Episode 152: Hot new sensors and Google’s latest deal

Every week we talk about Alexa, and this week’s story is about Amazon showing Alexa off at the annual Toy Fair in New York City. I went there three years ago to explore tech in toys and didn’t find much. It seems that things haven’t changed much. The Alexa implementations aren’t that exciting. We also talked about letting Amazon invest in your startup, awesome new sensors and Google’s plan to buy Xively. Plus we cover new features and a camera from Wyze, Google’s retina scans to predict heart attacks, and the best ways to get Alexa into the car. We also answer a question about a mixed Google and Apple smart home.

The Nucleus video conferencing device. Amazon invested in the maker, and then put out a competing product.

The guest this week is Eve Maler, VP of innovation and emerging technology at ForgeRock. She talks about the multiple personas we have and how to tie that back to the internet of things in a way that’s scalable and doesn’t require a user to have dozens of passwords. She introduces the User Managed Access standard as a way for people to control access to their many many things and talks about the complexities that the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations will mean for data and identity management. It’s a fun episode.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Eve Maler, VP of innovation and emerging technology at ForgeRock
Sponsors: Ring and IoT World

 

Episode 111: All about the Amazon Show and costs of IoT compute

Who’s buying an Echo Show? This week Kevin and I share our thoughts on Amazon’s latest device, which adds a screen to the Echo, video calling and more. We also talk about Apple buying Beddit presumably for sleep data, a new smart home product with a DARPA and Playground Studios pedigree and the industrial internet. Plus, we throw in a discussion on the economics of serverless computing as part of the launch of a new product from Yonomi.

The Echo Show has a 7-inch screen. And Alexa!

We have three guests this week. The number of our guests is three. (Props to all who read that as a Monty Python sketch.) We’re getting three different perspectives on the Echo Show, with the first from Mike Wolf, a smart home analyst and editor of The Spoon who discusses it as a kitchen device. Then we discuss design and the way we will interact with the smart home with Mark Rolston of argo design, and we finish with Jonathan Frankel, the CEO of Nucleus, which just saw its device replicated in Amazon’s new Echo Show. You’ll learn a bunch!

Hosts: Kevin Tofel and Stacey Higginbotham
Guests: Mike Wolf of The Spoon; Mark Rolston of argo design; and Jonathan Frankel of Nucleus
Sponsor: Aeris

  • Will Kevin buy the Amazon Show?
  • Startup Lighthouse has a new take on personal assistants
  • Apple buys sleep-sensing tech
  • Amazon’s Echo Show was “inevitable”
  • Amazon’s Echo Show was also a betrayal

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:

Episode 82: IoT botnets and the Nucleus intercom review

Security was the big topic this week after a massive botnet comprised of connected devices disrupted many popular internet services. I hated the thought of all connected devices coming under attack, so I wrote a bit about the realities of IoT security here and also here. As part of my effort to understand what was going on I interviewed Andy Ellis, Akamai’s chief security officer about what happened last week, why it matters and the challenges of making people pay for security.

Three Nucleus devices costs $600.
Three Nucleus devices costs $600.

Kevin Tofel and I mentioned security but then dove into a discussion of the new HomeKit-enabled Bluetooth light switch from Elgato, the new tricks from the Amazon Echo and a few chip stories. ARM launched an IoT cloud service, while Intel launched a new Atom chip. Then Kevin shared a convenient home automation that makes his family feel safer, and I review the Nucleus video intercom platform. It’s a fun show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Andy Ellis, CSO at Akamai
Sponsors: ARM and Hewlett Packard Enterprise

  • Where do we stand on Bluetooth lights?
  • Things are getting weird in the chip world
  • The Nucleus is a good devices for low-tech homes or people
  • Learn the one devices that may enhance your IoT security
  • The internet of things has an externalities challenge