Episode 37: Philips Hue drama and plan to fail even as you hope for success

Phillips caused a kerfuffle this week when it stopped supporting third-party light bulbs with its Philips Hue bridge and software. It has since reversed the decision after customers complained, but because the crazy time travel that Kevin and I undergo each week to bring the podcast to you had to record an update. However, the conversation about third-party support and standards still remains relevant for the smart home today. We also dig into IBM’s new program that brings the Watson set of cognitive computing services to the industrial internet and Kevin’s crazy Bitcoin mining operation on a Raspberry Pi. Due to the rising popularity of this online currency, more and more ways are being developed to try and make extra Bitcoins more efficiently in order to trade them on platforms such as bitcoin revolution. Bitcoin mining can be a long and tiring process to go through in order to try and create a profit though, which is why some Bitcoin users opt for bitcoin auto trading instead. Not only does this remove the physical trading aspect, some sites also guarantee a profit daily. Some decide to trade manually by deciding to buy their Bitcoin from websites similar to Bitcoin Australia which can be great if you have an action plan with your trading but isn’t for everyone.

Kevin's Bitcoin mining operation using a Raspberry Pi and a custom dongle.
Kevin’s Bitcoin mining operation using a Raspberry Pi and a custom dongle.

Our guest this week is Santiago Merea who just sold his startup, the Orange Chef Co. to Yummly for an undisclosed amount. Merea discusses the future of the Prep Pad connected scale made by his company, and the future of Yummly. He also talks about the importance of having a plan for failure when you start out building a connected product. It’s a great show, so please enjoy.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Santiago Merea of Yummly

  • What’s wrong with Philips Hue?
  • IBM’s calling in Watson for a job on the industrial internet.
  • How to make 4 cents a day using your Raspberry Pi and a $35 dongle.
  • What’s next for recipe provider Yummly after swallowing a connected device company.
  • When building hardware, think about failing even as you plan for success.

Published by

Stacey Higginbotham

I am a journalist who has covered technology for over a decade at publications such as Fortune, PCMag, Gigaom, The Deal and BusinessWeek.