat fee and then you can see as many 2D movies as you want during the month. The catch is you can only see 1 movie every 24 hours. You could still easily see 25-30 movies a month if you so choose.

Loop Holes

So I thought I would look for weaknesses in the Movie Pass logistics. First up was using the card to purchase concessions, it worked with no issues but then declined when I bought my ticket. So I decided to reserve my ticket for the day before and pick it up, then book another ticket for the day Im going to the movies but use the previous days ticket. Thus making my card valid for concession purchases. So far its a lot of leg work but it works.

I also thought it would be good to get a second pass so I could take who ever else with me to the theater, but apparently this is frowned upon and they will disable your account. I don’t know how they would every figure it out though. Again so far so good.

Some have also reported that you can only see a movie one time with Moviepass. This is not the case you can go to the same movie multiple times, at least that is my personal experience.

The Final Thought

It hasn’t quite been 30 days for me yet but I have gone to 4 movies. The first 3 cost $5.99 per ticket and the 4th one was $9.99. So I have gotten $27.96 in value out of my $7.99 monthly fee. I find Im going to the movies more because I can and seeing movies I would otherwise skip entirely. All in all its been a good experience its a must have for any movie buff, and a great investment for the casual movie goer. Im hoping this becomes adoptive and saves the movie theater platform. Being a catalyst for Studios to produce more movies for us to go to the theaters for.
February 25, 2018
Easy Smarthome Devices to Increase Your Homes Value

From smart thermostats to automated lighting and everything in between, there’s no question that innovative, Internet-enabled technology can make a home more fun, convenient and safe. What you may not know, however, is that it also represents a potentially valuable investment. Im going to take a$7000 investment to smart home upgrade to increase my homes value by $25000. Lets look at how I spent it and what value it brings.

Appliances

I started with replacing the refrigerator and stove, with smart appliances.

for a combined $4300 I installed the Samsung Family Hub 2.0 wifi enabled fridge and the Self-Cleaning Slide-In Gas Convection Range both in stainless steel of course. considering I was going to have to spend $2000 anyway on these appliance the extra money to purchase the smart appliance is well worth it for the wow factor alone.

Samsung Family Hub 2.0 Refrigerator

The Samsung Smart Fridge is really cool, looks great, creates shopping lists and lets me see inside from anywhere with 3 built-in cameras. It also set expiration notifications to make sure everything is fresh. Plus it has Bixby built in for a digital voice assistant right in the kitchen, I’ve always wanted to talk to my refrigerator.

Samsung Self-Cleaning Slide-In Gas Convection Range

The stove looks like something you would see in a professionals kitchen, its no joke. There are cooking options with the intuitive guiding light controls. This lets you program your favorite recipes, plus easily control temperature and time settings. Wi-Fi connection gives you real-time alerts and control the cooktop and oven remotely. You just have to download the app for iOS or Android devices.

I was able to get both devices with a bundle package at best buy, factoring the money I was going to spend anyways im only out ($2130)

Lighting

Next step set the mood, for 3 main light switched I installed the Brilliant Smart Panel. With the digital touch screen or simple verbal commands, this switch can control your homes lights, air conditioning, intercom system, video surveillance, music and has a built in camera and even the ability to make video calls.

I replaced all light bulbs with Phillips Hue Smart Lighting, this will allow the lights to be controlled from the 3 smart-panels, with the color bulbs setting different lighting and the colored light strips in the kitchen.

This has added a great wow factor, adding in the Sonos speakers already through out the house. I can set music and lighting with just a shout. ($1000)

Little Things

The Smart Panel for Brilliant can control a lot of smart devices, so I upgrade my thermostat to the Nest, a Smart lock from August, Skydrop 8-Zone Smart Sprinkler Controller, Smart Security Video system from Nest with a video doorbell and an Amazon Eco Show for Alexa integration with all the new devices. ($1500)

Bathrooms

This home has 2 bathrooms so I’ve updated both toilets to the Smart 1 Piece by OVE. Little expensive, but a heated seat, warm bidet water, and air drying features are a big sell for small price. This looks great and comes with a remote control. You can adjust the power and temperature right from your remote.

