Gadgets

How I Made My Internet Connection 10x Faster

April 28, 2015 9 Eric Murrell

Get what you’re paying for. Netflix was dropping out constantly, and that was the final straw. Like many of you, Netflix has become the focal point of entertainment in our house. It’s what the kids watch when they need a…

Gadgets

Apple Watch and the Smart Home

April 6, 2015 0 Eric Murrell

Yes, I’m getting an Apple Watch. It may not be the first “wearable” computer on the market, but it’s probably the first one that matters. The Apple II made computers accessible. The iPhone made them a constant companion. The Apple…

Gadgets

REVIEW: Seek Thermal Camera

January 12, 2015 1 Eric Murrell

It turns out my nose is cold. Smart phone cameras keep getting better and better. A device that used to take blurry images the size of a postage stamp can now take 40 megapixel panoramas, high definition video, and macro…

Gadgets

The State of the Smart Home: January 2015

January 8, 2015 0 Eric Murrell

If you follow home tech at all, you’ve probably been hitting the big tech sites this week to follow all of the craziness that comes out of the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Like years past, CES 2015 has been…

Gadgets

REVIEW: Twelve South HiRise Stand for iPhone

December 12, 2014 0 Eric Murrell

Put yourself on a pedestal. If you’re like me, you have trouble leaving your phone in random spots around your home and office. I’m normally a creature of habit, but for some reason I can’t seem to keep track of…

First Look

First Look: Dropcam Pro

December 3, 2014 0 Eric Murrell

Always on the lookout. There’s a certain appeal to home surveillance that has long eluded the casual nerd. About 10 years ago, I picked up a (then top-of-the-line) web cam in an effort to keep any eye on my apartment…

Automation

First Look: The Quirky+GE Tripper for Wink

November 14, 2014 0 Eric Murrell

The folks at Dropcam broke my heart earlier this year. Hot off the heels of the release of their excellent Dropcam Pro web cameras, Dropcam took a small step closer to embracing the home security market with the announcement of…

Automation

Quirky+GE Introduce 8 New Wink Enabled Smart Home Products

November 11, 2014 1 Eric Murrell

Just hours after we took our first look at the awesome Wink Hub, the folks at Quirky have introduced 8 very interesting new smart home products to complement the rest of the Wink-compatible line up: The Norm – $80 –…

Gadgets

REVIEW: Eneloop Rechargeable Batteries

November 10, 2014 3 Eric Murrell

Secret little money savers. We knew having kids would be expensive, but one expense we didn’t account for was keeping batteries in dozens of electronic toys. Every birthday and each Christmas brings with it a new family of chirping plastic…

First Look

First Look: Amazon Echo

November 6, 2014 0 Eric Murrell

Thinking out loud. There’s a bit of a dichotomy between the virtual assistants we see in fiction, and the ones that are beginning to invade the marketplace. We weigh the dream-like notion of the digital companion from Her against the…