Episode 246: The IoT Holiday Gift Guide

This week Kevin and kick off the show on a serious note, pointing out that the U.S. is approaching China in terms of the number of people per every IP camera. We draw a line between that fact and the surveillance capabilities that Ring allows through the Neighbors app, before offering a smidgen of hope in the form of a new federal law. We then jump to the title topic — our annual gift guide that features 10 presents that won’t disappoint. One of them, the Philips Hue Sync Box, is the topic of a review from Kevin. After that, we hit a security flaw in Blink cameras, a new Ring light, and Google’s new alarm clock feature. We close by answering a listener’s request for funny smart home mishaps.

This week’s guest is Dr. Irene J. Petrick, senior director of industrial innovation in Intel’s IoT group. Petrick has conducted hours of research on the industrial IoT and the efforts companies are making to transform digitally. She talks about her newly released research as well as the skills that manufacturers believe their employees need today and in the future. I think those manufacturers are short-sighted and Petrick and I spent a lot of time discussing the shift from transactional business relationships to ecosystems. You’ll enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Dr. Irene J. Petrick, senior director of industrial innovation in Intel’s IoT group
Sponsor: Cirrent

  • China’s surveillance society is as far-fetched here as you might think
  • Here’s what we recommend for your holiday gift list
  • Do you want Google’s AI to wake you up in the morning?
  • The employee of the future apparently needs some serious tech skills
  • Transactional relationships are tired; ecosystems are wired

Episode 201: Bluetooth gets better and more smart lights

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group has released new standards that improve location tracking, so we talk about Kevin’s hopes for that and save the bigger details for our guest segment. We’ve got two new smart lighting products. The first is from Casper —yes the mattress company — and the second is from a startup called Orro. From there we focus on a creepy new lamp, tech giants getting into the utility business and a new energy harvesting method. Plus, Japan is hacking its citizens’ devices, Amazon offers hosting, and here’s a tip sheet on what to look for in smart apartments from an infosec writer whose apartment is about to be made smart. We also answer a question about which Z-wave hub he should buy.

The Casper Glow sells for $89 for one or $169 for two.

This week’s guest is Ken Kolderup, VP of marketing for the Bluetooth SIG. Kolderup explains what the SIG’s new location services technology is all about and when we can expect it in industrial, enterprise and consumer applications. Unsurprisingly, Bluetooth is prepping for a role in industrial and enterprise settings with this move. He also explains why Beacons are not the failure I think they are. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Ken Kolderup, VP of marketing for the Bluetooth SIG
Sponsors: FairCom and Western Digital

  • Two very different lights, both smarter than you think
  • Why home automation’s next frontier is in energy
  • An update from last week’s show on unwanted smart apartments
  • Get the scoop on Bluetooth’s new direction-finding feature
  • Maybe beacons aren’t as doomed as I thought