Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet dig deep into smart home tech and home automation, starting with an iCloud account issue Jeff had with a new HomePod mini. They also discuss NFC tags, a home automation friction point Bryan has experienced, and other aspects of smart homes.
Smarthome
If This Then Bob – TMO Daily Observations 2021-03-04
Today Kelly is joined by Bob “Dr Mac” LeVitus to discuss If This Then That, and some of the ways you can use the service to automate your life.
CES 2021: New Masks, Smart Home Gear – TMO Daily Observations 2021-01-14
John F Braun joins host Kelly Guimont to discuss CES coverage, including some new variations on masks and announced smart home gear.
Flic Smart Button System with Flic 2, Flic Hub LR and HomeKit Support
Flic Smart Button System now features the Flic 2 smart button, support for the Flic Hub LR, and support for Apple’s HomeKit.
Cool Stuff Found
‘Eve for HomeKit’ 4.4 Update Adds Smart Schedule Suspension
Eve for HomeKit updated to 4.4 recently and a major feature added is called Smart Schedule Suspension for Eve Aqua. This lets you pause your watering schedules if the weather forecast calls for rain so your plants won’t be overwatered. This is enabled by a built-in Siri Shortcut within the app. You can use from Siri, the Shortcuts app, the widget in Today View, or as an automation. Eve has more information in its blog post. App Store: Free
Repairing iCloud Syncing — Mac Geek Gab 825
Should you update? That’s always the question, isn’t it, regardless of whether it’s hardware or software or both. This week John and Dave answer your questions about both, specifically when it comes to Apple’s offerings. That’s not all, of course. Your two favorite geeks roar through a tour of your questions, tips, and Cool Stuff Found, including segments on repairing iCloud syncing, backing up your music the right way, diagnosing CPU spikes, and more. Press play, and enjoy learning at least five new things, all while remaining perfectly socially-distanced!
Security Friday, News+ Audio – TMO Daily Observations 2020-05-15
Andrew Orr and Bryan Chaffin join host Kelly Guimont for Security Friday, and a chat about Apple’s News+ articles in an audio format.
Wink Terminates Partnership With Chamberlain, Customers Left Helpless
In the latest development of the Wink saga, Chamberlain is ending its partnership with Wink, which will render Wink + MyQ integrations useless.
Wink Subscription Deadline Has Been Extended by One Week
Wink wants customers to sign up for its monthly subscription. The deadline—which was today—has been extended by one week to May 20.
Wink: Give Us $5 Monthly Or Lose Access to Your Devices
Wink is a company that makes smart home devices, and it recently announced it will force customers to pay a US$5/month subscription or they will lose access to device functionality.
In order to provide for development and continued growth, we are transitioning to a $4.99 monthly subscription, starting on May 13, 2020. This fee is designed to be as modest as possible […] Should you choose not to sign up for a subscription you will no longer be able to access your Wink devices from the app, with voice control or through the API, and your automations will be disabled on May 13. Your device connections, settings and automations can be reactivated if you decide to subscribe at a later date.
1: I think that’s called extortion, or fraud at the very least. 2: Apparently Wink is owned by will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas, and has trouble paying its employees. Not that it’s relevant, I just haven’t heard either of those names in years.