I also updated the 2 shower-heads and added the Moen U Shower Smart Home Connected Bathroom Controller. The Moen U integrates smart temperature control, timers and also an app. You can even pre-time your morning shower, walk yourself to the bathroom and it turns on automatically as soon as it senses your presence!

I have effectively updated my home and prepped it for sale. With these little upgrade I have moved my home from the bottom end of its appraisal to the top by making it a cutting edge smart-home and increasing my value and netting me an extra $18, 000 after the sale.

February 24, 2018
Top Five Cable Tv Providers

As hard as we try to cut the cord, go to a entertainment on demand premise we still need that live cable goodness. Streaming CNN or ESPN makes you fell like your behind the actual breaking updates. Not to mention the constant and consistent back round noise that cable TV can provide. I just want to watch something I can ignore. The final and one of the biggest necessities of cables is it give you the option to watch something when you don’t know what you want to watch. I know, I know even as I am writing this I just keep thinking ooooh shut up with your first world problems, and since these are my concerns my only conclusion is its a wonderful time to be alive in America. Lets take a look at the Top Cable options, some of these are location based and you may not be lucky enough to be in their footprint… uhg again with the first world problems. These are the best for cable TV options.

1.At&t Uverse

While this can be one of the more pricer options and only available to a limited footprint in limited areas, if you are lucky enough to fall in the Uverse green zone you have the best option available. With four TV packages to choose from with a selection of 200–550 channels. It uses a fiber optic network, which makes the service more reliable than satellite or cable TV. U-verse’s pricing is more competitive if you bundle it with Internet and/or phone service, but on its own, it’s priced higher than competing packages. Big benefits of Uverse is the standard whole home DVR, advanced interface, and no degradation on bandwidth. At&t has since decided it has more lucrative options for its Fiber network so it has begun aggressively switching all its uverse users to Directv.

2.Spectrum

This one was quite a surprise to jump to number 2 and take the silver. With the Charter/Time Warner merger the T-1000 of internet cable providers have Spectrum offering an affordable 100 Mbps internet options, with quality cable for a reasonable price. They offer all the latest features like whole home DVR and VOIP telephone options with on screen caller ID. While its great they do not make you sign a long term contract, there are installation fees and the price does jump from time to time.

3.Verizon Fios

This is a great service that has dropped to bronze due to Verizon cutting off expansion plans for Fios and their fiber game.Verizon’s Fios internet service is one of the best money can buy. It’s lightning fast, and thanks to its fiber infrastructure, it’s also reliable. Add in customer service that exceeds the expectations you have a top tier cable option, if you are lucky to be in the footprint. The company has established areas, but it’s mostly major cities with no further plans to expand. They have an array of customizable plans to fit your needs and budgets. They have the speed, channel lineup, on-demand and features and functions that you could want. Did I mention they offer Gbps? a gigabit!!!

4.Optimum

This was another surprise from a traditional cable provider. One of the smaller guys offers the best bang for you buck. Optimum has the 100Mbps, full channel lineups, great interface all the basics are there. Where they stand out is there whole home DVR allows you to record 15 shows at once. This is nice for the prime-time Sunday nights. They are even offering up to 400Mbps in some areas and at a great price.

5. DriecTV

You cant count Directv out, and being the focus of At&t’s cable service they are adding more and more features and functions you see in the Uverse system constantly. The Sunday NFL package is legendary and a necessity for all die hard football fans. The downsides are still the contract, the hardware and the outages when it rains, additionally you still have to bring your own internet connection.

The Worst: Comcast Xfinity

Billing its self as a premium provider but sorely missing on features function and execution Comcast Xfinity is by leaps and bound the worst dollar spent in the cable business. With constant freezes, reboots, outages and interface lock downs it is a frustrating mess. Just this morning I was forced to watch the Talented Mr Ripply when the menu on Infinity froze forbidding me to change the channel until it has performed its 5 min interface reboot sequence. Nope, just nope.

