Most people I know realize that I love to tinker with stuff. That is why I am up at 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday researching various “dork-projects.”
For my next project, I am going to wire the lights in my house using Insteon controllers. This way, when I get a universale remote with RF capability like the Logitech Harmony 1000 I will be able to control the lights in my home via my “all in one” remote. Also I will purchase a INSTEON PowerLinc V2 Controller USB so I can allow the system to be controlled via my G5 using Indigo.
Using a little PHP and AppleScript I ought to be able to create home control web interfaces that I can access through my PSP, Wii, PS3, or any other networked device with a browser from anywhere in the world.
My question is this? What are the coolest applications you can dream up for home control? Bonus points for ideas that can be achieved using Insteon products, or tell me why Insteon is not the right direction to go in…
February 24, 2007 in: Commentary - 3 Comments
I like having access to as much information as possible about the things I own, and soon it seems I will be able to gather information about my car without having to pay a high price for diagnostic services.
The Smart Auto Management (SAM) system will be a kiosk at major oil-change shops that will allow you to connect a piece of equipment to your vehicles diagnostic port and scan the system for any existing or potential problems.
The SAM system will then give the user a printout with the faults that were found in the system – written in plain english along with any necessary technical details.
On the surface, I find it hard to trust a system named Sam, especially when the company’s URL is stolen from a movie about a mentally retarded man trying to gain custody of his daughter – iamsam.com. These few oddities aside, I think that this is a great move toward consumers having more information about what is usually the most expensive item (other than a home) that they will buy.
Perhaps now when you take your car in for service you can go armed with an unbiased, third-party opinion of what is and is not needed to be done you your car.
February 11, 2007 in: Commentary - No Comments
Today Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs wrote a solid piece on the state of digital rights management (DRM) and its use at Apple Inc.
Jobs talks about the importance of keeping any DRM scheme in the hands of as few people as possible stating,
“The most serious problem is that licensing a DRM involves disclosing some of its secrets to many people in many companies, and history tells us that inevitably these secrets will leak. The Internet has made such leaks far more damaging, since a single leak can be spread worldwide in less than a minute.”
Following this logic, opening up Apple Inc’s DRM, known as FairPlay would put ‘ too many cooks in the secret kitchen ‘. If a breech was to take place, patching it to tens of millions of devices would be a nightmare.
The structure of the deal with the “big four” music companies: Universal, Sony BMG, Warner and EMI states that Apple must patch any vulnerabilities to the DRM in a given time, and if that does not happen, they might not be able to distribute their music. With over a billion songs sold on the iTunes Music Store, I would not see Apple wanting to open themselves to the liability of licensing FairPlay.
The article seems like a classic defense of the FairPlay DRM model that Apple currently employs, until Jobs laid out the ultimate alternative for the consumer – killing DRM.
Jobs illustrates an interesting point,
“Though the big four music companies require that all their music sold online be protected with DRMs, these same music companies continue to sell billions of CDs a year which contain completely unprotected music. That’s right! No DRM system was ever developed for the CD, so all the music distributed on CDs can be easily uploaded to the Internet, then (illegally) downloaded and played on any computer or player.”
I for one would love a world with no DRM. Let me obtain my digital content however I see fit and use it on any other device I desire. I applaud Apple Inc. and Steve Jobs for laying their position on the table with regards to DRM – let’s just hope the real decision makers are listening.
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February 6, 2007 in: Commentary, Technology - No Comments
Most people I know realize that I love to tinker with stuff. That is why I am up at 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday researching various “dork-projects.”
