Tag: b8ta

Episode 268: Subscription news from Wink and Nest

This week’s show is all about subscriptions! First Kevin and I share thoughts on Wink’s decision to charge a subscription fee after giving customers a week’s notice and threatening to shut down their devices if they don’t convert. We also detail Nest’s new subscription plan and keep on the Alphabet/Google topic by discussing the end of the Toronto smart city effort from Sidewalk Labs and a new Google Assistant skill.  After that, we cover a new Teensy board with Ethernet, an acquisition in the smart apartment world, and get details on how reopening is going in Texas from the B8ta point of view. I talk about my experience with the new, smaller Wi-Fi August lock, and then we answer a listener question about how to build a smart home from scratch.

The brains of Johnson’s smart home are packed away in custom-made benches. Image courtesy of Jason Johnson.

Our guest this week is Jason Johnson, the co-founder of August Home. He’s not on the show to discuss the new lock but to talk about his new home and the systems he uses for automation. Like many of us, Johnson went the DIY route and says he spends about five or more hours a week tweaking his set up. He explains why he chose the platforms he uses and how he has routines and automation set up. For those curious about what’s governing the 138 nodes in his home, I encourage you to listen and find out.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Jason Johnson, co-founder August Home
Sponsors: Very and Edge Impulse

  • Is Wink’s new subscription worth it? Nest’s?
  • Apparently, a few people still need their gadget fix in Texas
  • August’s new lock is great for renters, but may not work for everyone
  • Three organizing principles for a smart home
  • Device longevity is a problem for the smart home

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Episode 86: The Internet of Things Podcast gift guide

‘Tis almost the season to offer gifts large and small for the loved ones in your life. In the podcast, Kevin and I focus mostly on larger gifts, because once you add connectivity the price takes a big jump. We also discuss Black Friday deals.

Vibhu Norby, the CEO of B8ta, is on the show to share some of his gift picks. They range from $3,000 (get two!) to $30. Hopefully we can inspire you if you’re shopping for a tech-friendly family member or friend. Norby also discusses a new way of thinking about retail and what sells in the connected device category.

The B8ta store in Palo Alto.
The B8ta store in Palo Alto.

Hosts: Kevin Tofel and Stacey Higginbotham
Guests: Vibhu Norby, CEO of B8ta
Sponsors: Samsung ARTIK and Bluetooth

Gifts mentioned on this week’s show:

Wearables for fitness:

For the home:

For fun:

For the car:

For the kitchen:

  • June oven
  • Juicero (If you are in the market for this, check out B8ta on Black Friday)

For the kids:

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Episode 83: Merger mania, more outdoor cameras and security galore!

This week’s podcast is light on the smart home and heavy on the infrastructure required to make the internet of things work. Kevin and I explain why Qualcomm’s $37 billion buy of NXP makes sense, the details behind NB-IoT, which is yet another low power wireless network and how Microsoft is stepping up to protect security for the internet of things. Speaking of security, we also talk briefly about Netatmo’s new outdoor security camera as well as the best cheap wireless security camera money can buy. For fun, I talk about my visit to the B8ta store in Palo Alto, which was a connected gadget lover’s dream.

The new Netatmo Presence camera uses image recognition to tell what's outside your house. It retails for $299.
The new Netatmo Presence camera uses image recognition to tell what’s outside your house. It retails for $299.

After all this, I bring out the second of my two security interviews, Brian Knopf, who is the director of security research at Neustar. Knopf has a deep history in working security for connected devices have worked at Belkin and Wink. We talk a bit about the challenges exposed by the Mirai botnet and what consumers should look for in connected devices.

Some people may also find that having security measures on their property can help lower their home insurance rates. If you have these installed, there is no reason to wait for coverage, as you can look online to find the one that suits your needs best.

In the meantime, enjoy the show!

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Brian Knopf, director of security for Neustar
Sponsors: ARM and AtlasRFID (Use coupon code IOTPODCAST)

  • Qualcomm needed NXP for cars, customers and a new sales plan
  • Microsoft’s the first to create an IoT security service
  • The best store for gadget fiends
  • No one wants to pay for security
  • Steps the industry must take to protect security

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Episode 51: This CEO killed his hardware startup to start a wireless network

This week we have a two for one in the guest portion of the show, with Daniel Conrad, the CEO of Beep Networks explaining how he decided to stop making a connected device, take his VC funding and find a new business model. That’s part one. Part two is all about LoRa, the wireless radio technology used for low power wireless area networks, which is what his business is now built on. Conrad explains a classic entrepreneurial dilemma and then educates us all on up-and-coming networking technology that transmits small amounts of data over fairly long distances. Is this the perfect network for the Internet of things?

The Bernooli bottle top.
The Bernooli bottle top.

Before you get to Conrad, Michael Wolf is guest hosting in place of Kevin, and we discuss the lack of HomeKit news at the Apple event Monday, some cool connected bartending gear I saw at SXSW and Bosch’s new cloud for the internet of things. Bosch is spending $548 million on R&D in innovation tech, which is less than 1 percent of its annual revenue, but still nothing to sneeze at. For the gadget lovers, Mike and I discussed b8ta, the new retail concept for selling connected devices and tried to consider what Target’s secretive Project Goldfish is.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Mike Wolf of The Smart Home Show
Guests: Daniel Conrad of Beep Networks

  • What’s the right retail model for selling the smart home?
  • Make a drink with Bernooli
  • Killing the dream of a connected speaker
  • What is LoRa?
  • The best startup opportunity around.

 

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