February 23, 2018
5 Things We are Anticipating From the MWC 2018

MWC (or Mobile World Congress to give it its full name) is one of the biggest events on the mobile calendar, with 2017’s Barcelona show bringing us the LG G6, Sony Xperia XZ, and Huawei Pro among dozens of other devices. The 2018 Congress takes place February 26th- March 1st in Barcelona. Here are the Top 5 reasons to pay attention to the MWC this year

1. Samsung Galaxy s9

The Galaxy Flagship latest installment is going to be one of the highlights of MWC 2018. This upcoming flagship has already been confirmed for the show. Samsung is having a unveiling conference the day before on the 25th, but all the hands on and non corporate views will happen at the MWC. From what we are guessing the Galaxy S9 and its larger sibling are rumored to have a similar design and screen to the S8 range, meaning a metal frame, a glass back and an almost bezel-free curved display, but with the fingerprint scanner likely moved from beside the camera to below it. What we dont know is what will blow our sock off.

2.Nokia 7+

One of the devices we see is expected to be the Nokia 7+. We have all been waiting for our old trust Nokia to jump in to the android game and bring snake with it. The picture shows the front of the Nokia 7+, and as you can see, this will be the first Nokia phone to adopt a modern design with slim bezels. The Nokia branding can be found near the top left next to the front-facing camera, and the fingerprint sensor will be moved to the back. rumored specs for the phone include an FHD+ resolution for the screen, Snapdragon 660 processor, dual 12MP and 13MP cameras, microSD card support. Im really hopping this one is a boom and not a bust, id love to see a big Nokia return.

3. LG

There are two options we could see out of LG. while we’re fairly certain we’re going to see an upgraded LG v30 at MWC, stocked with a new AI. That means better image recognition for the on-board camera, so it can recognize what you’re shooting and adjust the settings accordingly, and an improved set of voice commands for Google Assistant. On the other hand there is buzz we will see the new G7, but most insiders are speculating that LG is going to push the launch of the successor to the LG G6 to later in the year

4.Huawei Honor 7X and Watch 3

Last Year, Huawei took full advantage of MWC to announce the P10. Whatever this new smartphone ends up being called, it’s likely to be the star of Huawei’s MWC 2018 appearance that won’t include the announcement of the P20 and P20 Plus flagships with them being pushed to a late march release. We are also hoping to see a Huawei Watch 3 upgrade. Some patents suggest added sensors would detect gestures you make on the back of your hand, so you could for example sketch a letter with your finger and have it appear on the watch screen, or make double tap and long press gestures, allowing you to interact with the watch without touching it.

5. Motorola: New G6 or Z Force3

The latest rumors have Motorola planning to announce a series of successors to last year’s Moto G5 lineup. The phones I’m looking to see are the Moto G6, Moto G6 Play, the Moto G6 Plus or a Z force3. Some mind blowing Moto Mods would be exciting as well. It is noted thought that Motorola does not have an event scheduled at MWC, so maybe not.

February 19, 2018
Caavo’s Universal Consolidation Remote Control
Caavo’s powerful control system for virtually every streaming, cable, and satellite box makes for the most in depth smart remote available. Caavo is the first smart home entertainment system to unify all your devices, apps and content into a single experience.

The Great
- unique universal remote control
- supports voice commands
- Consolidates all devices
- Revolutionary onscreen overlay
The Not
- No support for HDR
- remote is not back-lit
- poor customization
- Advanced functions are an issue for some devices
The Conclusion

The Caavo does a great job simplifying the complexity of home theater, I think this is more of the first step then the solution for the masses, this pricey system is doomed for wide adaptation with out HDR support.

One box to rule them all

Caavo, the exciting machine vision-powered universal TV control system is being released February 14th. It’s a powerful control system for virtually every streaming, cable, and satellite box out there. It’s not just a simple remote, though: you plug everything into the large Caavo unit, and it uses machine vision, nay Caavo Vision, to intelligently navigate the interface for all of those boxes behind the scenes.

Unlike all the other remotes that have ever existed that use infrared macros without being able to verify that anything actually happened. The Caavo watches the interfaces displayed on-screen, allowing it to do things like create a single search index and watchlist across multiple services and many devices and intelligently navigate on your behalf. Caavo CTO says“We’re solving the universal remote problem, but we want to go beyond that to search,”

The Setup

Don’t get me wrong the setup will continuously through a multitude of issues and frustration at you. Think you remember all those passwords, think again. Just remember Caavo is still a very new, beta product that looks more elegant than it works. I also learned the hard way that with only one HDMI extender, you are not going to get a Roku, Chromecast and Firestick all in.. Why would one need all three? Please, just stop and shut up.

So Many Wires

You just simply Plug everything . All of your cable or satellite, streaming boxes or sticks, gaming consoles, DVD and Blu-ray players into the eight HDMI inputs and connect one HDMI to your TV. From there, Caavo does the rest. It automatically knows which device to use, searches all your apps, finds what you want, and plays it. It will essentially allow you to use Alexa to control your apple TV… mind blown. You just choose what you want to watch, and you leave it to Caavo to figure out where it may be hiding.

The Final Thought

Being the tech guy that I am, my entertainment system now consists of 10 or so devices with 6 or 7 services and a multiple array of speakers, not to mention the extravagant array of remotes and game controllers. Trying to find that one movie where Jonathan Silver says ” come in Tokyo” while twisting fake radio dials has become a real chore. I just want to watch whatever I want as it pops in my head, optimize the sound and enjoy it right now, too much to ask? not any more. As for the astronomical price, looking at my entertainment wall… I’ve already come this far whats another $400.
February 14, 2018
Bose SoundTouch 300 Delivers again.. for a Price
The Bose SoundTouch 300 is a soundbar for your televesion, capable of a gorgeously wide sound field, which benefits both music and movies. The speaker is capable of reproducing both dialog and incidental effects with crystal clarity. The system offers easy-to-use music streaming via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The Great
- Superior Sound
- Easy Set Up
- Expandable with wireless Bose speakers
- Versatile connectivity
The Not
- treble EQ cant be modified
- Needs remote to function
The Conculsion

Great ” larger then life” Sound, If you have no intention of buying a sub woofer, though, don’t buy this sound bar. Sound fine on its own, but you’ll miss the deep ravid notes that the optional Acoustimass 300 sub can bring — for an extra $699.

Bose knows how to delivering big sound from small packages. Once again they hit us with the SoundTouch 300, a slim soundbar that produces plenty of bass depth and solid clarity in the highs. You can stream audio via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, features HDMI ARC and optical outputs. Its a baseline sound bar option that can be expanded to an all out theater sound experience.

The Design

The design is elegant and sharp as it looks looks graceful and stylish. Inside the beautiful exterior, the SoundTouch 300 uses four full-range drivers and a single centered tweeter, all front-facing, and bass ports on the rear panel, aided by a pair of “phase guides,” one on each end of the bar. There are 3 Icons across the front, one to show you are connected to your home network, one indicates when audio from the SoundTouch app is played, the last is when you have audio playing from a connected TV.

Whats that on your Head?

It uses AdaptIQ, that is the system Bose employs to adjust the soundbar’s output to your room’s dead areas, as well as reflective surfaces. You connect a adapter by connecting it to the speaker’s back panel and pressing the AdaptIQ button will start the measurement process. Then with this headband receptor on your head and sit in various places in your room. The system go through a series of 10 seconds of frequency sweeps in each spot while the headset measures the reflections from the sweeps.

The Final Thought

Through the SoundTouch 300, the audio is crisp and full of low-end, though the bass response sounds slightly thin with out the sub woofer. Its a great standalone sound bar but not for $699, Only purchase this if you are going to double down for the remote speakers and the sub woofer.
February 14, 2018